FIRESCIENCE

3.1UNDERSTANDING
in minutesand kill
Fire is essentiallya chemicalreactionknown as combustion.lt can spread
it can spread can help
in seconds. Knowing the characteristicsof fire and understandinghow
safety and property
Architects, Engineers and other professionalsto formulate strategieson life
protectionin buildingdesigns.

- REACTION'This
Four factorsare neededto starta fire FUEL,OXYGEN,HEAT and CHEMICAL
'Fire reactionis allowedto spread a very
unchecked,
is knownas the Tetrahedron'.lf this chemical
smallfirewill quicklydevelopinto an infernoand becomecatastrophic'

DiagramA: Fire Tetrahedron

'The world's largest fires can be extinguishedby pouring a cup of water at the
Let us remember
righttime."
chain
A fire can easily be extinguishedby removingone of the factors in inhibitingthe chemical
we can remove heat by pouring water on the fire
reactionof the combustionprocess. For example
or removingthe fuel or cuttingoff oxygensupplyby using a fire blanket or foam'

OF FIRE
GROWTHAND DEVELOPMENT
3.2 IGNITION,

Diagram B: Stages of Fire Development

m
p (STAGE3)
FullyDevelopFire

t
u

e (srAGE4)
Decay
(STAGE1) GroMh
Time

Slow rateof burning Developmentof heat Fire Dies Out

and flames

curveof a typicalfire
The time/temperature
 IGNITION- A processin which fuel reactswith oxygento give heat and light

GROWTH- A fire once startedcan grow rapidlyas it createsthe conditionsfor its own growth.
I n a n e n c l o s e dc o m p a r t m e n t a
, c r i t i c a ls t a g e m a y b e r e a c h e dw h e r e a l l t h e c o m b u s t i o n
materialsare heated to flammableconcentrationsof gases and the fire suddenly flashes
"flashover"
throughoutthe whole compartment- this is knownas a

DEVELOPMENT- The fire passesthrougha developmentstage after the initialgroMh. During

this stagethe fire temperatureincreasesslowly.Howeverthe fire continuesto spreadinto other
areas,which then in turn continuesthe processof rapid initialgroMh and development.

DECAY - ln the decay stage,the fire will burn itselfout due to lack of fuel or oxygen.

FUEL LOAD - The amountof availableand potentiallycombustiblematerialsto fuel the fire.

FLASHOVER- Simultaneousignitionof all combustiblein an enclosedarea. Flashoveroccurs

when the majorityof the surface in a space are heated to the point at which they give off
flammablegasesthat are hot enoughto sustaincombustion.

3.3 PRINCIPLES
OF FIRE PROPAGATION

Through natural laws, heat and smoke will travel from hotter to cooler areas by any of the three
methods:

CONVECTION- More than 75 per cent of the combustionproductsof a fire, eg. smoke, burning
particles,toxic gases are dissipatedin rising convectioncurrents of hot gases at temperaturesof
800 - 1000"C.lt willcreatea "mushroomeffect",when the risingconvectioncurrentis blocked,eg.
by undersideof floor or ceiling. lt can also smokelogescape routes and prevent escape.

RADIATION- Radiantheat is transmittedto all buildingsor materialsthat is adjacentto and not the
fire. lt is the transfer of heat energy as electromagneticwaves. Radiationpasses through normal
glass windowseasily,and buildingswith many or large windows are more likelyto spreadfire to
other buildings.

CONDUCTION- The movementof heatthroughmaterialsvia excitationof moleculeseg. metalsare

better conductorsof heat than stones. Conductedheat can travel through partitions,floors, ceiling,
walls, to adjacentrooms, especiallythrough metal piping, metal frames and joists. Combustible
materialsor internal linings of adjacent rooms can be heated to their ignitiontemperatureby
conductedheat.

3.4 FIREPROTECTION
IN BUILDINGS

A totalfiresafetysystemfor anyhighrisebuilding duringfire.

integrity
mustincludestructural
Structuralfailure The qualityof workmanship
when occupantsare stillin the buildingis catastrophic.
and the sustainabilityand durabilityof the buildingmaterialsand systemsrequireclose attention.
The UBBL 1984 requiresall buildingsto have minimumstructuralintegritybased on its usage.
Elementsof constructioncan only be effectiveas fire breaks if they have the necessarydegreeof
fire resistance.The three criteriaof fire resistanceare:
INSULATION:The abilityof an elementof constructionto resistor inhibitthe heat.

INTEGRITY:The abilityof an elementof constructionto maintainits shapeand structuralproperties

and at the same time preventingthe passageof flames and hot gases.

STABILITY:The abilityof an elementof constructionto maintainoverallstructuralintegrity

The principalrole of structuralfire protectionis to preventthe spread of heat and smoke from the
seat of fire to other parts of the building.The best way to controlspread of fire is early detection
and extinguishment- and a reliableway of achievingthis is by installinga system and good
housekeeping.

3.5 FIRE HAZARDS ASSESSMENT

Main factors contributingto fire hazard:

. The amountof combustiblematerialspresent.

. The potentialheat outputof these materialsin a fire, i.e..their calorificvalue.

. The surfaceareas- most materialsburn at or near their surfaces.

. The potentialheat source.

. Airflowconditionand unrestrictedair supplythat sustaincombustion.

. The design and constructionof a building can have as much or even more effect on the
developmentof a fire than the contentsof the building.

The Architector Engineerhave to assess the fire hazard of the buildingarisingfrom its usage,
locationand sit ing, area volume and height,number of people in the buildingand mobilityof its
occupants,designand construction.

Fire tests have proventhat all combustiblematerialswhen burnt,will producesome asphyxiating

or poisonousgases and nearly all produce smoke which hindersvision. Many plasticmaterials
producehighlypoisonousvapoursand very dense smoke.lt is importantfor buildingconsultantsto
checkon the featuresof certainmaterialsbeforeinstallinginto the building.These include:

. Susceptibility
to heat,smoke and water damage.

. The potentialfor producingburningdroplets- skylightetc.

. lssue of repairafterthey have been in a fire.

. lssue of maintenanceand replacement.

 3.6GOODBUILDINGDESIGNWITHFIRESAFETYMEASURES
' Provideadequatefire appliancesaccess,
fire hydrantsand other facilitiesto assist fire and
rescuepersonnel.

' P r o v i d ea d e q u a t ef i x e d i n s t a l l a t i o n ,
w h e r e a p p r o p r i a t e f, o r q u i c k a n d e f f e c t i v ed e t e c t i o n
and extinguishment of fires.

' Designingand installingbuildingservices

so that they do not assistthe spreadof fire, smoke
or toxic fumes.

Designingand providingadequateand safe escaperoutesfor the occupants

of the building.

Selectingmaterialsfor the constructionwhich will not promote the rapid

spread of fire or
generatedangeroussmoke and poisonousgases.

Subdividingbuildingsinto compartmentsof reasonablesizes by means of fire

resistingwalls
and floors, providingfire stops to protectopeningsbetween floors and compartments.

Designingand constructingthe exteriorof a buildingso that fire is unlikelyto

spread to it from
anotherburningbuilding.

3.7EXISTING
STRUCTURE
AND HISTORICAL
BUILDINGS
It is normallyquite straightforwardfor Architectsand Engineersto comply with
the various fire
protectionrequirementsfor new buildings.However,it is often difficult
for any buildingdesignerto
meet all the legislativerequirementson fire protectionwhen it comes to upgrading
of old buildings.
Fire preventionofficersand professionalsshould thereforealways attempt to achieve
a reasonable
levelof fire precautionfor theirbuildingsto ensureadequatesafetyto occupants.For
examplereduce
fire resistanceof timberstructuresin historicalbuildingscould be compensated
by increased/extra
provisionof directiondeviceand alarmstogetherwith extra fire
suspensionsystems.

3.8 FIREAND THELAW

Architectsand Engineersmust rememberthat the fire safetyregulationsin Malaysia

are based on
internationalnorms to protectlife. However,some of the fire safety provisions
in the UBBL 1984
and the Fire ServicesAct 19BBwill also offer protectionto buildingsand their contents
as well as
fire fighters.A sectionin this book providedetailrequirementsof the Fire Services
Act 19gg. The
UBBL 1984 and the Fire ServicesAct 19BBshould not be read in isolation,but
shoutdbe read in
conjunctionwith all relevantMalaysianand lnternationallegislationsand standards.

3 . 9C O N C L U S T ON

When consideringfire protectionmeasuresfor buitdings,it is importantto understand

that the safety
of occupantsand fire fightersare interrelated,
and thal designsolutionshouldaddressthe effectof
fire, smoke and toxicfumes in totalitv.