We hear it all of the time in the fire service and many of us agree; we don’t spend enough time training and learning building construction and fire behavior. So, in the spirit of practicing what I preach, here is a short lesson on Type I construction, or otherwise referred to Fire Resistive construction.

This first picture shows all non-combustible structural components of an addition to our local hospital. This is the basement, but the floor above is of similar design with interior wall studs of metal.

The floor above is concrete on metal decking, which you can see in this first picture.

You have a steel column, a steel beam with metal bar joists as the primary structural components with the exterior walls all of concrete.

As I mentioned before, the floor above is the same with the exception of the exterior walls being non-combustible metal stud walls.

Here is the same area from a different angle with a fire resistive coating sprayed on the structural members.

[View with PicLens]

The data cable that you see is plenum rated and is for the computer and communications networking inside the facility.

In addition to the spray coating, the entire facility is fully sprinklered and has a monitored alarm.

The spray coating is designed to be applied to a specific thickness depending on the rating that is being achieved. Normally, and in this instance, a third party inspector is present to randomly inspect the thickness and provides a report to the building commissioner and the fire marshal.

What characteristics of this type of construction are important when sizing up a building like this?

What are some tactical importances in regards to operating at this building or one of Type I construction?

If you have any experiences or suggestions to add, please post them.

Stay safe and train hard,

Jason

http://firefightersenemy.com