HIGH RISE BUILDING PROBLEMS

today's high-rise buildings are a tribute to the design of architects and the ingenuity of the builders but to those involved in fire prevention fire protection and fire suppression some of these buildings will present unique problems and dangers from the standpoint of fire protection a high-rise building may be defined as a building whose height makes total evacuation impractical a building whose upper storeys are beyond the reach of Fire Department aerial equipment a building which a fire within the upper storeys will have to be extinguished from within and the building whose interior structure can create the possibility of stack or chimney effect this film has been produced to make you aware of these problems and the dangers you may face in the event of a fire in a high-rise building [Music] in the event of a fire occupants must use stairways for evacuation or relocation in some buildings the stairway doors are one-way in that a person may enter but cannot leave the stairway except at the ground floor level because for security purposes the doors are locked on the stairway side of the door this can result in someone's entering the stairway at the 15th floor and not being able to get out of the stairway without going all the way down to the ground level this could cause unnecessary travel distance for occupants and fill the stairways with large numbers of people who would hamper the firefighters trying to get up the stairway with their equipment an air conditioning system not equipped with automatic smoke and heat detection automatic fan shutdown and automatic fire dampers can create a disastrous condition during a fire without these automatic features smoke and other products of combustion can be quickly drawn into the return air system and can be rapidly distributed to all other floors and areas served by the air conditioning system this can be a serious threat to the life safety of the building occupants many high-rise buildings contain the potential for creating a stack or chimney effect this condition depends on height structure configuration number size and arrangement of vertical openings such as mail chutes elevator and utility shafts temperature extremes wind velocities and other factors all of these tend to create varying air flows which can spread smoke and other products of combustion throughout the building in the event of a fire also if windows cannot be opened and there is no other provision for ventilating to the outside the heat and products of combustion from the fire will be confined within the building this can result in persons being seriously exposed to smoke and heat in other areas of the building a problem that may arise during ventilation procedures is that windows and some buildings are installed so they cannot be open others can be opened only by use of a special key height wind or other conditions may rule against smashing out windows in upper storeys for ventilation purposes because large jagged shards of glass will sail as much as a block or more down out of the street amongst people in cars in some high-rise buildings there is a space between the outer skin or curtain wall and the outer edges of the floor slabs also sometimes holes made in walls and floors are not closed or fire stopped around the pipes or ducts and these openings can prevent fire and smoke to spread horizontally throughout an entire floor or vertically two floors above and below in the event of a severe fire in a high-rise building it is possible that flames issuing from windows will result in breaking windows and igniting combustibles on one or more floors above sprayed on insulation that protects structural steel and columns in a building from the heat of a fire will last many years if applied properly the value of the insulation is destroyed when a workman strips it off to run a pipe or conduit or to make other alterations and does not replace it if this insulation is removed extensively enough in the right place it can cause failure of the structural members under severe fire conditions there are many people who say and believe oh this building is fireproof it can't burn but the problem is not so much the building as it is the furnishings and other contents when occupants load up a building with large quantities of combustible materials they create the potential for a disastrous fire the contents which may be brought into a high-rise building should be controlled as to both the quantity and the combust ability of the material this would help greatly in decreasing the amount of fuel available to spread a fire in some cases automatic elevators are more of a liability than an asset for fire department personnel in the event of a fire elevators have been known to go to the fire floor when a fire has activated the call button through heat or shorted electrical wires this includes either electronic touch or mechanical type buttons if the elevator has stopped at a fire floor and is equipped with a photoelectric cell door control smoke interrupting the light beam can prevent the door from closing and the car won't move some occupants intend on using an elevator to escape from the building may have to be rescued if a shorted wire or other malfunction causes the elevator to go to the fire floor or stop between floors many high-rise buildings do not have a smoke proof Tower and this can be a serious threat to the overall safety of the occupants of the buildings a smoke proof Tower is just what the name implies it is an enclosed stairway with a vestibule and each floor that is designed in such a manner as to prevent smoke from entering the enclosed stairwell a smoke proof towel provide a smoke free means of exit to the outside for occupants and an important place of refuge for firefighters to work in carrying out evacuation and fire extinguish Monteux see Jers total evacuation of a high-rise building may be impossible or impractical during a fire because of the amount of time required for all occupants to leave the building in many cases stairways and exits are just not designed to handle simultaneously the entire building's occupants it should also be assumed that some elderly people will be involved in a total evacuation and that these people cannot move quickly also people who are psychologically prone to panic in a situation may be present and must be dealt with by fire department personnel [Music] because total evacuation may be impossible life safety design features such as automatic sprinkler systems and ample areas of Refuge are a necessary consideration in many cases the stairway may have to be used as the only available area of Refuge if you are asking yourself what can be done well there are some answers to high-rise problems a high-rise building should be equipped with a building communication center operating 24 hours a day which in the event of a fire would automatically transmit a fire alarm to a central alarm station and indicate to building security people the location of the fire this facility would assure immediate alarm transmission to the fire department and alert key building personnel who should have specific prearranged procedures to follow in case of a fire when a fire alarm pull station is activated it need not sound an alarm on every floor of the building but rather it should sound an alarm on the fire floor and at least 3 floors above and one below the occupants of these floors should relocate to safe areas of Refuge ordinarily the entire occupancy of a high-rise building need not leave the building or relocate except in extreme fire conditions this must be determined by the fire department officer in charge [Music] high-rise building should be designed to provide ventilating equipment control from a central panel for the fire department to ventilate smoke and heat to the outside and prevent its buildup or recirculation through the building otherwise this can be accomplished by providing windows which can be opened access panels and outer walls or smoke exhaust shafts with regard to elevators in a given building do you have keys or other means of activating the manual controls of the elevator where are these keys located which floors does the elevator service are the elevator doors have gripped with a photoelectric cell that could be affected by smoke which would prevent their closing is there a secondary electric power source available that will automatically supply certain elevators in the event of a power failure where is it located and most important do you know which elevators it serves a secondary power supply is also necessary for the communication system fire pumps and illumination of the exit lights throughout the building there should be a detection system which when activated in the event of a fire on any floor will cause automatic elevators to be placed in the manual mode and return them to a predetermined point this would make elevators available for use by the firefighters there should be an internal communication system within the building which will enable fire department or security personnel to give instructions to the occupants on any floor of the building and in stairways and elevators to prevent fire spread primary consideration should be given to the selection of interior materials such as decorative finishes wood paneling ceiling tiles and insulating material occupant should be told what type of furnishing and decorative materials can be used carpeting throughout the building must meet minimum requirements with respect to flame spread and smoke generation anyone performing maintenance or renovation work in a high-rise building should be required to apply to building management for a permit especially anyone performing hazardous work such as welding cutting soldering or other work requiring the use of an open flame at that time he can be told what is expected of him with regard to fire safety all work area should be inspected during the word and at the end of each day this will reveal any unprotected openings and walls of floors prevent accumulations of combustible wastes or the improper storage of flammable liquids or gases establishment of active fire prevention and safety programs for occupants of high-rise buildings is very important these programs should be a cooperative effort by the local fire department and building fire safety personnel all building employees should be trained in fire prevention how to turn in a fire alarm evacuation or relocation procedures this training should be periodic and brought up to date whenever necessary the building's fire brigade personnel should be trained in the use of portable extinguishers and standpipe hose lines your knowledge of the building's fire protection equipment and your pre-fire plan for the building are very important this should be a joint effort on the part of the local fire department and building management the best overall equipment to control fire and high-rise buildings is a properly installed and maintained automatic sprinkler system it will detect and control fires when they start and will assure the life safety of occupants such systems should be equipped to transmit alarm signals automatically to a central supervisory alarm station the building's communication center the performance record of automatic sprinkler systems in controlling fires and high-rise buildings over the years has shown that they have been almost 100% effective if this building had been equipped with an automatic sprinkler system this fire probably would have been quickly detected and controlled by the sprinklers and loss would have been minimal fire safety and high-rise buildings is the responsibility of building management employees occupants and the local fire department to fulfill this responsibility they must acquire knowledge an awareness of what constitutes fire and safety to life hazards they must cooperate and take action to eliminate fire hazards and to know what to do in case of fire they must organize and conduct inspections and drills and must keep procedures and knowledge up-to-date the time to start is now tomorrow may be too late [Music] [Applause] [Music]