Fire Protection

Providing life safety and property protection is a significant part of a building's design and construction process, and one of the primary focuses of building codes. Many jurisdictions have now adopted a code based on the recent edition of the new International Building Code (IBC).

However, most of the fire safety provisions of the IBC were developed using the least stringent requirements of each of the three previously published model building codes. Building and safety experts are concerned that the current minimum requirements for fire safety – especially for multi-residential structures such as town-houses, dormitories, assisted living facilities, small hotels, etc. – may not provide enough protection for the elderly, college students, disabled persons, and families dwelling in these units.

A movement is underway to increase the level of fire protection in codes by using the balanced design approach to construction. Balanced design considers three fire safety options.

The first component is “containment,” with structural walls, floors, and ceilings of masonry and concrete that provide 2 to 4 hours of protection. The second is “detection,” with smoke detectors to alert residents to evacuate. The final component is “suppression,” using sprinklers to control the fire until the emergency responders arrive on the scene.

Masonry and concrete walls, floors, and ceilings effectively contain the spread of a fire.

Balanced design may suggest that one or two of these components are adequate for some types of buildings. However, for housing the elderly, disabled, students, and families, the building code without all three elements may be insufficient and not provide superior, affordable fire protection.

Each of the three components of balanced design is very important, but works to protect the building and occupants differently. The balanced approach considers both active and passive methods of fire protection.

Detection and suppression systems are active. Detection systems are electrical, hard-wired with a battery backup in the event of a power failure. Most suppression systems (sprinklers) require a water source that may or may not be available in the event of a fire.

Containment with compartmentation is a passive system that does not require any action after construction for activation. Compartmentation with masonry/concrete products, which do not burn and maintain their structural integrity, is a vital part of the equation.

If a fire starts within a given room or area of a building, the non-combustible walls, floor, and ceiling contain the blaze, allowing time for occupants to leave, fire fighters to arrive, or for sprinkler heads to deploy, control, or even extinguish the flames.

Currently, many codes provide for detection and suppression, but do not require non-combustible compartmentation between dwelling units. A significant argument made for not using compartmentation has been the misperception that the use of concrete and masonry would increase the cost of construction so significantly as to make it price prohibitive.

There have been many case studies on initial and life cycle costs showing the advantages of concrete and masonry construction for multi-family dwellings, yet recommendations to improve fire protection in these types of facilities have been denied based on unfounded claims of excessively high costs.

In order to clarify and accurately document the actual cost of building with masonry/concrete products versus wood and steel framing for interior separation walls, floors, and ceilings, a study was commissioned by several groups whose mission is to improve life safety and property protection with non-combustible construction. The New York/New England, Pennsylvania, and Mid-Atlantic Fire Safety Construction Advisory Councils came together to commission the study to show initial costs of balanced design construction. Previous work has been done addressing life cycle costs that emphasized the long-term benefits of masonry/concrete based construction versus wood framing and light gauge steel, but this study specifically addressed initial cost.