LEARNING OUTCOME

 At the end of the lecture, the student will

be able to :
a) Understand the elements that cause fire
b) Recognise the extinguished agents for
different types of fire
c) Distinguish between active and passive
fire fighting equipment
NATURE OF FIRE
Fire is the oxidation
of a combustible
material releasing
heat, light and
various reaction
products such as
carbon dioxide and
water
Fires start when a flammable and/or a
combustible material with an
adequate supply of oxygen or
another oxidizer is subjected to
enough heat and is able to sustain a
chain reaction. This is commonly
called the FIRE TETAHEDRON or
TRIANGLE.
Fire can be extinguished by removing
any one of the elements of the fire
tetrahedron.
OXYGEN FUEL

HEAT
CLASSES OF FIRE
Class A - Ordinary Combustible Solids
Wood, paper, cloth, plastics, rubber, coal, carbon
based compounds etc

Class B - Flammable & Combustible Liquids

Petrol, oil, paint, thinners, kerosene, alcohol,
etc…

Class C - Flammable Gases

L.P.G., Butane, Acetylene, Hydrogen, natural gas
and Methane etc

Class D - Combustible Metals

Magnesium, aluminium, sodium or potassium
etc…
Class E - Electrical Fires
Computers, switchboards, power-boards, etc..
AGENTS OF EXTINGUISHING
1. Water (H2O) - Cooling properties
- Not suitable for Class E, B & C
2. Dry Powder – Made of fine powder from sodium /
potassium bicarbonate
– Cooling properties & smothering effect
(exclude O2)
- Not suitable for Class E
3. Sand – Fire resistant to a certain degree & smaller fire
by smothering
- Suitable for class A & D
4. CO2 – Foam of CO2 released from mixing sodium
bicarbonate & aluminium sulphate
- Smothering effect, Good for Class A to D,
preferably Class E
- Expensive and dangerous to human
5. Foam – Cooling & smothering effect. Not suitable for
Class E,preferably Class B
 FIRE SYSTEM
The fire systems in a building are many.There
are equipment and systems for monitoring,
communication, fighting fire, indication,
raising alarm, diverting smoke etc.

Generally they can be classified into two

categories:

Fire Protection System

Fire Fighting System
A fire fighting system is probably the most important
of the building services, as its aim is to protect human
life and property, strictly in that order.

It consists of three basic parts:

a large store of water in tanks, either underground or on
top of the building, called fire storage tanks
a specialised pumping system,
a large network of pipes ending in
either hydrants or sprinklers (nearly all buildings
require both of these systems)
 Fire Hydrant
A fire hydrant is a vertical steel pipe with an outlet, close to which
two fire hoses are stored (A fire hydrant is called a standpipe in
America).
 During a fire, firefighters will go to the outlet, break open the
hoses, attach one to the outlet, and manually open it so that water
rushes out of the nozzle of the hose.
 The quantity and speed of the water is so great that it can knock
over the firefighter holding the hose if he is not standing in the
correct way.
 As soon as the fire fighter opens the hydrant, water will gush out,
and sensors will detect a drop in pressure in the system. This drop
in pressure will trigger the fire pumps to turn on and start pumping
water at a tremendous flowrate.
Sprinkler
 A sprinkler is a nozzle attached to a network of pipes, and installed
just below the ceiling of a room.
 Every sprinkler has a small glass bulb with a liquid in it. This bulb
normally blocks the flow of water.
 In a fire, the liquid in the bulb will become hot. It will then expand,
and shatter the glass bulb, removing the obstacle and causing water to
spray from the sprinkler.
 The main difference between a hydrant and a sprinkler is that a
sprinkler will come on automatically in a fire.
http://www.understandconstruction.com/understand-fire-fighting-systems.html
A fire hydrant has to be operated manually by trained firefighters - it cannot be operated by
laymen. A sprinkler will usually be activated very quickly in a fire - possibly before the fire
station has been informed of the fire - and therefore is very effective at putting out a fire in
the early stages, before it grows into a large fire. For this reason, a sprinkler system is
considered very good at putting out fires before they spread and become unmanageable.
According to the NFPA of America, hotels with sprinklers suffered 78% less property
damage from fire than hotels without in a study in the mid-1980s.
Fire storage tank
The amount of water in the fire storage tanks is determined by
the hazard level of the project under consideration. Most building
codes have at least three levels, namely, Light Hazard (such as
schools, residential buildings and offices), Ordinary Hazard (such as
most factories and warehouses), and High Hazard (places which store
or use flammable materials like foam factories, aircraft hangars, paint
factories, fireworks factories). The relevant building code lists which
type of structure falls in each category. The quantity of water to be
stored is usually given in hours of pumping capacity. In system with a
capacity of one hour, the tanks are made large enough to supply the
fire with water for a period of one hour when the fire pumps are
switched on. For example, building codes may require light hazard
systems to have one hour’s capacity and high hazard 3 or 4 hours
capacity.
Fire Pumping System
Fire pumps are usually housed in a pump room very close to the fire tanks. The key thing is that the
pumps should be located at a level just below the bottom of the fire tank, so that all the water in the
tanks can flow into the pumps by gravity.

Like all important systems, there must be backup pumps in case the main pump fails. There is a main
pump that is electric, a backup pump that is electric, and a second backup pump that is diesel-
powered, in case the electricity fails, which is common. Each of these pumps is capable of pumping
the required amount of water individually - they are identical in capacity.

There is also a fourth type of pump called a jockey pump. This is a small pump attached to the
system that continually switches on to maintain the correct pressure in the distribution systems, which
is normally 7 Kg/cm2 or 100 psi. If there is a small leakage somewhere in the system, the jockey
pump will switch on to compensate for it. Each jockey pump will also have a backup.

The pumps are controlled by pressure sensors. When a fire fighter opens a hydrant, or when a
sprinkler comes on, water gushes out of the system and the pressure drops. The pressure sensors
will detect this drop and switch the fire pumps on. But the only way to switch off a fire pump is for a
fire fighter to do this manually in the pump room. This is an international code of practice that is
designed to avoid the pumps switching off due to any malfunction in the control system.
 FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM
Fire protection systems are used to alert people that
a small fire or some overheating has occurred, and
that there is a danger of fire happening soon.
Purpose :

a. Provide equipments, manpower to safe guard building

occupants against fire

b. Protect building materials and structures, mechanicals and

electrical appliances from burning, weakening or collapse.
Requirements are conformed during design stage.
 FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM (cont.)

2 methods can be applied :

a. Prevention against occurence of fire by

i. Limiting combustible materials like

timber, rubber and plastics for building
materials and furnitures

ii. Limiting inflammable liquid and gases

inside or near the buildings
 FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM (cont.)

b. Prevention against spreading of fire by passive fire

prevention system and active fire prevention system

Passive Fire Prevention System

a. Application of fire resisting material as barrier or to slow down

the fire flow example : fire rated doors, ceiling, partitions
b. Installation of fire escape route : exit staircase, exit doorways
c. More firestation at area with high occupancy and high risks
d. Fire-fighting team
This I beam has a fireproofing
material sprayed onto it as a form
of passive fire protection.

Fire-resistance rated walls

 FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM (cont.)

Active Fire Prevention System

a. Installation of fire detection devices e.g smoke and

heat detectors, CCTV and fire alarm system
b. Installation of fire suppression equipments e.g water,
CO2, Halon in Portable and Fixed Fire Extinguisher
System, hydrants and gasses suppression
Fire Alarm System
Addressable Fire Alarm system
Every device connected to the addressable system
has its own unique address. When a fire is
detected, the device’s address shows up on the
main control panel, telling you exactly which device
has been activated. This will enable you to find the
exact location of a fire and extinguish them quickly.
However, by wiring your building into different
zones, you can get a general idea of where the fire
is. For instance, if you have two floors, you could
wire the first as ‘zone 1’ and the second as zone 2.
(conventional)Non addresable Fire Alarm
system
conventional system, there is no way of pinpointing the
exact location of the fire. With a conventional alarm,
each device will be connected to the control panel via
its own wire, rather than a shared one. One end of the
wire will be touching the device, and another touching
the control panel.

Conventional alarm panels cost a lot less to buy but are

more expensive to install. This is because each
device that is being connected needs its own wire.
With addressable systems, one wire loop will connect
several devices. This means conventional systems
require more wire and more man hours during the
installation phase.
ReferUniform Building By Laws
(UBBL)
PART VIll -FIRE ALARMS, FIRE
DETECTION, FIRE
EXTINGUISHMENT AND FIRE
FIGHTING ACCESS
Portable Fire Extinguisher Fire Alarm Panel

Fire Sprinkler System Fire Hydrant