Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Malabar
Thiruvananthapuram
Fire engineering for buildings
Many people, directly or indirectly involved in the design, construction or management of buildings view compliance with safety regulations as an awkward problem to be overcome with minimum cost. Typically, also, the safety of fire fighters and protection of property are merely given token consideration.
And, even if comprehensive legislation existed at the national level, it may not be effectively monitored or controlled on the ground.
Fire of certain intensity and duration will nearly eventually affect every building component. However, it is necessary to have building components to retain their stability and integrity at least for a sufficient period to ensure safe evacuation of all the occupants.
Moreover, a fire should be prevented from spreading from one building to another and to prevent the sudden collapse of assemblies for the safety of fire fighting personnel.
A practical fire engineering approach involves examining and thinking through problems associated with aspects of fire safety and protection in buildings, in this case fire resistance performance, and to base solutions on principles of reason, common sense, science, mainstream engineering, practicality and cost-effectiveness.
The benefits accrued by such an approach include the provision of better and more reliable fire safety and protection in buildings, more cost-effective safety and protection measures and more options with regard to their choice and operation, and better communication with other disciplines involved in the construction sector. Most important is that the fire resistance has to be designed as per codal regulation and cannot be assumed. The building components should have the required fire resistance level. This is specified by the user or city ordinances or based on National Building Code regulations. The fire resistance level is specified in terms of duration (in minutes) that the element can withstand when subjected to standard fire load.
The author is Emeritus Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Madras and former Dean, Anna University
A.R. SANTHAKUMAR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Malabar
Thiruvananthapuram
|
