Building Construction and Firefighting

Overview of Building Construction 

Building constructions consist of physical framed building structures. The buildings usually have a frame of concrete which is covered with a skin that can be either made of brick, aluminum, or glass (Hu, 2016). Steel framed construction structures are popular since they are flexible and strong, making it fit best for buildings in earthquake-prone areas. Light gauge steel construction structures and wood framed ones are similar in that they both are used for residential and low-rise buildings ( Fasny.com, 2016 ). Load bearing masonry wall construction is made of heavy bricks or stone walls that support horizontal floor slabs. Lastly, the pre-engineering building construction is mostly used for industrial and warehouse buildings. Regardless of the type of construction considerations for protection against fires is evident in all of the different designs. 

Various Building Types 

The different types of building constructions are classified based on their functions and purposes. The first type are the residential buildings ( Liu, Zhao, Weng, & Liu, 2017 ). This is the category where people live in, and there are different kinds of houses and styles such as the apartments, townhouses, which are based on the family structure. The second type is the commercial or retail buildings where people buy their things and stuff ( Fasny.com, 2016 ). These include malls, shops boutiques and others. The third type are the industrial buildings where the manufacturing of products and warehousing takes place. Examples here include power and water plants, warehouses, and factories. The fourth type is the educational institution buildings where people go for classes and knowledge purposes; they include the preschool, high schools, colleges, and university institution buildings. 

The fifth type of building constructions is the civic and governmental facilities buildings. Civic buildings are those that offer services to the community and they may either be owned by the government or not such as museums, community centers, hospitals and clinics, libraries, courthouses, prisons, police and fire stations (Hu, 2016). The administration areas where politicians and government officers serve the community such as parliament, state house, and others. The sixth type is the hospitality, gathering, cultural and recreational buildings where people engage in entertaining activities like watching, listening, and engagement in activities such as those of games and sports. These places are arenas, stadiums, theaters, hotels, restaurants, hostels, and resorts. The seventh type is the medical facility buildings where health care services are offered, such as medical checkups, clinics, and treatment of various ailments. 

Building and Fire Codes 

To ensure the safety and quality of buildings, building and fire codes are used to set obligations that enable protection of the residents of a building and the structure itself. These obligations are meant to safeguard occupants from threats such as fires. To protect occupants from such threats, the buildings should be in a way that there is easy access to road, access to the open buildings areas, water protection and emergency respondent in buildings ( Havel, 2012 ). The most specific features for a building regarding fire control and safety are ensuring that there are emergency exits which remain unlocked at all times, fire cut offs, smoke controls and fire alarms in every building and should be easily accessible. 

The building and fire code dictate the availability of fire service features. Apart from access to road networks, which offer the ease of getting into a building in the case of fire emergencies, the building and fire code demand that there should be fire command centers. These facilities should have departments that have the equipment and which are flexible in responding to the fire cases ( Murphy, 2018 ). Training on the use of the fire equipment and inspections should be done to ensure that the equipment is best used for active and passive fire protection. 

Life safety rules in buildings are contained in the building and fire codes. They control and ensure the use of fire safe designs and prevention of fire in the construction and building together with all the systems installed. They also give guidelines to the fire prevention strategies thought since the time of construction and designing of a building ( Maluk, Woodrow, & Torero, 2017 ). Some of the installed systems that require to be dictated are building services such as electrical equipment wiring and hazards, elevator recall and maintenance, commercial cooking oil storage, 

The fire codes give fire and smoke protection features. By setting up minimum standards for health and general welfare occupants of a building, the building and fire code dictate how the premises should be to ensure the maintenance of such measures. Buildings should be made from materials that are fire resistant and that which limit the spread of fire in case of fire emergencies ( Fasny.com, 2016 ). There should be fire protection equipment that detects and alert occupants of a building or the fire department of fire, control smoke to prevent possible suffocations and extinguish the fire. There should be a means of egress that is not blocked or locked and quick to access. This enables timely evacuation and relocation of occupants in a building in the case of emergencies ( Murphy, 2018 ). The egress should clearly state the number and size of occupants that can exit at a time. It should be in a simple language that can be understood and to give alternatives to the same. 

Effect of Building Construction about Firefighting Operations 

The interaction between the structure and the firefighters is essential to ensure effective and safe engagement with the fire. This situation should be considered since the firefighting process is a delicate one that endangers the lives of the firefighters and those of the people around. About 100 firefighters die annually due to accidents at the sight of the fire (Coffey, 2011). Additionally, one worker gets injured every six hours. The structure of the building offers different interfaces through which the firefighters plan and execute the extinguishing of the fire. 

Different structures have various types of construction material, occupancy, age, and size, which require different tactics when handling the fire. Continuous assessment is necessary to ensure that no firefighter’s life is put at risk in line with the International Association of Fire Chief's ten rules of engagement (Coffey, 2011). Therefore, for massive buildings like the steel and mortar or glass structures, considerable distance is vital during firefighting. The situation arises since the debris, and other appendages from these buildings are massive and can be deposited in far off areas. Therefore, the kind of equipment or operation techniques will need to support the extinguishing of the fire from a distance ( Coffey, 2011 ). When it comes to buildings with light materials such as wood and heavy timber, there will be a need for engagements from multiple sides of the building as the fire will spread very fast. 

These considerations about building will also help to determine the best approach when it comes to saving fire victims. The situation of firefighters getting into the building is during the fire is common ( Coffey, 2011 ). Understanding the building types will be vital in ensuring that the engagement with eth fire is less dangerous to their lives. For instance, for many Type IV and Type V houses, there would be a great danger in entering the building 5 minutes after the fire has already started ( Havel, 2012 ). When it comes to Type I and Type II houses, the firefighter will require heavy protective gear since the chances of bulky debris falling is high. Therefore, understanding the building types is essential in putting many lives to safety. 

Hazards Associated with Building Types 

Fires have different effects on different types of buildings. For instance, the fire resistive and combustible kind of premises is highly resistant to fires (BBC.com, 2016). In the case they catch it, it will take more time before the building is ravaged. However, for ordinary buildings, there are load-bearing walls and vents through which fires can weaken the building quickly. Therefore, if the areas are not safeguarded from the fire in time, there will be more massive damage to the structure due to the fire (BBC.com, 2016). As for heavy timber and wooden buildings, it will be challenging to contain fires. Therefore, it will take the fire a few moments to graze down lighter buildings such as heavy timber and wooden structures. 

Whichever the building type in question, the firefighters will have to contend with various risks. For instance, for the massive buildings, there will be the advantage of the fire not spreading too quickly (Liu, Zhao, Weng, & Liu, 2017). However, such buildings require slow and tactical approach during putting out of the fire since the heavy materials of the construction have higher chances to cause severe injury and even deaths (Havel, 2012). When it comes to lighter houses, the firefighters might have a strategic vantage position to extinguish it, but the fire spreads too fast. Thus the firefighting process will be more excruciating. 

Building Collapse and Awareness of Firefighters 

Building collapse puts the firefighters and neighboring individuals at significant risk. Fire restive building is made of heavy material and insulation coverings, thus when the material falls due to a fire, the team will have to prepare itself with adequate equipment to make it through the heavy debris (BBC.com, 2016). Non-combustible buildings also have minimal insulation, which leads to warping of steel or iron supports that cause building collapse (Fasny.com, 2016). Several incidences of such collapses lead to obstructions when firefighting. 

The floors and the joints in the building are the most vulnerable to collapses. Many cases of fatalities during a fire comes when the floor collapses and the people trapped or the firefighters who are trying to save them get disoriented (Havel, 2012). Load bearing joints also curve in quickly when the fire reaches them early. In this regard, these are the areas that the fighters need to focus on first to secure lives. Building collapse also entails considering eth effects of the building on fire on eth surrounding structures. Such efforts involve informing individuals in surrounding house to evacuate early enough. In the case where the collapse of architecture is not taken seriously, more fatalities could occur. 

In conclusion, it is essential that various firefighting codes and regulations are put into place when handling fires in different types of buildings. The situation ensures that the kind of engagement with the fire is safe and quick, which will save lives and reduce property. The ease or difficulty in putting out a fire depends on the nature of the building in question. Therefore, the construction process needs to place fire safety at the center of the building process. For examples, there ought to be several copies of the building design so that in case of a fire, the firefighters will determine the best way of engagement. Further, considerations fire situation will lead the owners of houses to determine which type of building to raise depending on factors such as the proximity to firefighters and the impacts of fire to neighboring structures and people. 

References 

Coffey, M. (2011). Building construction: How it effects your firefighting. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.carolinafirejournal.com/articles/article-detail/articleid/1465/building-construction-how-it-effects-your-firefighting 

Havel, G. (2012, April 24). Construction Concerns for Firefighters: Structural Collapse. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2012/04/construction-concerns-for-firefighters-structural-collapse.html 

Fasny.com. (2016, October 3). What Are We Getting Ourselves Into? Impacts of Modern Building Techniques on Firefighting Efficiency, Effectiveness and Safety. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://fasny.com/magazine_articles/getting-impacts-modern-building-techniques-firefighting-efficiency-effectiveness-safety/ 

Murphy, J. (2018, March 17). Building Fire Codes. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.firerescuemagazine.com/articles/print/volume-13/issue-2/departments/taming-the-fire-enviroment/building-fire-codes.html 

BBC.com. (2016, May 5). Five reasons why buildings collapse. Retrieved July 11, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36205324 

Liu, F., Zhao, S., Weng, M., & Liu, Y. (2017). Fire risk assessment for large-scale commercial buildings based on structure entropy weight method.    Safety science ,    94 , 26-40. 

Maluk, C., Woodrow, M., & Torero, J. L. (2017). The potential of integrating fire safety in modern building design.    Fire Safety Journal ,    88 , 104-112. 

Hu, Y. N. (2016). Research on the application of fault tree analysis for building fire safety of hotels.    Procedia Engineering ,    135 , 524-530.