Today’s evolving fireground demands a greater understanding of buildings, occupancy risk profiling (ORP) and building anatomy by all companies operating on the fireground. The identification, assessment, probability, predictability and intrinsic characteristics of building performance under fire conditions must not only be comprehended, but postulated into an adaptive fire-management model and flexible Incident Action Plan (IAP).Building types and classifications are formulative toward anticipating variables in structural integrity and resiliency to the effects of extreme fire behavior, accelerated fire-load package growth rates and intensity levels during initial and sustained fire suppression. Understanding the construction and uses of a building is integral to effective and efficient firefighting operations and essential for all phases of combat fire engagement and suppression.
Examining key insights into the manner in which buildings have been traditionally classified from a construction and code-compliance perspective will lead us to challenge today’s conventional wisdom.NFPA 220: Standard on Types of Building Construction, 2012 edition, promulgated and published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), defines standard types of building construction based on the combustibility and the fire-resistance rating of a building’s structural elements. Fire walls, non-bearing exterior walls, non-bearing interior partitions, fire barrier walls, shaft enclosures and openings in walls, partitions, floors and roofs are not related to the types of building construction and are regulated by other standards and codes, where appropriate.Insights and history. In 1952, the NFPA Committee on Building Construction secured tentative adoption of NFPA 220, Standard on Types of Building Construction, with subsequent revisions in 1954 and 1955. CHRISTOPHER J. NAUM, SFPE, a Firehouse ® contributing editor, is a 36-year fire service veteran and a national instructor, author and lecturer.
He is an authority on building construction issues affecting the fire and emergency services and a former fire command officer, architect and fire protection engineer. Naum is a technical reviewer to the NIOSH firefighter fatality investigation and prevention program and NFFF Firefighter Safety Advocate. Naum is the executive producer of buildingsonfire.com, a site dedicated to building construction, fire command and firefighter safety. He can be contacted at christopher.naum@gmail.com or at buildingsonfire.com. For expanded articles, follow his blog at Firehouse.com and on Facebook at Buildingsonfire.Suggestions for New Building Anatomy CategoriesRecently, there has been a movement based on emerging research and analysis that has categorized buildings into two groups: engineered and legacy construction.
I believe this is far too limiting and restrictive, which is resulting in missed opportunities to develop further insights into other building-type systems and occupancy risk profiling related to adaptive fireground management and operations.
Building Construction - Civil Engineering Lectures Course Notes ConstructionConstruction is the process of constructing a building or infrastructure. Construction differs from manufacturing in that manufacturing typically involves mass production of similar items without a designated purchaser, while construction typically takes place on location for a known client.
Building constructionBuilding construction is the process of adding structure to real property. The vast majority of building construction projects are small renovations, such as addition of a room, or renovation of a bathroom.
Often, the owner of the property acts as laborer, paymaster, and design team for the entire project.