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Fundamental Concepts for Design of Special Hazard and

Fire Alarm SystemsChapter 1

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Objectives

• List the items that comprise a set of contract documents for the design of a special hazard or fire alarm system

• List the categories of drawings that comprise a contract drawing package

• Explain the differences among the categories of contract drawings

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Objectives

• Evaluate a set of contract drawings to determine the value of each drawing relative to the accurate development of a special hazard or fire alarm system design

• Explain the problems associated with the designer of a special hazard or fire alarm system failing to reference drawings relevant to fire protection systems in a contract drawing package

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Objectives• List the divisions of the contract

specifications• Explain the relationship between a set of

contract drawings and the contract specifications

• Determine the divisions of the specifications that are of most value to the development of a fire protection system design

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Objectives

• Identify the problems that could develop if the contract specifications conflict with the contract drawings

• List the items that should be found in every designer’s survey kit

• Perform a survey of a building to be used for the design of a fire protection system

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Objectives

• Survey and accurately determine dimensions of a reflected ceiling plan

• Survey a building using the structural elements as the primary points of reference

• Field-check a drawing of a fire protection system

• Perform metric conversions where appropriate 6

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Objectives

• Evaluate design objectives for special hazard suppression systems

• Know the characteristics that define a special hazard

• Evaluate branches of the Fire Safety Concepts Tree

• Know the difference between prescriptive and performance-based design

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Fire Protection as a Profession• Fire professionals are dedicated to saving

lives• Serious errors or less than minimal fire

protection can lead to death• Application of technical knowledge is

fundamental• Ethical behavior on the same level as

technical knowledge

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Fire Protection Engineers and Technicians

• Fire protection engineer: – Licensed professional engineer – Can apply science and engineering to protect

the public from the impacts of fire

• Fire protection technician: – Achieved NICET Level III of IV certification in

the appropriate subfield – Knowledge, experience and skills necessary

to lay out fire protection systems

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Fire Protection Engineers and Technicians

• Functions of a fire protection engineer– Fire protection analysis– Fire protection management– Fire science and human behavior– Fire protection systems– Passive building systems

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Fire Protection Engineers and Technicians

• Functions of a fire protection engineer – Evaluation of the hazards and protection

schemes required to develop a workable, integrated solution to a fire safety problem

– Preparation of design documents– Layout of fire protection systems

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Fire Protection Engineers and Technicians

• Functions of a fire protection engineer (co– Affixing a professional seal to documents– Review fire protection installation shop

drawings for compliance with engineer’s design– Monitor installation of fire protection systems– Responsibility for designing and maintaining

competency through continued education

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Fire Protection Engineers and Technicians

• Functions of a fire protection technician– The system layout in accordance with the

engineer’s design– Shop drawings in accordance with the

engineer’s design or as otherwise permitted by state regulations

– Supplemental calculations based on the engineer’s design

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Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)• Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ): individual or agency

who reviews and approves drawings and completed installations

• Examples of AHJs– Municipal permitting organization– Fire prevention officer of the municipality– Insurance company– Governmental organization– Code official

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Metric Conversions, Significant Figures, and Rounding

• Metric Conversion Act of 1975: requires conversion to the metric system for all federal projects by 1992

• Buildings not designed using the metric system can cause problems

• Most fire protection calculations performed with two significant figures to the right of the decimal point

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Metric Conversions, Significant Figures, and Rounding

• Metric units

Quantity Unit SymbolLength Meter m

Mass Gram g

Time Second s

Temperature Kelvin K

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The National Fire Protection Association

• Publishes more than 290 codes, standards, recommended practices, and guides for fire safety and design of fire protection systems

• Codes: mandatory requirement suitable for adoption into law

• Standards: mandatory NFPA requirements that may be used to approve a fire protection system

• Recommended practices: NFPA documents that provide non mandatory advice

• Guides: informative NFPA documents

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Oral, Written, and Graphic Communication

• Fire protection professionals depend on the ability to clearly communicate complex ideas to a wide audience

• Communications skills include written communication, oral communication, and graphic communication

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Graphic Communication: Drawing Fire Protection Systems• Graphic communication - conveyed through

drawings• Drawing: graphic representation of a

designer’s ideas• Computer-aided design (CAD):

computerized method of preparing drawings• Fire protection system drawings are drawn

to scale

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Graphic Communication: Drawing Fire Protection Systems

Figure 1-1 Computer aided design process for fire drawings

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Figure 1-4. An architect’s scale is needed for design of fire protection systems

Graphic Communication: Drawing Fire Protection Systems (con’t.)

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Graphic Communication: Drawing Fire Protection

Systems • Drawing medium - the reproducible

surface on which a drawing exists• Size of the print medium must be larger

than the drawing you are printing, to allow room for notes and a title block

• Cover sheet of a contract drawing contains a wealth of information for the fire protection designer

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Site (Underground) Drawings

• Civil drawings: coordinate underground utilities entering and leaving a building or group of buildings

• Profile plan: shows reference elevations with respect to finished grade

• Invert elevation: references the bottom of a pipe with respect to the reference elevation

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Architectural Plans

• Architectural drawings: drawings that show dimensions of walls, floors, ceilings, and other building features

• Plan job: design performed using new architectural plans as the basis for design

• Survey job: a project involving an existing building for which plans cannot be obtained

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Structural Drawings• Structural drawings: provide details

related to the floors, roof, and structural elements of a building

• Foundation plans: show floor and wall structural details and sectional views

• Framing plans: show beam and joist size and elevation

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HVAC Drawings• HVAC drawings: heating, ventilating, and

air conditioning drawings• Supply diffuser: ceiling element used to

distribute fresh air to a room• Return diffuser: ceiling element used to

draw stale air from a room• Plenum space: space above a

suspended ceiling that is kept under negative pressure for return air

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Plumbing Drawings

• Designated in the contract set with a “P” prefix

• May show fire protection system piping layout or schematic

• Water supply and other fire protection-related information may be in the plumbing general notes

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Fire Protection Contract Drawings

• Strong preference in the profession to display all fire protection and detection requirements on a separate set of contract drawings

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Electrical Drawings

• Contract drawing set has an “E” prefix• Useful to special hazard and fire alarm

system designers• Provide the location and power

requirements of lighting and other electrical devices

• Locations of other electrical devices may also be shown on electrical drawings

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Specifications• Developed by architects and engineers from

– Standardized computer specification database – Revisions to specifications for a project that

may conflict with the contract drawings

• Performance specification: a general specification that provides the minimum information necessary to estimate, design, and install a fire protection system

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Specifications

• Detailed specification: requirements for the design of a fire protection system– Little latitude for interpretation or alternatives

• Specification divisions: categories of building component groupings standardized by the Construction Specifications Institute

• Specification sections: detailed requirements for each CSI division

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Specification Division Numbers and Titles

• Procurement and Contracting Requirements Group

• General Requirements Subgroup• Facility Construction Subgroup• Facility Services Subgroup• Site and Infrastructure Subgroup• Process Equipment Subgroup

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Specification Division Numbers and Titles

• Fire protection systems and fire alarm systems are within Division 21

• Formerly part of Division 15• Change resulted in better coordination and

reduced conflict between two different contractors or subcontractors

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Fire Protection Surveys

• Survey: investigation of a building and its components to take detailed measurements of the building as a reference for a fire protection drawing

• Get your bearings• Determine the general building layout• Bring proper survey equipment

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Fire Protection Surveys (con’t.)

Figure 1-11. Survey equipment

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Fire Protection Surveys • Survey building details• Develop a system design strategy• Building elevations and ceiling

measurements• Water supply information• Draw the building, layout the system, field-

check the drawing and inspect the system after installation

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Special Hazard Suppression Systems

• Protects hazards not amenable for protection by an automatic sprinkler system

• Special hazard categories– Large quantities of flammable liquids– Facilities containing valuable or irreplaceable

commodities– Facilities where water may pose a danger

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Special Hazard Suppression Systems

• Special hazard categories – Automatic sprinkler systems are not always

fast enough for effective suppression– Mobile facilities where the transport of water is

unfeasible– Facilities where service loss is intrinsically

linked to facility loss or water damage– Facilities where high-tech research lost by fire

or water damage could be significantly more than the dollar loss

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Design Approaches for Special Hazard Design

• Requires evaluation of design objectives and design concepts, and implementation of design methodology

• Design objectives– Property protection and preservation– Life safety and preservation– Business continuity– Protection of the environment

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Design Approaches for Special Hazard Design

• Design concepts: Fire Concepts Safety Tree (see Figure 1-13, Page 40)

• Design methodologies– Prescriptive design: direct use of national,

local, or manufacturer standards to design a suppression or detection system

– Performance-based design: an engineering approach to fire protection design (see Figure 1-14, Page 43)

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Figure 1-14. Steps in the Performance-Based Analysis and the Conceptual Design Procedure for Fire Protection Design

Design Approaches for Special Hazard Design

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Summary

• Must understand differences between a fire protection engineer and a fire protection technician

• Knowledge of oral and written communication and media is essential, particularly computer-aided design

• Contract documents consist of contract drawings and specifications

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Summary • Contract drawings consist of the cover

sheet and civil, architectural, structural HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and electrical drawings

• All documents used to minimize conflicts or omissions that could affect performance of a fire protection system

• Specifications generally take precedence over contract drawings

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Summary • Specifications divided into specification

divisions• Specifications for fire suppression systems

are located in Division 21• Fire alarm systems are in Division 28• An organized and well-planned strategy

for conducting a survey assures a successful result

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Summary

• Fundamental approaches, objectives, concepts, and methodologies related to special hazard and fire alarm design must be understood and evaluated before commencing design