Date
6-2024
Degree Name
MS in Fire Protection Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Frederick Mowrer and Christopher Pascual
Abstract
The purpose of this report is to conduct a prescriptive and performance-based fire and life safety analysis of a building. The chosen building is a five-story building with a basement and uses construction type IB, primarily with steel framing with concrete fill over metal deck. The use of the building is manufacturing, assembly area, open concept office space, and storage, and the total area is approximately 104,000 square feet.
The prescriptive analysis covers the building and fire code requirements such as allowable height, stories, and area and all the fire protection systems in the building including the fire sprinkler system, fire alarm system, structural protection system, and egress system. The sprinkler system is an automatic wet sprinkler system supplied by municipal water. The fire alarm is an emergency voice/alarm communication system installed throughout the building and activated by various initiating devices such as water flow, smoke detectors, and pull stations. The structural protection requirements are governed by the construction type and are fulfilled using spray fire resistive material and intumescent paint. The egress system uses two primary interior exit access stairs to egress the building and open floor plans without corridors and some areas with unrated corridors. The building also includes a smoke control system and passive fire protection elements such as rated walls.
The second portion of the analysis is the performance-based analysis. There are three design fire scenarios presented, and one of them was analyzed to determine the available safe egress time.
The first scenario is a fire on the 4th floor open office area with office chairs, tables, and couches. A fire here is hazardous because it would block exit access to one of the interior exit stairs in the building.
The second scenario is a fire occurs in the basement in the warehouse space where a variety of industrial products are stored on closely spaced shelving. This fire is hazardous because of the large amount of fuel present resulting in high heat release, and impact to the structural protection system.
The third scenario is a fire in the second-floor assembly area with a dry Christmas tree near furniture. The smoke produced would fill the atrium and third-floor office area and impact the tenability of the space. This design fire was chosen because it represents a situation with a high fuel load that will impact the ability of the occupants on the third floor to egress.
The performance-based analysis was based on the third scenario. It was chosen because the fire in any portion of the atrium can vertically spread to other floors and affect those occupants. The products of combustion transport and heat transfer are modeled in FDS with the goal of evaluating ASET on the third floor. The RSET on the third floor is evaluated and determined to be 10.5 min. The ASET is based on a visibility level and temperature and is not exceeded at any time in the model. The tenability conditions are assumed to improve after the end of the model.
The prescriptive analysis indicates that the building follows the building and fire codes. The performance-based analysis indicates that the building is adequately designed for the chosen design fire.
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/fpe_rpt/181
Final Presentation