Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Fire door
Fire-resisting wall
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Self-closing
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Final exit
Figure 9.6
Example of the horizontal subdivision within a fl oor which limits fi re spread and protects the means of
escape
by walls and/or fl oors, thereby restricting the growth and
spread of fi res in buildings.
Effective compartmentation limits the extent of
damage caused by the heat and smoke from a fi re,
which, in turn, will have direct and signifi cant implications
for the business continuity and resilience of occupants of
the building.
Compartmentation is also used as a means of
preventing fi re spread between adjacent buildings.
Compartmentation can be achieved horizontally within a
fl oor area or vertically between fl oors. Compartmentation
is also used to create areas of relative safety for
occupants escaping from fi re.
(f) Where individual compartments are too large and
exceed the limit for the standard of fi re resistance
proposed
(g) Where it is desirable or necessary for the occupants
to stay in a building involved in a fi re for as long as
possible, for operational or safety reasons, e.g. an
air traffi c control centre; intensive therapy unit, the
control centre of an oil rig.
Vertical
In multi-storey buildings, each storey of any non-domestic
building should be a separate compartment. Each
compartment should be capable of sustaining the
total destruction of the compartment involved without
permitting the fi re to spread to other fl oors. This vertical
compartmentation also protects occupants of the build-
ing who might have to pass the storey involved in fi re
while escaping. Finally vertical compartmentation also
provides a degree of protection to fi re fi ghters working
on storeys immediately above or below the fi re.
Horizontal compartmentation
In a single storey building or on any one level of a multi-
storey building, compartmentation can be applied:
(a) To meet travel distances requirements (see later)
(b) To enclose specifi c fi re hazards
(c) To assist progressive horizontal evacuation
(d) To assist a phased evacuation
(e) To separate areas of different:
Fire resistance
Compartment walls and other elements of structure are
normally required to have a degree of resistance to fi re.
Obviously any element of structure that was unable to
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Occupancy
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Risk category
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Standards of fi re resistance or
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Means of escape
