Life Safety Report. XYZ Office Building. Denver Colorado. Prepared by: Keith Dix Monday, June 3, 2013

Transcription

1 Life Safety Report XYZ Office Building Denver Colorado Figure 1 - XYZ Building West Side Prepared by: Keith Dix Monday, June 3, 2013 Culminating Project FPE 596 California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo 1

2 Statement of Disclaimer This project report is a result of a class assignment; it has been graded and accepted as fulfillment of the course requirements. Acceptance of this report in fulfillment of the course requirements does not imply technical accuracy or reliability. Any use of information in this report is done at the risk of the user. These risks may include, but may not be limited to, catastrophic failure of the device or infringement of patent or copyright laws. California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and its staff cannot be held liable for any use or misuse of the project. Key words: XYZ Building, ASET, RSET, Performance Based Design, Sprinkler, Fire Alarm. 2

3 Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES... 6 LIST OF TABLES... 8 LIST OF EQUATIONS... 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 9 OUTLINE INTRODUCTION PROJECT SCOPE HISTORY LOCAL FIRE PROTECTION Water Supply PROJECT CODES & STANDARDS THE BUILDING BUILDING SIZE FIRE DEPARTMENT ACCESS BUILDING FLOOR PLAN REQUIRED SEPARATION CODE ANALYSIS SUMMARY FIRE RESISTANCE INTERIOR FINISH OCCUPANCY EXTERIOR FIRE PROTECTION BUILDING EGRESS OCCUPANT LOAD ND FLOOR EGRESS ANALYSIS nd Floor Travel Distance nd Floor Exit Locations nd Floor Exit Widths nd Floor Egress Capacity Stairs/stair enclosures nd floor egress analysis summary ST FLOOR EGRESS ANALYSIS Access control st floor, number of exits st floor exit travel distance st floor exit locations st floor exit widths st floor Egress Capacity FIRE SAFETY PLAN/PERFORMANCE BASED DESIGN PART I Definitions Fire Evacuation Plans Fire Safety Plan Maintenance of Plan Availability of Plan Emergency Evacuation Drills PART II Goals

4 Stakeholder and design objectives Performance criteria Design Fire Scenarios Trial Designs Evaluate Trial Designs Select Final Design Documentation FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS WATER SUPPLY SPRINKLER LOCATIONS HANGING AND BRACING FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS CODES AND STANDARDS INITIATION NOTIFICATION Current draw Audibility Visibility Installation Maintenance PERFORMANCE- BASED DESIGN RSET DEFINED Detection time Alarm Time Pre- movement Time Reaction time Pre- evacuation activity time Travel Time ASET DEFINED PERFORMANCE- BASED EGRESS ANALYSIS GOALS DESIGN FIRES Design Criteria BUILDING EVACUATION TIME nd floor st floor Alternate Main Exit Scenario SHIPPING AREA FIRE Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) Shipping area fire Detection Time Alarm time Pre- movement time Reaction time Pre- evacuation activity time Travel time Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) Shipping area fire ASET/Shipping area - Temperature ASET/Shipping area Carbon Monoxide ASET/Shipping area Visibility

5 ASET/Shipping area Smoke Layer Height TYPICAL OFFICE AREA FIRE Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) Office Area Fire Detection Time Alarm time Pre- movement time Reaction time Pre- evacuation activity time Travel time Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) Office Fire ASET/Office fire Temperature ASET/Office fire Carbon Monoxide ASET/Office fire Visibility ASET/Office fire Smoke Layer Height FIRE ALARM INITIATION PERFORMANCE- BASED ANALYSIS SUMMARY APPENDIX A FDS FILES FDS FILE - SHIPPING FIRE FDS FILE - OFFICE FIRE APPENDIX B - FIRE SPRINKLER CALCULATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY

6 List of Figures Figure 1 - XYZ Building West Side... 1 Figure 2 - XYZ Building North Side Figure 3 - Aerial view of site Figure 4 - XYZ Building, South side shipping area Figure 5 Floor plan, 1 st Floor Figure 6 - Floor Plan, 2nd Floor Figure 7 - Conference room separation Figure 8 - Door label Figure 9-1st Floor North Figure 10-1st Floor South Accessory areas Figure 11-2nd Floor Accessory areas Figure 12-2nd Floor Exits Figure 13-1st Floor Exits Figure 14 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition Figure 15 - Water Supply location Figure 16 - Figure NFPA Edition Figure 17 - Water Supply curve Figure 18-2nd Floor Design area and sprinkler locations Figure 19-1st Floor North Sprinkler locations Figure 20-1st Floor South Sprinkler locations Figure 21 - Example Fire Alarm components Figure 22 - Figure A (d) NFPA Edition Figure 23 - Smoke Detector placement 1st floor Northwest Figure 24 - Smoke Detector placement 1st floor Northeast Figure 25 - Smoke detector placement 1st floor South Figure 26 - Smoke detector placement 2nd floor Figure 27 - Figure FPHB 20th Edition Figure 28 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition Figure 29 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition Figure 30 - Figure of FPHB 20th Edition

7 Figure 31 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition Figure 32 - RSET Shipping Fire Figure 33 - ASET Shipping fire Figure 34 - ASET Shipping area FDS/Temperature Figure 35 - ASET Shipping area FDS/CO Figure 36 - ASET Shipping area FDS/Visibility Figure 37 - ASET Shipping area FDS graph/smoke Layer Height Figure 38 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition Figure 39 - RSET Office fire Figure 40 - ASET Office Fire Figure 41 - ASET Office area FDS/Temperature Figure 42 - ASET Office area FDS/CO Figure 43 - ASET Office area FDS/Visibility Figure 44 - ASET Office area/ FDS graph Smoke Layer Height Figure 45 - DETACT Entry Lobby Figure 46 - DETACT Main Break room Figure 47 - DETACT Open Office area Figure 48 - DETACT 2nd Floor corridor Figure 49 - DETACT 2nd Floor office Figure 50 - ASET/RSET Shipping area fire Figure 51 - ASET/RSET Office area fire

8 List of Tables Table 1 - Table 503 of 2009 IBC Table 2 Table IBC Table 3 - Table 715.4, 2009 IBC Table 4 - Code Analysis Summary Table 5 - Table IBC Table 6 - Table IBC Table 7 - Fire Resistance Table 8 - Table IBC Table 9 - Occupant Load Table 10 - Table IBC Table 11 - Table NFPA Edition Table 12 - Table (a) NFPA Edition Table 13 - Battery calculations Table 14 - Table A NFPA Edition Table 15 - dba output of Horn/Strobes Table 16 - Table (a) NFPA Edition Table 17 - Table FPHB 20th Edition Table 18 Table FPHB 20th Edition Table 19 - Table FPHB 20th Edition Table 20 - Table FPHB 20th Edition List of Equations Equation 1 - IBC Equation Equation 2 - IBC Equation Equation 3 - Allowable area increase formula solved

9 Executive Summary This report is a Life Safety Analysis of the XYZ building in Colorado. It is a government contract facility and as such prefers that its real name and location not be utilized for this report. The building was assessed prescriptively using the 2009 International Building Code (IBC) and was found to be predominantly compliant with the code and the relevant referenced standards 1. The building was then assessed using a Performance Based Design in accordance with methodologies found and addressed in common fire protection literature 2. The Design Criteria chosen to determine tenability for the Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) were Carbon Monoxide of 1200 ppm, Visibility of 6 meters, Temperature of 60 C and a Smoke Layer Height of 2 meters off the floor. Two Design Fire Scenarios were used to assess whether the tenability criteria could be met within the Available Safe Egress Time (ASET). The first fire was situated in the storage area of the shipping and receiving area. This was considered the highest challenge fire in the building. The second fire was a common office fire located on the 2 nd floor as distal as possible from a means of egress. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Smokeview were utilized to assess the time for the Design Criteria to be met and thus the ASET. Additionally, various calculations were performed by hand using formula obtained from the above referenced sources to calculate egress times and the RSET. 1 Although the 2009 IBC references NFPA standards that were published prior to 2009, the owner chooses to use the next newer editions, e.g. the 2010 Editions of NFPA 72 and SFPE Handbooks 3 rd and 4 th Editions, the Fire Protection Handbook 20 th Edition and various NFPA standards. 9

10 All tenability criteria were met within the RSET with the exception of the Smoke Layer height, which failed by approximately 3 minutes in the office fire scenario and failed by 1 minute in the shipping area fire. Outline The XYZ Life Safety report will follow this basic outline; 1) Building History 2) Building Description 3) Code Analysis a) Passive Fire Protection i) Building construction type ii) Fire resistance b) Occupant load 4) Egress Analysis a) Prescriptive b) Performance Based 5) Fire Safety Plan 6) Automatic Sprinkler protection 7) Fire Alarm & Detection 8) Performance Based Analysis 9) Summary 10

11 Introduction The XYZ building is located in the Denver metropolitan area in a large light-commercial area. It performs low-level governmental functions internationally and as such would prefer that its name and specific location not be given. This report will be utilized by the agency for further studies and evaluation of the building with the end goal to save tax dollars and utilize the building as safely as is reasonable. Project Scope The XYZ building is a government contract building undergoing a fire and life safety reevaluation to ascertain where it stands in relation to the 2009 International Building Code (IBC). The intent is to then upgrade where, and if, needed to meet all of the requirements of the IBC and the owners goals. Figure 2 - XYZ Building North Side 11

12 History The original code used for the construction of XYZ has been lost to history, as have the drawings. The building was constructed in the early 90 s with some areas apparently being used for manufacturing at some point in the buildings history. Several tenant improvements and occupancy changes appear to have occurred since the building was built. Since then, it appears that the building has been appropriately maintained and utilized as a Business occupancy. All access roads and points are well maintained and are of adequate width. All active fire protection systems are current with their respective Inspection, Testing and Maintenance (ITM). Local Fire Protection The building receives fire protection from an ISO grade 3 (ISO, 1996) and Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) accredited fire department (of which there are fewer than 200 across the country) with response times for second arriving apparatus of less than five minutes. Water Supply The local water purveyor has a very good relationship with the fire department and communicates any concerns regarding the availability of water and any issues with fire hydrants. All hydrants are flushed and flowed to ensure their quality annually, to the degree reasonable, and to assess their flow rate. This information is then passed on to the local fire Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) and their Fire Prevention Bureau (FPB). All outages are communicated to the FPB and to the dispatch center for the fire department to ensure that first responders are made aware of any water concerns when responding to the report of a fire. Project Codes & Standards This report will not encompass all of the referenced codes and standards applicable to the XYZ building. This reports scope is solely a life safety report and as such the major relevant codes and standards applied to this analysis are; 2009 International Building Code 2009 International Fire Code 2010 NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems 12

13 2010 NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code 2011 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code (NEC) 2009 NFPA 101 Life Safety Code 2008 NFPA 2001 Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems 2010 ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators The owner is choosing to use the most current NFPA standards despite the referenced editions in the ICC codes. The Building Figure 3 - Aerial view of site XYZ is an office building with an atypically high amount of accessory areas including the stereotypical conference and storage areas. The building is being assessed as a Type IIB construction with the intent of meeting the requirements of the 2009 IBC. 13

14 Figure 4 - XYZ Building, South side shipping area Building size The XYZ building is a 57,948 ft 2 building with a 1st floor area of 47,171 ft 2. This is greater than the base allowable area criteria of the IBC of 23,000 ft 2 per floor. Table 1 - Table 503 of 2009 IBC The 23,000 ft 2 allowable area is increased by using the 2009 IBC (utilizing Equation 5-1) and (utilizing Equation 5-2) to 86,250 ft 2 per floor as follows; 14

15 Equation 1 - IBC Equation 5-1 Equation 2 - IBC Equation 5-2 Equation 3 - Allowable area increase formula solved This brings the allowable area to well beyond the existing square footage. 15

16 Fire Department Access The access roads meet all local fire AHJ requirements promulgated by the 2009 IFC IFC Buildings and facilities. Approved fire apparatus access roads shall be provided for every facility, building or portion of a building hereafter constructed or moved into or within the jurisdiction. The fire apparatus access road shall comply with the requirements of this section and shall extend to within 150 feet ( mm) of all portions of the facility and all portions of the exterior walls of the first story of the building as measured by an approved route around the exterior of the building or facility. Exception: The fire code official is authorized to increase the dimension of 150 feet ( mm) where: 1. The building is equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section , or The access is also maintained per the IFC IFC Specifications. Fire apparatus access roads shall be installed and arranged in accordance with Sections through Dimensions. Fire apparatus access roads shall have an unobstructed width of not less than 20 feet (6096 mm), exclusive of shoulders, except for approved security gates in accordance with Section 503.6, and an unobstructed vertical clearance of not less than 13 feet 6 inches (4115 mm) Surface. Fire apparatus access roads shall be designed and maintained to support the imposed loads of fire apparatus and shall be surfaced so as to provide allweather driving capabilities. 16

17 Building Floor Plan The XYZ building has two stairways that connect the 1st and 2nd floors as shown in the figures and highlighted in Green. The corridor and elevator lobby, both 1-hour rated, are shown in red. Figure 5 Floor plan, 1 st Floor 17

18 Figure 6 - Floor Plan, 2nd Floor Required Separation There is additional separation requirement based on the IBC between Assembly areas and the Business occupancy itself. Table 2 Table IBC The only assembly area with an occupant load greater than 50 persons is a conference room (McMurdo Conference room) that is approximately 3000 ft 2 and has an occupant load of 200. This assumes an occupant load factor for unconcentrated tables and chairs, i.e. 15 ft 2 /person. 18

19 Per the IBC; 2009 IBC Assembly Group A. Assembly Group A occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for the gathering of persons for purposes such as civic, social or religious functions; recreation, food or drink consumption or awaiting transportation. Exceptions: 2. A room or space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons and accessory to another occupancy shall be classified as a Group B occupancy or as part of that occupancy. Upon inspection it appears that the conference room does meet the separation requirements IBC Separation. Individual occupancies shall be separated from adjacent occupancies in accordance with Table Construction. Required separations shall be fire barriers constructed in accordance with Section 707 or horizontal assemblies constructed in accordance with Section 712, or both, so as to completely separate adjacent occupancies. Figure 7 - Conference room separation Openings and penetrations appear compliant with the 2009 IBC Openings, 715 Opening Protectives and Penetrations IBC Door assemblies in corridors and smoke barriers. Fire door assemblies required to have a minimum fire protection rating of 20 minutes where located in corridor walls or smoke barrier walls having a fire-resistance rating in 19

20 accordance with Table shall be tested in accordance with NFPA 252 or UL 10C without the hose stream test. Table 3 - Table 715.4, 2009 IBC Figure 8 - Door label All of the openings in the conference room appear to be appropriate and have their appropriate doorway labels and listings. 20

21 Code Analysis Summary Parameter 2009 IBC Reference Construction Type IIB 602 Occupancy Type B 304 Allowable base area/floor 23,000 ft 2 Table 503 Allowable area increase size 86,250 ft Actual size - 57,948 ft 2 Accessory use areas 1st floor 23% Accessory use areas 2nd floor 10% Corridor rating 0 hour Table Building elements fire resistance rating 0 hour Table 601 Exterior fire resistance rating 0 hour Table 602 Interior finish - Exit Enclosure - B Table Corridor, rooms, enclosed spaces - C Table Fire Separation - Business/Assembly - 1 hour Table Exit Access Travel distance allowed feet Table Actual Exit Access Travel distance feet Common Path of Egress Travel allowed feet Actual Common Path of Egress Travel - 20 Feet Design occupant load 873 persons 1004 Egress capacity of 1st floor exits 2,340 persons Automatic Fire Sprinkler System NFPA Compliant Addressable Fire Alarm System NFPA 72 Central Station monitored 2010 Compliant FE-13 Special Hazard system in computer room NFPA Compliant Table 4 - Code Analysis Summary 21

22 Fire Resistance The building appears to meet all of the fire resistance rating requirements for a IIB construction. No fire resistance ratings are required for the framework, bearing and non-bearing walls, roof and floor construction. Table 5 - Table IBC Interior Finish The Interior Finish appears to be compliant with Table of the 2009 IBC. This requires that the XYZ building maintain a B rating for flame spread in the enclosed stairway and a C rating in the corridor and rooms/enclosed spaces IBC Interior wall and ceiling finish materials. Interior wall and ceiling finish materials shall be classified in accordance with ASTM E 84 or UL 723. Such interior finish materials shall be grouped in the following classes in accordance with their flame spread and smoke-developed indexes. Class A:=Flame spread index 0-25; smoke-developed index Class B:=Flame spread index 26-75; smoke-developed index Class C:=Flame spread index ; smoke-developed index

23 Occupancy Table 6 - Table IBC The building is primarily a B occupancy as defined per the IBC as follows; 2009 IBC Business Group B. Business Group B occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts. Business occupancies shall include, but not be limited to, the following: Professional services (architects, attorneys, dentists, physicians, Additionally the building is equipped with multiple accessory occupancy areas as defined by the IBC; 2009 IBC Accessory occupancies. Accessory occupancies are those occupancies that are ancillary to the main occupancy of the building or portion thereof. Accessory occupancies shall comply with the provisions of Sections through Area limitations. Aggregate accessory occupancies shall not occupy more than 10 percent of the building area of the story in which they are located and shall not exceed the tabular values in 23

24 Table 503, without building area increases in accordance with Section 506 for such accessory occupancies Occupancy classification. Accessory occupancies shall be individually classified in accordance with Section The requirements of this code shall apply to each portion of the building based on the occupancy classification of that space. The accessory spaces are all germane to the occupant s global responsibility and are needed to conduct its mission, such as; A large computer room Medical area Fitness area An assortment of assembly areas Storage areas Miscellaneous office support areas These accessory areas comprise 23% of the first floor and 10% of the second floor. These are all shown in figures 9, 10 & 11. The accessory use areas include; 5,571 ft 2 of Assembly area o This includes the smaller assembly areas that may be classified as B per the IBC as follows; 2009 IBC Assembly Group A. Assembly Group A occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for the gathering of persons for purposes such as civic, social or religious functions; recreation, food or drink consumption or awaiting transportation. Exceptions: 1. A building or tenant space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons shall be classified as a Group B occupancy. 2. A room or space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons and accessory to another occupancy shall be classified as a Group B occupancy or as part of that occupancy. 3. A room or space used for assembly purposes that is less than 750 square feet (70m 2 ) in area and accessory to another occupancy shall be classified as a Group B occupancy or as part of that occupancy. 2,969 ft 2 of Storage space 1,105 ft 2 for the Ambulatory Health-care area 850 ft 2 for the exercise room 24

25 150 ft 2 for the Kitchen 132 ft 2 for the Library Figure 9-1st Floor North 25

26 Figure 10-1st Floor South Accessory areas 26

27 Figure 11-2nd Floor Accessory areas 27

28 Exterior Fire Protection The exterior of the building is approximately 70 feet from the only adjacent building to the North. This results in no fire resistance rating requirements for the exterior as illustrated in Table 602 of the IBC below. Table 7 - Fire Resistance 28

29 Building Egress The building has a multitude of exits equally spaced around the perimeter of the building. All of the exits lead directly and abruptly to a viable exit discharge that is a safe distance from the building. Occupant load The design occupant load of the building is based on following section of the IBC; 2009 IBC Design occupant load. In determining means of egress requirements, the number of occupants for whom means of egress facilities shall be provided shall be determined in accordance with this section. Where occupants from accessory areas egress through a primary space, the calculated occupant load for the primary space shall include the total occupant load of the primary space plus the number of occupants egressing through it from the accessory area. Table 8 - Table IBC 29

30 Occupant Load Design Occupant Occupancy Classification Square Footage Factor Load Ambulatory Health Care Assembly Business Exercise Room Kitchen Library Storage Total Table 9 - Occupant Load Areas without fixed seating. The number of occupants shall be computed at the rate of one occupant per unit of area as prescribed in Table For areas without fixed seating, the occupant load shall not be less than that number determined by dividing the floor area under consideration by the occupant per unit of area factor assigned to the occupancy as set forth in Table Where an intended use is not listed in Table , the building official shall establish a use based on a listed use that most nearly resembles the intended use. Table 10 - Table IBC 30

31 Given the accessory areas and their usage, the occupant load of the building is calculated as 873 persons, broken down as shown in the table below. This design occupant load is used for calculating other parameters of construction such egress requirements. 2 nd Floor Egress Analysis There are 2 stairways that travel from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor. With an occupant load of 126 persons on the 2nd floor there is a requirement of 2 exits per the IBC. IBC Exits from stories. All spaces within each story shall have access to the minimum number of approved independent exits as specified in Table based on the occupant load of the story. The second floor Stairway A located adjacent to the main entry and shown in figure 12 is not enclosed and as such needs to invoke another portion of code to be allowable under the concept of having two exits from the 2 nd floor. Emphasis added for clarity. Figure 12-2nd Floor Exits 31

32 2009 IBC Travel distance limitations. Exits shall be so located on each story such that the maximum length of exit access travel, measured from the most remote point within a story along the natural and unobstructed path of egress travel to an exterior exit door at the level of exit discharge, an entrance to a vertical exit enclosure, an exit passageway, a horizontal exit, an exterior exit stairway or an exterior exit ramp, shall not exceed the distances given in Table Exceptions: 3. In other than occupancy Groups H and I, the exit access travel distance to a maximum of 50 percent of the exits is permitted to be measured from the most remote point within a building to an exit using unenclosed exit access stairways or ramps when connecting a maximum of two stories. The two connected stories shall be provided with at least two means of egress. Such interconnected stories shall not be open to other stories. 4. In other than occupancy Groups H and I, exit access travel distance is permitted to be measured from the most remote point within a building to an exit using unenclosed exit access stairways or ramps in the first and second stories above grade plane in buildings equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section The first and second stories above grade plane shall be provided with at least two means of egress. Such interconnected stories shall not be open to other stories. 2nd Floor Travel Distance The exit access travel distance from the most remote point to Stairway A is approximately 100 feet as illustrated with the top green dashed arrow in figure 12. This is a reasonable circuitous path given the office furniture and cubicles in the open-office area. This is also the longest Common Path Limit for the 2nd floor. Stairway A, as already stated, is not a rated exit enclosure however, and thus the actual travel distance needs to be measured continuing down the stairs to the 1st floor and to the nearest exit. The requirements per the IBC ; 2009 IBC Common path of egress travel. In occupancies other than Groups H-1, H-2 and H-3, the common path of egress travel shall not exceed 75 feet ( mm). In Group H-1, H-2 and H-3 occupancies, the common path of egress travel shall not exceed 25 feet (7620 mm). For common path of egress travel in Group A occupancies and assembly occupancies accessory to Group E occupancies having fixed seating, see Section Exceptions: 1. The length of a common path of egress travel in Group B, F and S occupancies shall not be more than 100 feet ( mm), provided that the building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system installed in accordance with Section for sprinklered existing buildings is 100 feet for the Common Path Limit. 32

33 If a straight line measurement (Figure 12 red arrow) is used then the distance is 74 feet. There are no Dead-End corridors greater than 20 feet, which meets the 50 foot maximum Dead-End limit per the IBC IBC Dead ends. Where more than one exit or exit access doorway is required, the exit access shall be arranged such that there are no dead ends in corridors more than 20 feet (6096 mm) in length. Exceptions: 2. In occupancies in Groups B, E, F, I-1, M, R-1, R-2, R-4, S and U, where the building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section , the length of the dead-end corridors shall not exceed 50 feet ( mm). 2 nd Floor Exit Locations The diagonal distance for the 2nd floor of the building is approximately 151 feet. The remoteness of the exits are required to be greater than ⅓ the diagonal distance of the area per the IBC IBC Two exits or exit access doorways. Where two exits or exit access doorways are required from any portion of the exit access, the exit doors or exit access doorways shall be placed a distance apart equal to not less than one-half of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimension of the building or area to be served measured in a straight line between exit doors or exit access doorways. Interlocking or scissor stairs shall be counted as one exit stairway. Exceptions: 2. Where a building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section or , the separation distance of the exit doors or exit access doorways shall not be less than one-third of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimension of the area served. On the second floor the distance between Stairway A and Stairway B is approximately 83 feet. 2 nd Floor Exit Widths Prescriptively, the required minimum door opening width per of the IBC is 32. All of the doors in the building are either 36 or 72 with clear widths of 33 and 66 respectively Size of doors. 33

34 The minimum width of each door opening shall be sufficient for the occupant load thereof and shall provide a clear width of 32 inches (813 mm). Clear openings of doorways with swinging doors shall be measured between the face of the door and the stop, with the door open 90 degrees (1.57 rad). The required corridor width per the IBC is IBC Corridor width. The minimum corridor width shall be as determined in Section , but not less than 44 inches (1118 mm). The existing 2 nd floor corridors are nd Floor Egress Capacity The egress capacity of the 36 exit doors are [(33 )/(0.2 /person)]=165 persons each based on the IBC IBC Minimum required egress width. The means of egress width shall not be less than required by this section. The total width of means of egress in inches (mm) shall not be less than the total occupant load served by the means of egress multiplied by 0.3 inch (7.62 mm) per occupant for stairways and by 0.2 inch (5.08 mm) per occupant for other egress components. The width shall not be less than specified elsewhere in this code. Multiple means of egress shall be sized such that the loss of any one means of egress shall not reduce the available capacity to less than 50 percent of the required capacity. The maximum capacity required from any story of a building shall be maintained to the termination of the means of egress. The 44 corridors provide an exit capacity of [(44 )/(0.2 /person)] =220 persons. Either stairway entry door can meet the design occupant load of 126 persons. Stairs/stair enclosures The stairs are standard 7 riser and 11 depth and are all 44 stairs which per the IBC provides a capacity of [(44 )/(0.3 /person)]=147 persons. This provides a total egress capacity from the 2nd floor of 294 persons based on stairway egress width. With the 2 nd floor stairways having the lesser capacity of the three egress elements of 147 persons (between the doorway, stairway and corridor), they are the limiting element in the egress pathway for the 2 nd floor. 34

35 2nd floor egress analysis summary After assessing the corridors, doors and stairways for the 2 nd floor, the controlling or limiting element in the egress system is the stairways that have an egress capacity of 147 persons. Stairway A is a nonrated exit, which meets the exceptions of the code. 1st Floor Egress Analysis The 1 st floor has an abundance of well-maintained exits. There is however only one public entry into the building located at the top of the monument stairs on the West side. The shipping area has a Steel roll-up door and a man door. Access control The building has an access control system, which allows key-card entry by all employees at all of the exits. The public entry on the West side is access controlled only during non-business hours. Egress is unhampered and code compliant with all doors having mechanical free egress. 1 st floor, number of exits The 1st floor has an occupant load of 747 persons. Per the IBC and Table (See Table 10 of this report) it is required to have three, however it has eight. 1st floor exit travel distance The Common Path of Egress travel is less than 50 feet in all areas that is well with the 100-foot requirement of IBC Additionally the travel distance limit of 300 feet is met in all areas. The longest distance measured is shown below with a Common Path of Egress travel of less than 30 feet and an exit travel distance of 130 feet. Again, there are no Dead-End corridors greater than 20 feet, which meets the 50-foot maximum Dead-End limit per the IBC. 1st floor exit locations As seen in Figure 13, there are ample exits spaced evenly around the perimeter of the building with a well-maintained and adequate exit discharge. All of the 1 st floor exits meet the spacing requirements of the IBC for three or more doors IBC Three or more exits or exit access doorways. Where access to three or more exits is required, at least two exit doors or exit access doorways shall be arranged in accordance with the provisions of Section

36 1st floor exit widths All double doors used as exits have 66 clear exit width. The single doors have 33 clear exit width. The total egress width available is 429. Figure 13-1st Floor Exits 1st floor Egress Capacity The egress capacity of all the exits is [(468 )/ (0.2 /person)] =2145 persons. This far exceeds the egress requirements for an occupant load of 747 persons for the 1st floor alone and greatly exceeds the total egress requirements for a building of 873 persons. Each 72 exit has an exit capacity of 330 persons. Each 36 door has an exit capacity of 165 persons. If the Main Entry/exit and the dedicated shipping area exit were subtracted from the total available egress width of there would still be a capacity of 1650 persons with 6 the remaining available exits. 36

37 Fire Safety Plan/Performance Based Design The Fire Safety Plan presented is based on 404 of the 2009 IFC. It is then followed by an outline of a Performance Based Design for the fire safety of the building and the life safety of the occupants. Part I The building being assessed is a two story 57,948 ft 2 Type III construction office building classified as a Business (B) occupancy and built or upgraded In Accordance With (IAW) the International Building Code. All interior areas are sprinklered with a Wet-pipe automatic fire sprinkler system, with the exception of the IT/computer room, which is protected by a Special Hazard system. The requirement for a fire safety and evacuation plan stems from the 2009 IFC, 404. The layout of this plan blatantly follows the IFC in structure to highlight its adherence to the document. Definitions Alternate Designated Staging Areas in the event that the Designated Staging Area is not able to be utilized, or an individual is not able to reach their Designated Staging Area, all personnel shall have an alternate area to respond to which shall be designated as their Alternate Designated Staging Areas. Area of Rescue Assistance a designated safety area for a person(s) to stage at while awaiting rescue assistance. This shall be an area that is reasonably safe from fire for a reasonably safe period of time and preferably meets the requirements of the IBC/IFC. Building Maintenance Supervisor the person responsible for all upkeep and maintenance activities within the building. Designated Staging Area the specific area that a specific person is assigned to stage at during an emergency. 37

38 Designated Staging Area Supervisor the designated person responsible for a specific Designated Staging Area whose primary responsibility is for the accounting of all personnel that are to respond to that area. Additionally, they shall be responsible for communication with the Facility Supervisor to advise them of the status of all of the personnel they are responsible for. Facility Supervisor the designated person responsible for overseeing the orderly accounting of all personnel within the facility. Fire Safety Plan the written plan that outlines the responsibilities of personnel and the procedures to be followed in an emergency. Incident Commander the person in command of the incident. This may be a fire department officer in the case of a fire or a police officer in the case of a different situation. Fire Evacuation Plans The building size, number and location of exits and the character of the occupants are such that upon activation of a fire alarm the entire building shall be evacuated. This encompasses limited numbers of occupants needing recue assistance as addressed later in the report. 2. The IT computer area is critical to the facilities ongoing operation and contains potentially irreplaceable data. This area is located immediately adjacent to an exit on the North side of the building. As such, four designated and trained individuals shall respond to the computer area upon activation of any alarm to ascertain whether immediate suppression by handheld extinguisher(s) is feasible. Two individuals shall stage outside of the computer area and near the entry to the North exit while the other two shall assess the computer room for prompt fire suppression viability. 3. Although there are currently no personnel designated as needing rescue assistance, there shall be a daily update made with the Facility Supervisor and with the designated individuals who will have the responsibility for any rescue assistance required This will include a daily update of who is trained and available for assistance If evacuation is deemed unreasonable for the person requiring assistance then an Area of Rescue Assistance shall be designated for the person(s) needing assistance. 38

39 This area, and the personnel requiring assistance, shall be recorded in the fire safety plan and delivered to the Incident Commander upon arrival of first responders. 4. All employees shall respond to their Designated Staging Areas upon activation of the fire alarm The Designated Staging Area Supervisor shall account for all of their people and report to the Facility Supervisor any missing personnel The Incident Commander shall be made aware of any missing or unaccounted for personnel by the Facility Supervisor. 5. All personnel shall be aware of their assignment(s) and responsibility(s) and shall be trained and made aware of any medical or rescue duties. This shall be in writing and posted in all areas as part of the Fire Safety Plan All personnel shall be familiar with alternate assigned responsibilities as defined by the Facility Supervisor. 6. The building fire alarm system shall be utilized for all emergencies requiring evacuation of the building. Manual activation of the system by activating/pulling a manual pull station located at the entry to each exit shall be the preferred method of actuation. 7. The fire alarm system is monitored by a central station monitoring company and is responsible for notifying the appropriate first responders, e.g. the fire department. The Facility Supervisor shall also be responsible for calling 911 to ensure that appropriate action is being taken by the monitoring company. 8. The Fire Safety Plan shall list all building personnel having authority over operations and responsibilities for continued operations. This shall include primary and secondary contact numbers for the following personnel and their alternates; 8.1. The Facility Supervisor 8.2. The Building Maintenance Supervisor 8.3. The building security supervisor 8.4. The designated fire sprinkler contractor 8.5. The designated fire alarm contractor 39

40 9. A weekly test of the fire alarm system shall be conducted during business hours. This shall be done at a predetermined time to ensure that all appropriate notifications are made to the fire department dispatch center and the fire alarm monitoring company All notification appliances shall be visually and audibly inspected for operational functionality during this test The Facility Supervisor shall ensure that the tests are randomly timed throughout the day All personnel shall be aware of, and familiar with, the temporal three tone pattern and their responsibilities upon hearing the tone. Fire Safety Plan The location of the facility is such that an emergency 911-telephone call should have the appropriate first responders arrive in a reasonable amount of time. For a fire emergency, the fire alarm system has both automatic and manual activation methods. If a fire is found and the fire alarm system has not already been activated then a manual pull station shall be activated. 2. The life safety strategy utilized for this building is to evacuate as completely as possible. Any personnel who are unable to self-egress are required to make this known ahead of time so that appropriate measures can be taken for either assistance or relocation to an Area of Rescue Assistance by designated and trained individuals. 3. The occupancy assembly points shall be at the distal property boundaries of the North, South, East and West sides of the building. The Facility Supervisor shall stage at the West side Fire apparatus will likely be utilizing the fire hydrant located on the street directly to the West of the main entry. Because of the distance and circuitous nature of the driveway and parking lot the fire department has stated that they will likely be connecting to this hydrant and laying hose from the street, up the driveway, and to approximately the front of the building. Personnel needing to egress through this path need to be acutely aware of potential fire department operations Fire apparatus will be arriving and staging typically on the West and South sides of the building however, because of the size of these areas, they have adequate space to conduct operations without our personnel competing for space or being in their way. If 40

41 the Incident Commander requires any of our personnel to move or stage elsewhere we shall comply immediately and make the Facility Supervisor aware of this move. 4. All assigned personnel to the building shall be aware of the following locations; 4.1. Exits 4.2. Evacuation Routes 4.3. Accessible egress routes 4.4. Area of Rescue Assistance 4.5. Manual Pull Stations 4.6. Portable Fire Extinguishers 4.7. Fire Alarm Controls 5. There are no process hazards located within the building however there is a janitors closet with daily use quantities of typical household cleaners. 6. The Building Maintenance Supervisor is responsible for the maintenance of all life and fire safety systems. For the testing, inspection and maintenance of those items which he does not have the proper training or experience, he will be responsible for delegating and contracting with the appropriately qualified companies to perform these tasks. 7. The Building Maintenance Supervisor shall be responsible for ensuring that all quantities of potentially hazardous chemicals are properly stored and that they do not exceed the allowable quantities. Maintenance of Plan This plan shall be reviewed and updated; Annually, at a minimum, for accuracy and completeness. When any key personnel leave or change roles. When there are any changes to the character of the structure. When there changes to the character of the occupants. When there are changes or additions to any process or storage. When there are changes to life or fire safety system. Availability of Plan All personnel shall receive a copy of the plan and any revision to the plan, with a rev date as appropriate. A central copy, and revisions, shall be archived on the computer system and be 41

42 available for download. All personnel will be responsible and accountable for a hardcopy during the weekly evacuation drill. Emergency Evacuation Drills 405 Per the 2009 IFC Table and the facility is required to have a fire and evacuation drill annually with all the employees participating. The drill shall be coordinated by the Facility Supervisor and shall be started by the activation of the fire alarm system. The fire alarm monitoring company shall be notified prior to activation of the system to ensure their awareness of the test. Communication will also take place with the fire department to invite their participation as desired. Each drill will have an accounting of the following information, as required by the IFC; 1. Identity of the person conducting the drill. 2. Date and time of the drill. 3. Notification method used. 4. Staff members on duty and participating. 5. Number of occupants evacuated. 6. Special conditions simulated. 7. Problems encountered. 8. Weather conditions when occupants were evacuated. 9. Time required to accomplish complete evacuation. When the drill is finished, the Designated Staging Area Supervisor shall notify their personnel when the drill is over and when personnel are clear to reenter the building. A debriefing of all responsible participants shall be scheduled, and take place, after the drill. The debriefing shall communicate any problems or situations that occurred which need to be corrected. Part II The Performance Based Design outline shall follow the SFPE Engineering Guide to Performance-Based Fire Protection and Chapter 11 3 Overview of Performance-Based Fire Protection Design from the Fire Protection Handbook 20 th Edition. See the Figure from 42

43 the 20 th Edition of the Fire Protection Handbook for the flowchart of this process Figure 14 of this report. Project Scope The Project Scope for our building will consist of the fire and life safety for the structure and its occupants. Goals The Performance Based Design Goals for the fire and life safety of the facility are as follows; Life safety ensure that all occupants who are not intimate with the fire are capable of self or aided egress within a safe period of time. Property protection ensure that the structure and its contents are reasonably safe from fire. Continuity of operations ensure that the operational aspect of the mission is protected and that any mission downtime is minimized. 43

44 Figure 14 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition 44

45 Stakeholder and design objectives 1. Zero fire fatalities directly attributable to the effects of fire. 2. No fire related injuries to those who are not intimate with the fire. 3. Keep fire damage confined to the room or area of origin. Performance criteria 1. Maintain CO levels below 1200 ppm in all areas that are not intimate with the fire. 2. Maintain a visibility of at least 6 meters. 3. Prevent the 2 meter layer temperatures from reaching 120 C in all areas. 4. Prevent the smoke layer height from descending below 2 meters. Design Fire Scenarios Given that the facility is a relatively common layout office building, the breadth of fire scenario possibilities is fairly limited in complexity. The typical area is an office with varying degrees of Class A combustibles and varying degrees of common electrical ignition sources, e.g. computers and their periphery, lamps and the occasional space heater. There are however large open office areas with cubicles that would allow for a large unimpeded fire growth scenario. NFPA 101, 2009 edition, has a very explicit list of design fire scenarios that are well suited to our structure. Fire Scenarios 1 and 6 will be used for this report as follows; 2009 NFPA * Design Fire Scenario 1. Design Fire Scenario 1 shall be described as follows: (1) It is an occupancy-specific fire representative of a typical fire for the occupancy. (2) It explicitly accounts for the following: (a) Occupant activities (b) Number and location (c) Room size (d) Furnishings and contents (e) Fuel properties and ignition sources (f) Ventilation conditions (g) Identification of the first item ignited and its location A fire in an average office that goes undetected could progress into the large open office space adjacent to it when the door is opened. In this scenario a portable electric/electronic device, such as a radio, is the ignition source. Even though the quantity of combustibles is typically low to moderate in an office the probability of having an ignition source intimate with a fuel sufficient 45

46 to cause flaming combustion is very high. As the fire progresses it will involve more secondary fuels very rapidly and if unabated would likely continue to flashover quickly NFPA * Design Fire Scenario 6. Design Fire Scenario 6 shall be described as follows: (1) It is the most severe fire resulting from the largest possible fuel load characteristic of the normal operation of the building. (2) It addresses the concern regarding a rapidly developing fire with occupants present. The Shipping and Receiving area with an adjacent storage area has, at times, the highest fuel load in the building. It is also adjacent to the largest open area with densely packed office cubicles. Multiple electrical ignition sources are present in the area in the form of portable electronic devices, computer equipment and its periphery. A fire ignition source could propagate from smaller and lighter fuels to larger HRR fuels in several locations. There are no Class B fuels stored or utilized in the area and as such Class A combustibles are the only fire concern. Unabated, a fire in the storage area could propagate to the shipping area and spread. Trial Designs The Design Fire Scenario #1 would likely proceed through flashover without a system in place to ameliorate its progress. If the doors to the area were opened during its late incipient stage or free burning stage the fire would also likely extend into the open office area, which has a considerable quantity of combustibles and open space. With double fire rated doors this is unlikely however. For this scenario and trial design the combination of active and passive fire protection measures in place will be assessed on their ability to prevent or slow the forward progress of the fire. The ignition and progress of the fire are as described in the Fire Scenario #1; however, in the incipient stage of the fire it will likely be detected by the Fire Alarm system. The Fire Alarm system is equipped with photoelectric detectors in the area connected to a Silent Knight model 5820 intelligent Fire Alarm Control Unit, which will activate the notification appliances and start the evacuation process for the building. Additionally, the fire alarm monitoring company will notify the fire department, which has a response time of less than 5 minutes to the facility. By policy and in accordance with the emergency plan, if anyone becomes aware of the fires location 46

47 and is reasonably close to its location, they are encouraged to safely assess the situation for potentially being able to extinguish it with a portable handheld extinguisher. This amplifies the need to ensure that all personnel are appropriately trained in the usage of portable handheld extinguishers. If the fire is not promptly extinguished and continues to grow then the automatic fire sprinkler system will activate to control the fire. The sprinkler system is designed for the control of a fire however it has a high degree of likelihood of extinguishing the fire. If the sprinkler system does not extinguish the fire the products of combustion will propagate to the open office area where it will likely be controlled by more sprinkler heads. The Design Fire Scenario #6 is the Shipping and Receiving area with an adjacent storage area. This fire would progress from an incipient stage fire to a potentially large HRR fire if it continued unchecked. For this scenario there is a combination of active and passive fire protection measures used. In its incipient stage the fire will likely be detected by the smoke detectors. As already mentioned in the previous Trial Design, this building has a monitored fire alarm system that upon activation will result in notification of the occupants, the fire department and trained responders within the facility. The small occupant load in the area and the proximity of the exits makes the risk of any reasonable fire to the few occupants very slight. The twin fire rated openings into the open office area make a catastrophic fire communicating with the densely populated area of the adjacent open office very unlikely. Training for this unlikely worst-case event necessitates proper and frequent training of the occupants. The egress of the occupants in the shipping area through the open office area, in the event of the shipping area s exit door being obstructed, could result in products of combustion entering the office area but would likely be minimal due to the doors being self-closing fire doors. Evaluate Trial Designs The evaluation of the Trial Designs will be done at a later in this report and will utilize; The parameters cited in the objectives and criteria using accepted and validated equations from sources such as the SFPE handbook. FDS and Smokeview. 47

48 Performing FRA and PRA to evaluate whether the calculated risk of the design(s) meet the requirements of management. Quantifying an acceptable level of uncertainty and safety factor. Select Final Design Alterations to the buildings passive or active fire and life safety systems, if any, will be based on the outcomes gleaned from this report. Documentation The Documentation of the Performance Based Design will, and should, be completed after the Final Design is decided on. This will catalog all of the requirements that were put in place to meet the finalized criteria and objectives. This may include fire and life safety items that are beyond a prescriptive code requirement, or it may dictate a decreased level of certain requirements that meets or exceeds the prescriptive requirements. Examples of items needing to be cataloged include; 1. Fire Alarm system requirements 2. Fire Sprinkler requirements 3. Passive building construction requirements 4. Ventilation requirements 5. Housekeeping requirements 6. Training standards for the occupants 6.1. Fire Drills 6.2. Extinguisher training 6.3. Fire Evacuation Plan 48

49 Fire Protection Systems All interior areas are sprinklered with the exception of the IT/computer room, which is protected by a NFPA 2001 compliant Special Hazard system. The system is a Wet-pipe system throughout with the riser room located as shown. Residual hydrant 10 Flow direction 8 Riser Flow hydrant Figure 15 - Water Supply location The overall occupancy hazard classification for this commercial building, which is classified as a Business occupancy per the 2009 International Fire Code (IFC), is calculated as a Light Hazard occupancy per 5.2 of the 2010 edition of NFPA 13. Based on this, a design density of 0.10 gpm/ft 2 over an actual area of 1555 ft 2 is used for the Light Hazard area(s). The storage area is calculated as an Ordinary II Hazard due primarily to the 49

50 storage in the shipping area. The overall design, as placarded, has a demand of gpm at psi. See Appendix B for the hydraulic calculations. Figure 16 - Figure NFPA Edition The 250-gpm hose allowance is based on requirements gleaned from and Table Water Supply The water supply for the building is from a municipal underground system being fed by an 8 cement lined ductile iron Class 50 fireline tied into a 10 water supply in the street. The fire-line to the building is approximately 150 feet in length. The latest water supply data shows a static pressure of 105 psi, a flow of 1556 gpm at a residual pressure of 90 psi. Table 11 - Table NFPA Edition 50

51 The velocity pressure of 86 psi was measured with a pitot gauge and the flow calculated as illustrated by the equation - Flow = 29.84cd 2 p v. The flow test performed by the local fire jurisdiction was on a 2 ½ hydrant outlet with a coefficient of 0.9. The sprinklers used in the building are all ordinary temperature standard response pendant sprinklers. There are no areas requiring intermediate or high temperature sprinklers. All obstruction criteria, based on NFPA 13, have been addressed on installation/maintenance of the system. No signs of MIC are readily apparent and no laboratory tests have been performed to look for it. Note that the scale used below is scale C. Figure 17 - Water Supply curve 51

52 Sprinkler locations The sprinkler head locations are shown in figures 9, 10 and 11. To the degree accessible, all aboveground piping appears to be schedule 40 iron pipe with Class 125 fittings. All fittings and joining methods are in compliance with NFPA 13 and manufacturers requirements. Figure 18-2nd Floor Design area and sprinkler locations The design area is the second floor North contiguous open office area. The coverage areas and spacing of sprinkler heads appears to be within design parameters for Ordinary Hazard occupancies, i.e. coverage areas less than 130 ft 2. This was verified by a long time occupant of the building who stated that prior to the current B occupancy there was a manufacturing facility occupying the building. This would explain the Ordinary Hazard spacing of sprinkler heads and the abundant water supply size feeding the building. 52

53 Figure 19-1st Floor North Sprinkler locations 53

54 Figure 20-1st Floor South Sprinkler locations 54

55 Hanging and Bracing The Denver metro area has no bracing requirements due to its low seismic zone per the IBC Chapter 16. Hanging requirements appear to be met with all visible hangers spaced appropriately per the 2010 edition of NFPA 13. Table 12 - Table (a) NFPA Edition 55

56 Fire Alarm Systems The fire alarm for XYZ office building has been upgraded to meet the full requirements of the 2010 Edition of NFPA 72 and the following codes and standards as it relates to fire alarm. Figure 21 - Example Fire Alarm components Codes and Standards Only those relevant to fire alarm shall be listed; 2009 International Building Code 2009 International Fire Code Local Fire Code amendments o Full detection and notification throughout the building 2010 NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code 2011 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code 2010 ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators The building has an NFPA 72 compliant fire alarm system monitored by a UL 827 listed Central Station; however, the occupant will not have a contract for Central Station Service as defined by NFPA et seq. The componentry is as follows; 1. Silent Knight Intelliknight 5820XL Addressable Fire Alarm system 2. Silent Knight SK-Acclimate multi-criteria detector 56

57 3. Silent Knight SK-Photo detector 4. Silent Knight SK-Heat detector 5. Kidde PEGAsys FE-13 system a. Wheelock Series HS4-24 Horn/Strobes Initiation For illustrative purposes the building floors are enlarged to provide a better perspective for the placement of devices and components. The layout of the fire alarm system is prescriptive with the placement of initiating devices per Chapter 17 of NFPA 72. NFPA 72 references ASME A17.1 for initiating devices used for elevator recall and shunt-trip, or commonly referred to as Phase I and Phase II Firefighter recall. Coverage is based on the NFPA foot square per * In the absence of specific performance-based design criteria, smooth ceiling smoke detector spacing shall be a nominal 30 ft (9.1 m). ; additionally, the concept of the 21 foot radius circle is used throughout for design purposes as illustrated in the NFPA 72 excerpt as shown at right. Areas requiring multiple devices have their respective 21 foot circles shown in the following placement figues to clarify coverage. All devices are placed with due regard for HVAC clearances IAW NFPA Location. Smoke detectors shall not be located directly in the airstream of supply registers. Figure 22 - Figure A (d) NFPA Edition 57

58 Figure 23 - Smoke Detector placement 1st floor Northwest 58

59 Figure 24 - Smoke Detector placement 1st floor Northeast 59

60 Figure 25 - Smoke detector placement 1st floor South 60

61 Figure 26 - Smoke detector placement 2nd floor 61

62 Notification Notification is the heart of a fire alarms ability to get people out of a fire situation in a sufficient period of time to minimize risk. Current draw The appliances that are connected to the Fire Alarm Control Panel s (FACP) Notification Appliance Circuits (NAC) are shown below with their concomitant current draws and resultant battery calculations. Total Total Standby Alarm Number of Standby Alarm Appliance current current components Current Current HS4 High (99) dba HS4-24MCW 75 cd HS4-24MCWH 185 cd Intelliknight 5820XL Total Standby current draw = Standby current draw x 24 hours = Total Alarm current draw = Alarm current draw x 5 minutes (0.083 hours) = Total Amp-Hours (AH) = Total Amp-Hours (AH) x 20% = Table 13 - Battery calculations 62

63 The balance of the horn strobes are connected to 6 auxiliary addressable power supplies, each supply having a capacity of 6 amps total. Audibility The audible appliances meet all of the requirements of NFPA 72 and its referenced UL listings for audible appliances. The average ambient Sound Pressure Levels (SPL) as measured by an ANSI S1.4a, Specifications for Sound Level Meters, listed meter, fall reasonably within the parameters of the Annex material for NFPA 72, i.e. 55 dba for Business occupancies. This then provides guidance for the needed SPL s per the IBC. Table 14 - Table A NFPA Edition 2009 IBC Average sound pressure. The audible alarm notification appliances shall provide a sound pressure level of 15 decibels (dba) above the average ambient sound level or 5 dba above the maximum sound level having a duration of at least 60 seconds, whichever is greater, in every occupiable space within the building. The minimum sound pressure levels shall be: 75 dba in occupancies in Groups R and I-1; 90 dba in mechanical equipment rooms and 60 dba in other occupancies Maximum sound pressure. The maximum sound pressure level for audible alarm notification appliances shall be 110 dba at the minimum hearing distance from the audible appliance. Where the average ambient noise is greater than 95 dba, visible alarm notification appliances shall be provided in accordance with NFPA72 and audible alarm notification appliances shall not be required. 63

64 The 87 dba generated with the appliances set on Code 3 Horn High is quantitatively sufficient to meet the requirements of NFPA 72. The XYZ building meets or exceeds the audibility requirements in the approximately 85% of areas assessed. Table 15 - dba output of Horn/Strobes Visibility The visible appliances are located in all common and public areas per the IBC IBC Public and common areas. Visible alarm notification appliances shall be provided in public areas and common areas. All visible appliances are synchronized per the requirements of NFPA Edition NFPA Visible notification appliances shall be installed in accordance with Table (a) or Table (b) using one of the following: (1) A single visible notification appliance (2) Two visible notification appliances located on opposite walls (3)*Two groups of visible notification appliances, where visual appliances of each group are synchronized, in the same room or adjacent space within the field of view. This shall include synchronization of strobes operated by separate systems Table 16 - Table (a) NFPA Edition 64

65 (4) More than two visible notification appliances or groups of synchronized appliances in the same room or adjacent space within the field of view that flash in synchronization. Since all notification appliances within the XYZ building are wall mounted, only Table 20 ( (a) of NFPA 72) is provided as a reference in this analysis. Installation All appliances are installed meeting the spacing requirements of NFPA 72 and the mounting requirements as well NFPA Appliance Location * Wall-mounted appliances shall be mounted such that the entire lens is not less than 80 in. (2.03 m) and not greater than 96 in. (2.44 m) above the finished floor or at the mounting height specified using the performance-based alternative of All appliances are maintained clear of obstructions and are in good working order as attested to by an annual system testing and inspection. All work appears to be in compliance with NFPA 70 the National Electric Code (NEC) specifically Article Edition NFPA Mechanical Execution of Work. Fire alarm circuits shall be installed in a neat workmanlike manner. Cables and conductors installed exposed on the surface of ceilings and sidewalls shall be supported by the building structure in such a manner that the cable will not be damaged by normal building use. Such cables shall be supported by straps, staples, cable ties, hangers, or similar fittings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable. The installation shall also comply with 300.4(D). Maintenance Per XYZ s facility maintenance individual, they follow NFPA 72 s requirement for all Inspection, Testing and Maintenance (ITM) performed on the fire alarm system. In addition they adhere to the suggestion in the related annex material for the qualifications and thus require NICET II personnel for their ITM. This is also a requirement of the local fire AHJ * Service Personnel Qualifications and Experience. Service personnel shall be qualified and experienced in accordance with the requirements of A Service personnel should be able to do the following: 65

66 (1) Understand the requirements contained in NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, and the fire alarm requirements contained in NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (2) Understand basic job site safety laws and requirements (3) Apply troubleshooting techniques, and determine the cause of fire alarm system trouble conditions (4) Understand equipment specific requirements, such as programming, application, and compatibility (5) Read and interpret fire alarm system design documentation and manufacturer s inspection, testing, and maintenance guidelines (6) Properly use tools and test equipment required for testing and maintenance of fire alarm systems and their components (7) Properly apply the test methods required by NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code All maintenance records appear to be in order and compliant with NFPA

67 Performance- based Design A Performance-based Design (PBD) utilizing design fires based on Chapter 5 of the 2009 Edition of NFPA 101, the Life Safety Code, were used to determine whether the tenability limits of these fires would be met in less than the ASET. This was done using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Smoke-view. Figure 27 - Figure FPHB 20th Edition RSET defined The Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) is the summation of the time steps involved in the egress of all occupants from an area or building. In Figure 28 above, adding the individual time elements results in the total time required for egress. All of these factors are modulated by human behavior and/or technology, which make definitive calculations for a Required Safe Egress Time very subjective and largely dependent on the assumptions made. Detection time In the fires in these scenarios we will assume that we have an active and appropriately operating fire alarm system with automatic smoke detection. In the absence of a functioning fire alarm system this timeframe would be extended to the time for human sensing of the fire. 67

68 Alarm Time With an operable fire alarm system this time is negligible. However as noted under Detection Time this time can be lengthened by the fire alarm system being inoperable. If the automatic initiating devices are inoperable then this time is the time for human sensing of the fire followed by activation of a manual pull station to activate the fire alarm s notification appliances. If the fire alarm system is completely inoperative, or the NAC circuits are inoperative, then this time frame becomes greatly extended to involve the notification of personnel by way of either personally telling groups or individuals or notifying them by some other electronic means, e.g. an Emergency Communication System (ECS). XYZ does not currently have an ECS system in place for the employees however they are considering a pager system or its analogy to communicate emergency information in a targeted manner to its employees. In the case of a fire alarm it would be an all-call advising everyone to evacuate the building. Pre- movement Time The time from notification to the time egress actually begins. Several factors play into this time from a human behavior and characteristic perspective. These factors are different for the different occupancy classifications and venues that people live, work and visit. Characteristics such as, but not limited to, the following have all been studied and found to effect the movement of people in fire situations; Age Gender Sensory impairment Physical impairment Emotional maturity The salient features of a typical Business occupancy person are such that they are physically capable of self-egress (or have appropriate alternatives in place), they are typically sensory aware of their surroundings and they have the mental faculties needed to be able to self-egress. In the XYZ building these personal characteristics are bolstered by frequent training and drills that emphasize the duties and responsibilities of all personnel within the building. These were discussed in-depth in the fire safety plan. 68

69 Reaction time Along with the alarm and notification times we must also recognize the time it takes for an occupant to recognize that a fire alarm is going off. In the XYZ building there are no unescorted guests and thus a Public Mode audible notification signal will be either recognized by all trained occupants or communicated to any guests as such. Pre- evacuation activity time After recognition of an alarm occurs immediate evacuation is required of most occupants in the XYZ building. There may however be those who have sensitive material they need to safeguard so their timeframes may be extended. Additionally, the ordinary time spent collecting cold weather clothing, purses etc. will account for an undefined period of time. Travel Time The travel time will be calculated based on characteristics of the egress components and the occupants. This is the empirically based calculation of the time from where an occupant starts evacuating until they are clear of the exit discharge. ASET Defined The Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) is gleaned from tenability criteria for the occupants as defined by the Design Criteria. Performance- based egress analysis Goals The goals for the XYZ building as elucidated earlier are; Life safety for the occupants Property protection for the building Mission continuity Design Fires Two fire scenarios were modeled to determine whether the egress system as a whole within the XYZ building was robust enough to ensure the safe egress of all personnel within a reasonable period of time. Both fires were modeled assuming that the sprinkler head in the area that was 69

70 intimate with the fire was either obstructed externally by architectural or decorative features or had an internal obstruction due to silt build-up or a foreign body obstruction such as a rock. All other sprinklers were left operational and activated as expected in a timely manner. The fires were then assessed to determine the timeframe before the area became untenable. 70

71 Design Criteria Most of the design criteria chosen were based on lecture material provided by Dr. David Rich while teaching at Cal Poly. The criteria are further strengthened in their usefulness by references cited in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) SFPE Handbook, 3 rd Edition. The criteria are; Carbon Monoxide level 1200 ppm o The level of CO that becomes dangerous is very time and case dependent and involves many different factors. All of the factors involve the level of incapacitation on a personal basis. Factors that influence this level of incapacitation on a personal level include an individuals age, health and level of exertion. The fires CO production is going to be based on both its inherent CO yield and the level oxygenation available for the fire, i.e. a ventilation controlled or limited fire will likely produce more CO than a fuel limited fire. The SFPE Handbook provides Figure that illustrates that at 1200 ppm there is an approximate 22-minute time to incapacitation in monkeys (usually considered analogous to humans). Figure 28 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition 71

72 Visibility 6 meters o The visible pathway that an occupant has will alter their perception of whether it is safe to egress or whether they decide to stay in place or possibly defend in place. Most occupants will turn back if a discernable path is not in front of them. This varies with all of the other human behavior characteristics so a strict quantitative figure does not exist. 6 meters or roughly 20 feet appears to be a reasonable figure based on information from the Cal Poly lecture series. Smoke layer Height 2 meters o Once the smoke layer decreases below 2 meters or approximately 6 feet the likelihood of occupants moving through smoke to egress starts to dwindle. Temperature - 60 C o As temperature increases the level of fatigue on an evacuating occupant increases. This concomitantly increases the respiratory rate and the likelihood of respiratory damage or acute respiratory failure (Braen, 1992). Figure 29 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition 72

73 Building Evacuation time 2 nd floor The evacuation time for the XYZ building will be analyzed based on the calculation methodology provided in the 20 th edition of NFPA s Fire Protection Handbook (FPHB), specifically 4 chapter 2 Calculations Methods for Egress Prediction (Cote & Grant, 20th Edition) by Rita Fahy. This information had its genesis in the 3 rd edition of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering (Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 2002), specifically 3 chapter 14 Emergency Movement by Harold E. Bud Nelson and Fred W. Mowrer. In order to calculate the time required to egress the 2 nd floor, we must first determine the Calculated Flow (F c ) rate through the stairs, corridors and doors for the 2 nd floor. This will determine which egress component allows the fewest persons through per minute and is thus the critical piece of the egress system. Table 17 - Table FPHB 20th Edition Figure 30 - Figure of FPHB 20th Edition 73

74 The stairways within the building are 44 stairways. Per Table 11, 6 on each side of a stairway shall be subtracted for a boundary layer. This layer accounts for lateral bodysway while walking on stairs and provides a more realistic available width in terms of egress known as Effective Width (W e ). In this case the W e is [44 -(2*6 )] =32 or 2.67 feet. Table 18 Table FPHB 20th Edition The maximum flow rate of people through the W e of the stairs is then needed. This has been empirically derived and is known as the Maximum Specific Flow (F sm ). The FPHB states Specific flow, F s, is the flow of evacuating persons past a point in the exit route/unit of time/unit of effective width, W e, of the route involved. (Cote & Grant, 20th Edition). F sm, as derived from Figure 15 accounts for the density of persons in the egress element and also takes into account the egress element itself, i.e. stairs. F sm is tabulated for the user in Table 12 and in the case of our 7:11 stairs is 18.5 persons/min/ft of W e. The Calculated Flow (F c ) is equal to the Maximum Specific Flow (F sm ) times the Effective Width (W e ) which is [(18.5 persons/minute/foot)*2.67 feet] = 49.4 persons/minute. Table 19 - Table FPHB 20th Edition 74

75 The maximum flow rate of people through the W e of the doors are now needed. Utilizing Table 12 we obtain an F sm of 24 for doorways. We then multiply F sm times the We of the doors. For a 34 door (utilizing Table 11for door boundary layers) the W e is [34 - (2*6)] = 22 or 1.83 feet. F c is then calculated as [(24 persons/minute/foot)*1.83 feet] = 44 persons/minute. The 44 corridors are allotted 8 boundary layers, per Table 11, on each side which provides an W e of [44 -(2*8 )]=28 or 2.33 feet. With a F sm of 24 persons/min/ft of W e from Table 12, we get an F c of [(24 persons/minute/foot)*2.33 feet] = 56 persons/minute. Because of the 34 door only allowing 44 persons/minute, the stairway allowing 49.4 persons/minute and the corridor allowing 56 persons/minute, we will use the lower and more conservative calculated flow through the door in determining our egress time for the 2 nd floor. With an occupant load of 126 people split between two exits on the 2 nd floor, and an egress capacity of 44 persons/minute, it will take [(63 persons)/(44 persons/minute)] = 1 minute 26 seconds to evacuate the 2 nd floor. In order to determine the evacuation time from the building for the 2 nd floor we must now determine travel speeds within the stairway. The speed of travel into the exit stairway and down the stairs is assessed based on the formula from the FPHB for the speed of exiting individuals, S=k-akD where; S is the speed along the line of travel. k=212 and is based on a constant provided in Table 13. a=2.86 and is a constant for SI units. D=0.175 and is based on the density of people in persons/unit area that provides the maximum specific flow. Thus our speed is [212- (2.86*212*0.175)] = 106 feet/minute. Table 20 - Table FPHB 20th Edition 75

76 Taking into account the travel distance within and on the stairs requires the use of Table 14 to convert vertical floor separation and stair geometry to straight-line travel distance. In this case with a 7:11 stair a conversion factor of 1.85 is used and multiplied by the distance between floors of twelve feet resulting [12 feet*1.85] = 22.2 feet. The provided stair landings are 48 in the direction of egress travel for each flight, which means an additional 16 feet for a total of 38.2 feet worth of travel distance per floor. Dividing the distance traveled by speed we get [(38.2 feet)/(106 feet/minute)] = 22 seconds to traverse the stairs from the second floor. The 22 seconds is added to the 1 minute 26 seconds to evacuate the 2 nd floor, which gives a total of 1 minute 48 seconds for the egress time of the 2 nd floor. 1 st floor With eight 1 st floor exits we will make certain assumptions initially as to their use in calculating the egress time for the building; such as, the Main Entry being used to its fullest capacity and most other exits being used optimally and uniformly. The Main Entry/exit door has a clear width of 72. Using a boundary layer of 6 as suggested by Table 11 provides a W e of 58, or 4.83 feet, for the Main Entry/exit. Utilizing a F sm of 24 provides a F c of [(24 persons/minute/foot)*4.83 feet] = 116 persons/minute. Assuming that 50% of the XYZ building occupant load of 873 persons, which would be 437 persons, egress through the Main Entry/egress point it would take [(437 persons)/(116 persons/minute)] = 3 minutes 46 seconds for this portion of the building to evacuate. This acknowledges that queuing will occur from the 2 nd floor Stairway A exit discharge into the lobby area. The occupant load of the Shipping/Receiving area is only two persons. Utilizing the previously calculated F c for a 36 door, [(24 persons/minute/foot)*1.83 feet] = 44 persons/minute means that the Shipping/Receiving area will be evacuated in [(2 persons)/(44 persons/minute)] = 3 seconds. This, like all of the calculations, assumes that the occupants are alert and egress the area immediately. For the remainder of the building occupant load of 436 persons we will assume an even and optimal usage of the remaining exits. With the two remaining 36 doors being able to discharge 44 people/minute and an additional four 72 exits being able to discharge 116 persons/minute we have an evacuation time of [(436 persons)/(552 persons/minute)] = 47 seconds. At this point we have ascertained that the Main exit will take 3 minutes 44 seconds to evacuate and the 76

77 shipping area will take 3 seconds; the remaining areas, with the balance of 431 persons and six exits, will take 47 seconds. The critical time based on the above calculations is the time for 50% of the occupant load to egress the main exit which takes 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Although there is not a requirement per the IBC for a B occupancy to have 50% of the calculated capacity for the building egress through the Main Entry, it is a basic tenet that occupants tend towards the way they entered a building when they egress. This is especially true for access controlled buildings such as this. Alternate Main Exit Scenario The analysis up to this point has been based upon the assumption that all exits are available for free and unencumbered usage. Utilizing the implicit concepts of 5.5 of the LSC, Design Fire Scenarios for Performance Based Options, a reasonable scenario given the non-enclosed Stairway A would be a fire or circumstance that cancels out the stairway and the Main Entry/Exit. Thus, the following analysis assumes some exigency that makes the Main Entry and Stairway A inoperable. From a prescriptive perspective the 2 nd floor was compliant because of an exception to the IBC with only one enclosed vertical exit enclosure; however, the egress capacity of the 2 nd floor can be met by the single Stairway B. The 2 nd floor exit access travel distance becomes 215 feet and the total travel distance through to the exit discharge, with Stairway A out of service, remains well under the 300 feet prescriptively required by the IBC. By making the Main Entry/exit inoperable the 1 st floor prescriptive analysis is altered as follows. Assuming that all remaining exits are utilized equally there are still 7 exits having a total exit width of 396. Based on an egress width of 0.2 /person the remaining egress capacity of the exits is [(396 )/ (0.2 /person)] =1980 persons. This is well within the calculated occupant load of 873 persons and continues to provide a significant buffer for egress capacity. All exit travel distances are still within prescriptive requirements. The Main Entry scenario has an interesting affect on the performance-based analysis. With an occupant load of 126 people and only one exit on the 2 nd floor, and an egress capacity of 44 persons/minute through the 36 door, it will take [(126 persons)/(44 persons/minute)] = 2 77

78 minutes 52 seconds to evacuate the 2 nd floor plus 22 seconds for navigating the stairway for a total of 3 minutes and 14 seconds. This is roughly twice the previously calculated timeframe for the second floor. The 1 st floor is also impacted greatly by taking out the Main Entry and optimally using the remaining exits. By using the figures previously obtained for F c for the remaining doorways we have; Four 72 exits at 116 persons/minute Three 36 exits at 44 persons/minute This provides a total of 596-persons/minute egress capacity. With the total occupant load of the building optimally utilizing the exits it will take [(741 persons)/(596 persons/minute)]=1 minute 15 seconds for all of the occupants of the 1 st floor to be evacuated. Previous calculations showed that it would take a minimum 3 minutes 44 seconds to evacuate the 1st floor. This paradoxical shift in egress times from 3 minutes 44 seconds, while utilizing the Main Entry for 50% of the egress for the building, to utilizing all exits optimally serves to illustrate the pitfalls of occupant s typical human behavior of using their entry point as their egress point. In the case of the XYZ building, it has access control that mandates all personnel enter through the Main Entry for security reasons. Egress Times Summary 1 st Floor 3 Minutes 44 Seconds 2 nd Floor 1 Minute 48 Seconds 1 st Floor without Main Entry 1 Minute 15 Seconds 2 nd Floor without Main Entry 3 Minutes 14 Seconds 78

79 Shipping Area Fire The first design fire is also the highest fire hazard area, the shipping area, and has been defined earlier in this report. As a quick summary the shipping area has an approximate 10-meter by 10-meter storage area with storage units on racks with a 3-meter high ceiling. The design fire s Heat Release Rate is based on data available in the 3 rd Edition of the SFPE Handbook as follows; The chosen test data is the Metal office storage units, clear aisle. This has a peak Heat Release Rate (HRR) of approximately 1.6 Megawatt. The assumptions for this scenario are; The design fire has an electrical failure ignition source within the storage area, e.g. portable electronics or a space heater. The first fuel ignited would be an intermediate fuel such as papers or textiles being stored. Figure 31 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition No personnel are intimate with the fire. The fire alarm system would likely activate and notify any occupants. The fire is deemed too large to fight with portable hand held extinguishers. The automatic sprinkler system is operational however an obstruction prevents the operation of the sprinklers in the immediate area of the fire. The fire is allowed to grow to its fullest designated level since the sprinklers are inoperative in the immediate area. The entry door into the storage area is assumed to be open. 79

80 Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) Shipping area fire RSET - Shipping fire Igni`on >>> Detec`on Time Detec`on >>> No`fica`on `me No`fica`on >>> decision to leave Decision to leave >>> start egress Seconds Start of evacua`on >>> completed egress Figure 32 - RSET Shipping Fire Detection Time The detection time was gleaned from the OUT file from FDS seconds is the time for the 1 st detector in the storage room to activate. The 2 nd detector to activate is located outside of the storage room and within a short distance from the entry door to the storage area. The 2 nd detector doesn t activate until seconds after the start of the fire. Alarm time In this scenario it is assumed that the fire alarm system is operational and that the notification appliances are operational. The time from detection to notification is required to be within 10 sends Edition NFPA Actuation of alarm notification appliances or emergency voice communications, emergency control functions, and annunciation at the protected premises shall occur within 10 seconds after the activation of an initiating device. Pre- movement time The Pre-movement time for this scenario should be very short due to the fire safety plan and training that take place in the XYZ facility. An assumed 30 seconds for the decision process and 80

81 reaction time is very plausible. Another 30 seconds for pre-evacuation activity time is also reasonable. Reaction time The reaction time for the facility, given that it uses public mode notification and that all occupants should be awake, alert and oriented, should again be very short. Pre- evacuation activity time The time frame for the few occupants in the shipping area to gather their significant belongs will be short since it is a small area. Also, with a means of egress readily available and within sight the occupants may feel more comfortable with spending a few more seconds gathering personal items or performing last second tasks before egressing the area. Travel time The travel time for the shipping area is not calculated due to its location and occupant load. The egress door is not in the pathway between the design fire and the occupants so the loss of this exit does not seem reasonable due to fire in this scenario. Even with an assumed extra person(s) in the area the actual travel time to the exit door would be a very slow 10 seconds. The total RSET is 175 seconds. Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) Shipping area fire The Shipping area fire was designed to have three rows of combustibles with the bottom tier igniting first, followed consecutively by the second and third rows. The limiting factor for tenability within the shipping area and its fire scenario is the smoke layer height, which descends below 2 meters at 115 seconds. All slice files shown are at 2 meters high. 81

82 ASET - Shipping fire Smoke layer height <2 m 115 Carbon Monoxide concentra`on >1,200 ppm 497 Visibility <6m 320 Temperature >60 C Seconds Figure 33 - ASET Shipping fire 82

83 ASET/Shipping area - Temperature The receiving area reaches a temperature of 60 C, coincidentally, at the same time the sprinkler heads exterior to the storage room actuate at approximately 260 seconds (shown below). The high temperature reached was 127 C at 315 seconds. 3 sprinkler heads activated to control the fire. With operational sprinklers in the room of origin the high temperature reached is approximately 100 C at 437 seconds (7 minutes 17 seconds). 2 sprinkler heads operated exterior to the storage room when the storage room sprinklers were operational. Figure 34 - ASET Shipping area FDS/Temperature 83

84 ASET/Shipping area Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide levels don t reach the 1200-ppm level until 497 seconds (shown below). With the storage area sprinkler heads activated the CO levels reached approximately 1200 ppm at around 580 seconds. Figure 35 - ASET Shipping area FDS/CO 84

85 ASET/Shipping area Visibility The shipping areas visibility decreased below 6 meters at approximately 314 seconds past the start of the fire (shown below). With the sprinkler heads in the storage area operational, the visibility doesn t start to go below 6 meters until approximately 340 seconds. Figure 36 - ASET Shipping area FDS/Visibility 85

86 ASET/Shipping area Smoke Layer Height The smoke layer height descends below 2 meters at 115 seconds. This is information culled from the device file output from FDS. The csv file data is then charted to create the graph shown. Figure 37 - ASET Shipping area FDS graph/smoke Layer Height 86

87 Typical Office area fire The typical area an average office has varying degrees of fire loading however they all are Class A combustibles. The offices are small and are roughly 3-meter cubes. The data used to model this scenario comes from the 3 rd Edition of the SFPE Hand book, Figure (Figure 38 below). The assumptions for this scenario are; The ignition source is an electrical failure of office equipment or portable electronic devices. Portable space heaters are also quite common. All of the ignition sources are reasonably intimate with an assortment of Class A combustibles which are sufficiently light to be the first fuel ignited. The fire alarm is completely functional. No office personnel are available for extinguishment by hand held portable extinguishers during its incipient stage, and it s deemed too large to fight in its free burning stage. Figure 38 - Figure SFPE HB 3rd Edition 87

88 The automatic sprinkler system is operational however we are considering the sprinkler head in the office to be externally obstructed or to have an internal obstruction do to a foreign body or silt build-up. For modeling purposes the sprinkler in the office has been turned off. The sprinklers exterior to the office are functional. The fire is allowed to grow and follow the Heat Release Rate curve as shown in the SFPE Handbook. The entry door is assumed to be in the open position. Required Safe Egress Time (RSET) Office Area Fire RSET - Office Fire Igni`on >>> Detec`on Time Detec`on >>> No`fica`on `me No`fica`on >>> decision to leave Decision to leave >>> start egress Seconds Start of evacua`on >>> completed egress Figure 39 - RSET Office fire Detection Time The detection time from the OUT file from FDS is 153 seconds for the office detector to activate. The 2 nd detector to activate is located outside of the office and within a short distance from the entry door to the office area. The 2 nd detector doesn t activate until 379 seconds after the start of the fire. 88

89 Alarm time In this scenario it is assumed that the fire alarm system is operational and that the notification appliances are operational. The time from detection to notification is required to be within 10 sends Edition NFPA Actuation of alarm notification appliances or emergency voice communications, emergency control functions, and annunciation at the protected premises shall occur within 10 seconds after the activation of an initiating device. Pre- movement time The Pre-movement time for this scenario should be very short due to the fire safety plan and training that take place in the XYZ facility. An assumed 30 seconds for the decision process and reaction time is very plausible. Another 30 seconds for pre-evacuation activity time is also reasonable. Reaction time The reaction time for the facility, given that it uses public mode notification and that all occupants should be awake, alert and oriented, should again be very short and approximately 30 seconds. Pre- evacuation activity time The office area chosen for the design fire is on the 2 nd floor and was selected because of its relative remoteness to an exit. This may reasonably drive a longer Pre-evacuation time due to personnel taking longer to gather more items to leave. Travel time The travel time was calculated using the methodology in 4 Chapter 2 of the 4 th Edition of the SFPE Handbook. As shown on page 90, the egress time is 184 seconds. The total RSET is 422 seconds. 89

90 Corridor Length = 170 feet Corridor Width = 44 inches 3.67 feet Corridor Boundary = 8 inches 1.33 feet Corridor area = ft 2 Occupants = 63 Persons Density = Persons/ft 2 k 1 = 275 a = 2.86 S = ft/minute Farthest occupant egress = 190 feet Time to egress = 1.26 minutes 76 Seconds Door clear width = 2.83 feet Door boundary = 6 inches 1 feet Maximum Specific Flow = 24 Calculated Flow (F c W e ) = Persons/minute Occupants = 63 Time to egress = 1.43 Minutes 86 Seconds Stairway width = 44 inches 3.67 feet Stairway boundary = 6 inches 1 feet Stairway density = Persons/ft 2 k 1 = 212 a = 2.86 S = ft/minute Floor height = 12 feet Stair conversion factor = 1.85 Landing(s) = 2 number of Length of landings = 8 feet Stair distance = 38.2 feet Time to egress = 0.36 Minutes 22 Seconds Total egress time = 3.05 Minutes 184 Seconds 90

91 Available Safe Egress Time (ASET) Office Fire Just as the shipping area fire, the office areas limiting factor was the smoke layer height. It took approximately 211 seconds for the smoke layer to descend to the 2-meter height above the floor. ASET - Office fire Smoke layer height <2 m 211 Carbon Monoxide concentra`on >1,200 ppm 1593 Visibility <6m 1000 Temperature >60 C Seconds Figure 40 - ASET Office Fire It s significant to reiterate that these values occur with the design assumption that the fire sprinkler in the room of origin does not operate. 91

92 ASET/Office fire Temperature The temperature in the open office area outside of the office where the fire origin was located reached 60 C at approximately 1084 seconds or 18 minutes and 4 seconds. In the open office area outside of the room of origin, the 1 st fire sprinkler to activate is at 1076 seconds (17 minutes 56 seconds) with eventually 5 sprinkler heads activating. With the sprinkler operational, the room of origin sprinkler activates at approximately 495 seconds (8 minutes 15 seconds) and the temperature, both inside and outside of the room of origin, never goes beyond 35 C. No further sprinklers activate with an operational sprinkler in the room of origin. Figure 41 - ASET Office area FDS/Temperature 92

93 ASET/Office fire Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide levels exceed 1,200 ppm at approximately 1593 seconds. This is shortly after sprinkler head activation outside of the room of origin. With active sprinklers within the room of origin, the CO levels are a fraction of those without the room of origin fire sprinkler. Figure 42 - ASET Office area FDS/CO 93

94 ASET/Office fire Visibility The visibility decreases below 6 meters at approximately 1,000 seconds (16 minutes 40 seconds). With the room of origin sprinkler operational, the visibility in the open office area never decrease below approximately 10 meters. Figure 43 - ASET Office area FDS/Visibility 94

95 ASET/Office fire Smoke Layer Height Figure 44 - ASET Office area/ FDS graph Smoke Layer Height The ASET for the office fire is 211 seconds based on the smoke layer height. With the room of origin sprinkler operational, the smoke layer height 95

96 Fire Alarm Initiation Performance- based Analysis Select area fires and their detector response have been calculated using the Detact spreadsheet developed by Dr. Fred Mowrer and modified slightly by myself. The intent is to see whether the design fires were reasonably close to activation times in portions of the XYZ building using the Detact method. The detectors activation time and the design fires Heat Release Rates (HRR) are shown in the excerpts. The 1 st floor Entry Lobby design fire is predicted to be a Slow t 2 fire due to light quantities of combustibles stored in the area. It has a smooth drop ceiling at 10 foot with no unusual architectural features. The single detector prescriptive coverage for this fire shows that it will reach 290 kw s at 311 seconds before it is detected. If two detectors are placed in the space roughly equidistant apart within the room then the detection time decreases to 220 seconds with a developed HRR of 145 kw. Figure 45 - DETACT Entry Lobby 96

97 The 1 st floor Main Break Room design fire is predicted to be a Medium t 2 fire due to light/moderate fuel loading. The fire is predicted to grow to 259 kw s in 147 seconds before the detector activates. Figure 46 - DETACT Main Break room The North East open office area has a large amount of office furniture, books and miscellaneous combustibles. Because of the fuel loading the fire is predicted to act as a Medium t 2 fire. In this room the Detact model predicts detector activation at 156 seconds with a HRR at that time of 292 kw s. Figure 47 - DETACT Open Office area 97

98 The second floor design fires are both in areas that are more confined, the West Corridor and the open office area/east hallway. The 2 nd floor West Corridor s fuel load is very slight and will thus be calculated as a Slow t 2 fire. This gives an activation time 194 seconds at a HRR of 113 kw s. Figure 48 - DETACT 2nd Floor corridor The last design fire calculated is the 2 nd floor office/hallway. This will be calculated as a Medium t 2 fire because of the combustibles within the office area. The detector in this area activates at 114 seconds at a HRR of 156 kw s. Figure 49 - DETACT 2nd Floor office 98

99 Summary The XYZ building meets or exceeds all prescriptive requirements that can reasonably be assessed. Miscellaneous items that could not be assessed were construction methods and assemblies that were either not open for visual inspection or were not made available for inspection. From a performance-based Design perspective the Shipping area of the XYZ building did well; however, when juxtaposing the RSET and ASET we have seen that the smoke layer height becomes the limiting factor at 115 seconds, which is 1 minute before the RSET of 175 seconds. ASET - Shipping fire Smoke layer height <2 m 115 Carbon Monoxide concentra`on >1,200 ppm 497 Visibility <6m 320 Temperature >60 C Seconds RSET - Shipping fire Igni`on >>> Detec`on Time Detec`on >>> No`fica`on `me No`fica`on >>> decision to leave Decision to leave >>> start egress Seconds Start of evacua`on >>> completed egress Figure 50 - ASET/RSET Shipping area fire 99

100 For the common office area fire we found that the same situation exists. The smoke layer height descends below 2 meters at 211 seconds, which is a little over 3 minutes before the last occupant has egressed in the RSET time of 395 seconds. ASET - Office fire Smoke layer height <2 m 211 Carbon Monoxide concentra`on >1,200 ppm 1593 Visibility <6m Temperature >60 C Seconds RSET - Office Fire Igni`on >>> Detec`on Time Detec`on >>> No`fica`on `me No`fica`on >>> decision to leave Decision to leave >>> start egress Seconds Start of evacua`on >>> completed egress Figure 51 - ASET/RSET Office area fire Given that the HRR used for the shipping fire ramped up at a very slow rate, until 300 seconds, the significance of the fire alarm system in fulfilling the first goal of Life Safety cannot be overstated. Despite this early warning the RSET still exceeded the ASET by 1 minute. The office fire also had a ramp up that delayed the time to detection with the HRR not rising significantly for several minutes after ignition. 100