Balanced Code Provisions for

Residential StructuresAlliance for Concrete Codes

and Standards (ACCS)Presented By:

Alliance for Concrete Codes and Standards (ACCS)

American Concrete Institute American Concrete Pipe

Association American Society of Concrete Contractors Architectural Precast

Association Concrete Foundation

Association Concrete Reinforcing Steel

Institute Insulating Concrete Form

Association

National Precast Concrete Association

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association

Post-Tensioning Institute Portland Cement Association Precast/Prestressed Concrete

Institute Tilt-up Concrete Association Wire Reinforcing Institute

IntroductionOutline

Fire Loss Building Codes Balanced Design Benefits of Concrete

in Fire Costs Associated with

Concrete Construction Take Action! Conclusions

Limitations to the Building Code

Recent building code revisions have reduced the use of passive fire protection and provided an over-reliance on active fire protection system sSprinkler trade-offs: the concept of

exchanging established passive fire containment code provisions for active protection

Sprinkler system reliability unknown

What is fire safety?

Fire safety is a component of Building Safety. It concerns safety measures to prevent the effects of fires and is the result of proper use of fire protection measures.

Fire Loss in the United States

Fire loss

Fire Loss More than 4,000 people die in fires each year, with one death every

130 minutes. Fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined.

Approximately 85 percent of fire deaths occur in homes. Fire strikes approximately 86,500 apartments, 2,000 hotels and motels, and 740 dormitories annually.

Each year, fire departments are called to more than 1.7 million fires, with a fire call received every 18 seconds. There are nearly 510,000 structure fires each year, with one occurring every 62 seconds.

Fire causes more than $11 billion in property damage each year, with about $9.5 billion resulting from structure fires. Half of the total property damage occurs in residential properties.

Building and Fire Codes

Building and Fire Codes are state or jurisdiction specific

Codes are the minimum requirements – “the basement”

Building and Fire Codes

What is a Building Code?A building code is the minimum acceptable standard used to regulate the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings for the purpose of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the building’s users.

Up To Date Building CodesBuild safe buildingReduce deaths, injuries and property damagePreserve the built environmentReduce public and private disaster aidMaintain employment and businesses Level playing field for engineers, builders and

suppliersProvide economies of scaleMaintain quality of life and property values

Building and Fire Codes

Insert Building and Fire Code information for location being presented

Balanced DesignBalanced design re-established the importance of passive design,

including compartmentalization, in combination with active design, to deliver a more comprehensive fire protection system.

Active Fire Protection: Fire protection systems that must beactivated to perform, such as sprinklers and smoke detectors.

Passive Fire Protection: Fire resistance provided by elementsthat inherently resist fire, such as non-combustible precastconcrete, concrete and masonry block.

Balanced Design: A Combination of active and passivedesign elements, as well as the concept ofcompartmentalization, to greatly enhance fire protection at aminimum cost.

Balanced Design

TotalFire Protection

ActiveFire Protection

PassiveFire Protection

Balanced DesignActive Fire Protection

Smoke detectors Sprinklers Duct detectors Fire alarms

Passive Fire Protection

Fire rated walls Fire rated floors Fire rated separations

Role of Compartmentation Compartmentation

acts to contain fires to a specified area of the building or structure

Without compartmentation, fire may spread from one room or building to a another

Role of Sprinklers

Fire Sprinklers act to extinguish a fire after a specified temperature is achieved in the upper gas layer

Role of SprinklersNFPA standards

NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems

NFPA 13D Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes

NFPA 13E Recommended Practice for Fire Department Operations in Properties Protected by Sprinkler and Standpipe Systems

NFPA 13R Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in Residential Occupancies up to and Including Four Stories in Height

Why sprinklers may fail Natural Events (earthquake, tornado, etc.) Terrorist Events Inadequate water pressure Human Error Lack of maintenance Installation Error Wrong sprinkler for occupancy/fire Coverage Issues Building under construction Other

Options for Non-combustible construction

cast-in-place hollow-core precast concrete floors,

ceilings, and roofs cast-in place

concrete precast concrete Concrete masonry

walls

Advantages of Non-combustible construction for owners/developers

Speed of construction Faster sales and re-sales Lower operating costs Lower insurance costs Lower maintenance costs Lower energy costs Community acceptance

Lowest life-cycle costs Higher appreciation Attracts quality oriented

occupants Appeals to investors Proven performance Resistant to seismic and

high wind damage 

Advantages of Non-combustible construction for occupants

Fire safe non-combustible construction

Does not burn Does not produce smoke,

fumes or gases Does not add fuel to the

fire Provides minimum two-

hour separation between units

Serves passively for the life of the building

Lower insurance costs Needs no testing or

inspection No bouncy or creaky

floors Superior acoustic

qualities Security for occupants

and contents

Advantages of Non-combustible construction for communities

Lower risk and exposure for the fire service

More efficient use of fire services

Construction does not add fuel to the fire

Fire is contained Adjacent units are protected

Structural collapse is unlikely Provides quality community

asset for many decades Community recognized for its

fire safe construction Provides a stable tax base for

the community Attracts long term investors to

the community.

Fire Containment Fire Containment is

the last line of defense should sprinklers fail

To be effective, walls and floors/ceilings providing compartmentation should be of non-combustible construction with at least 2 hours of fire resistance.

Firefighter Safety A concrete structure can utilize fire

rated concrete walls to create compartmentation. The combination of concrete columns, beams, flooring, ceiling and wall elements breaks up each level’s space into smaller, self-contained modules that minimize the chance of fire spreading to adjacent units

The containment of fire in these small spaces makes entry safer for the firefighter and maintains that building collapse is rare

Fire Resistance Concrete has history of good performance in fire Concrete is non-combustible and has low thermal

conductivity Concrete maintains cool inner core during many fires

which maintains load

Fire Resistance

Structural Design LoadLive Load + Dead Load + FIRE

Goal of Fire Resistance StructuresMaintain structural stabilityReduce spread of fireExperience total burnout without collapse

Concrete at elevated temperatures

250 – 420 °C: Some spalling occurs

300 °C: Loss of strength begins 550 – 600 °C: Cement based

materials experience creep and lose their load bearing capacity

600 °C: Greater than this temperature, concrete is not functioning at its full structural capacity

900 °C: Temperature of Flame

Fire Resistance

The term "fire-resistance" designates the ability of a laboratory-constructed assembly to contain a fire in a carefully controlled test setting for a specified period of time.

Harmathy’s Rules of Fire Endurance

ACI 216 ACI 216.1-97: Standard Method for Determining

Fire Resistance of Concrete and Masonry Construction Assemblies

ACI 216

Determines Fire Resistance through one of four methods

1. Qualification by Testing2. Calculated Fire Resistance3. Approval through Past Performance4. Engineered Analysis

Qualification by Testing The most common test method for determining

fire resistance in the United States is the ASTM Standard E 119 Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials.

ASTM E119

Three End Points to fire test:1. Ignition of cotton waste

supported on the member surface that is away from the surface directly exposed to fire.

2. A temperature increase of 325 F at any point or 250 F on average on the unexposed surface (the heat-transmission end point).

3. Inability to carry the applied design load (i.e., structural collapse).

ASTM E119

Insert video

Calculated Fire Resistance

The fire resistance associated with an element or assembly shall be deemed acceptable when established by the calculation procedures in ACI 216

Plain reinforced concrete bearing and non-bearing walls, floors and roof slabs shall conform with the minimum thickness provided in ACI 216 Table 2.1

Calculated Fire ResistanceACI 216.1-97 Table 2.1. Fire Resistance of singular layer concrete walls, floors, and roofs

Aggregate Type

Minimum equivalent thickness for fire resistance rating, in.

1 hr 1 ½ hr 2 hr 3 hr 4 hr

Siliceous 3.5 4.3 5.0 6.2 7.0Carbonate 3.2 4.0 4.6 5.7 6.6Semi-lightweight

2.7 3.3 3.8 4.6 5.4

Lightweight 2.5 3.1 3.6 4.4 5.1

Effect of Aggregate

The choice of aggregate directly impacts the performance of concrete during a fire

Wood FireFire Resistance of Wood is significantly lower than that of concrete

Fire Resistance

Strength at elevated temperatures

Fire Spread

Concrete will not ignite. The fire’s spread is slowed and its damage is minimized.

This ability to resist fire creates more time for detection, evacuation and suppression—the three key ingredients for minimizing damage and injury during a fire.

Flame Spread

Concrete will limit flame spread

Interior FinishThe majority of fire deaths in a residential home is due to

toxic products of combustion from interior finish

Toxicity Most fire deaths result not from

heat or burns but from inhaling smoke and toxic gasses.

Gases produced in a fire include: water, CO2, styrene, bromide, and CO

Concrete does not produce toxic gases when involved in a fire

Compartmentation with concrete construction reduces the spread of toxic gas or smoke.

CostsFSCAC Cost Comparison Study

Conventional wood framing with wood floor system (Type V-B Construction)

Conventional wood framing with wood floor system (Type V-A Construction)

Light gauge steel framing with cast-in-place concrete floor system on metal form deck

Insulated concrete form exterior walls with interior bearing walls constructed of

concrete masonry units and precast concrete floor system

Load bearing concrete masonry with precast

concrete floor system Load-bearing concrete

masonry with cast-inplaceconcrete floor system

Precast concrete walls with precast concrete Floor system

Insulated concrete form walls with precast concrete floor system

Insulated concrete form walls with cast-inplace concrete floor system

The building construction types, designed using the provisions of the 2003 International Building Code, included:

Cost Study Results

The study provides the relative cost as a comparison to wood frame as a baseline of 100%, indicating increases or decreases relative to the baseline. Cost percentages shown below are examples of those provided by the complete study.

Insurance Benefit With increased emphasis on risk avoidance in the insurance

industry, property insurers and risk insurance managers have noticed the fire-resisting advantages offered by non-combustible construction

Source: Concrete & Masonry Industry Firesafety Committee’s Fire Protection Planning Report No. 9

Ensure safer Buildings through code adoption

Adopt a model building code which supports the concept of balanced design Ensure building code does not depend fully on active

fire protection systems or incorporate the idea of “sprinkler trade-offs”

Support amendments to the code which allows for adequate passive fire protection design

Consider using concrete in the building design to provide excellent fire resistant construction

708.3 Fire-resistance rating. Fire partitions shall have a fire-resistance rating of not less than 1 hour.

Exceptions: 1. Corridor walls as permitted by Table 1017.1.

2. Dwelling unit and sleeping unit separations in buildings of Types IIB, IIIB and VB construction shall have fire-resistance ratings of not less than 1 /2 hour in buildings equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Section rated corridor as required by Section 903.3.1.1

ExampleHow to adjust existing building code to reduce sprinkler

trade-offs

Take Action! Find out which (if any!) building

code your state or jurisdiction currently enforces or adopts

Research whether the code adequately addresses the ideas incorporated in the balanced design approach

Contact your building code official or state representative and submit your concerns

Work with local groups for adoption of strict amendments ensuring balanced design and participate in the development of the model code process

Educate others on the benefits of concrete construction, passive fire protection and balanced design.

Conclusions Adequate building codes with a balanced design

approach can provide safe buildings for occupants, owners and fire safety officials

Concrete is a non-combustible building material that will

Limit flame spread Reduce costs Not produce toxic gases during fire Provide high fire resistance Ensure fire containment Construct at similar costs to other construction methods

Resources

Include links (websites, names, brochure, addresses, etc.)