FIRE PROTECTION

Fire walls and exit stairways, required for the completed buildings, shall be given construction priority.
Fire doors, with automatic closing devices, shall be hung on openings as soon as practicable.
Fire cutoffs shall be retained in buildings undergoing alterations or demolition until operations necessitate their removal.

Electrical wiring and equipment for light, heat, or power purposes shall be installed in compliance with the requirements of Subpart K of this part.
Internal combustion engine powered equipment shall be so located that the exhausts are well away from combustible materials.
Smoking shall be prohibited at or in the vicinity of operations which constitute a fire hazard, and shall be conspicuously posted: “No Smoking or Open Flame.”

No temporary building shall be erected where it will adversely affect any means of exit.
Temporary buildings, when located within another building or structure, shall be of either noncombustible construction or of combustible construction having a fire resistance of not less than 1 hour
Temporary buildings, located other than inside another building and not used for the storage, shall be located at a distance of not less than 10 feet from another building or structure.

Combustible materials shall be piled with due regard to the stability of piles and in no case higher than 20 feet.
Driveways between and around combustible storage piles shall be at least 15 feet wide and maintained free from accumulation of rubbish, equipment, or other articles or materials
The entire storage site shall be kept free from accumulation of unnecessary combustible materials.
When there is a danger of an underground fire, that land shall not be used for combustible or flammable storage.

All materials shall be stored, handled, and piled with due regard to their fire characteristics.
Noncompatible materials, which may create a fire hazard, shall be segregated by a barrier having a fire resistance of at least 1 hour.
Material shall be piled to minimize the spread of fire internally and to permit convenient access for firefighting.
Aisle space shall be maintained to safely accommodate the widest vehicle that may be used within the building for firefighting purposes.
Clearance of at least 36 inches shall be maintained between the top level of the stored material and the sprinkler deflectors.
Clearance shall be maintained around lights and heating units to prevent ignition of combustible materials.

Life Safety: The primary goal of fire safety efforts is to protect building occupants from injury and to prevent loss of life.
Property Protection: The secondary goal of fire safety is to prevent property damage.
Protection of Operations: By preventing fires and limiting damage we can assure that work operations will continue.

Buildings are designed to prevent fire, heat, and smoke from spreading beyond locations of origination. Building elements such as fire walls, fire dampers, and fire doors, are designed to seal off one location from the next. This system is called compartmentalization.
In order for compartmentalization efforts to be effective fire barriers must be maintained.
Compartmentalization increases the safety of evacuating building occupants because smoke and fire are not able to escape into exit passageways.
Containment of fire and smoke reduces property damage and prevents small fires from growing into large fires.

Fire doors are designed to withstand fire, heat and smoke for a period of 20-minutes to 3 hours.
Did you know that corridor office doors are fire doors and should have a 20 minute rating?
Corridor laboratory doors should have a 60 minute rating.
Fire Doors are required to:
Be Self Closing: fire doors should have a door closure that pulls doors completely shut after the door has been opened
Have Positive latching: a positive latch locks a door in place so can open swing open freely.