Symposium on Post-Tensioned Concrete in Buildings Held at the Wanderers Club: Fire Resistance of Prestressed Slabs in Buildings. Paper No. 3

摘要

Fire protection in multi-story buildings is aimed at life safety and the prevention of conflagrations. To achieve these aims there must be fire-safe evacuation routes, the fire and combustion gases must be prevented from spreading rapidly and the building must not collapse because of the failure of structural elements due to the effects of fire. To prevent the rapid spread of fire, building materials that have low combustibility and low spread of flame properties should be used, fire extinguishing apparatus should be available and walls and floor constructions should prevent or delay the spread of fire. To prevent the spread of fire throughout a building, large buildings are divided into fire compartments which are capable of containing the fire within the compartment until all the combustibles in that compartment have been consumed by the fire. In multi-story buildings, each story is made a separate fire compartment or fire division and the floor construction plays a major role in achieving this.