High-Rise Building Construction and Compartmentalization Flashcards

A fire safety director finds a stair door held open with a wedge. What is the correct action?

Answer: Remove the wedge so the door can close and latch

Propped stair doors defeat compartmentation and let smoke into the exit stair, so the obstruction must be removed.

A tenant renovation leaves open holes in a fire-rated corridor wall above the ceiling. Why is this a problem?

Answer: It breaks the wall's fire rating and lets smoke and fire pass

Unsealed penetrations break the continuity of a rated assembly, so smoke and fire can bypass it.

Fire spreading from one floor to the next by going out a window and back in through the window above is called:

Answer: Auto-exposure (leapfrogging)

Auto-exposure happens when exterior flames break through the windows of the floor above.

Spandrel panels between windows on successive floors help reduce:

Answer: Vertical fire spread along the outside of the building

Spandrel construction puts a solid, fire-resistant barrier between windows of different floors, slowing exterior fire spread.

Why are 'smoke stop' doors placed in long corridors of high-rise floors?

Answer: To divide the corridor and limit smoke travel

Smoke stop doors split corridors into sections so smoke cannot fill the whole hallway.

Which of these is NOT a component of passive fire protection in a high-rise?

Answer: Automatic sprinkler system

Sprinklers are active fire protection, while rated walls, doors, and firestopping are passive.

Why are open interconnected floor openings, such as atriums or open stairs between floors, a concern in high-rise compartmentation?

Answer: They let smoke and fire spread across several floors unless protected

Unprotected floor openings link floors together, so special smoke control or enclosures are needed.