Building Design and the Fire Hazard

Authors

  • T. Z. Harmathy

Keywords:

Building design, design, fire protection, fire safety, building codes

Abstract

Building codes cover only the minimum requirements for fire safety and leave ample room for the expertise and conscience of the building designer. Providing life safety starts with securing conditions under which sufficient time is left for the occupants to escape from an incipient fire. It also involves measures that reduce the probability of exposure of the occupants to smoke and ensure their evacuation from the fire-stricken area. The safety of both life and property is served by ensuring the structural integrity of all key elements of the building even in spreading fires, but at the same time employing all available techniques to confine the fire to its place of origin.

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Published

2007-06-05

Issue

Number 2 / Summer 1977

Section

Research Contributions

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