elewexe – Building 172B, California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo

California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo recently finished constructing a new multimillion student housing project on campus. One of the six buildings, elewexe or 172B, from this housing complex was selected for a full evaluation of the fire and life safety systems using both prescriptive and performance based approaches. The building is a Type II-B four story dormitory with an R-2 occupancy classification. For the prescriptive approach, the building was evaluated against the most current editions of the IBC and relevant NFPA code editions for building requirements, sprinkler design and fire alarm and detection. When looking at the building purely for code compliance, everything complies except for administrative controls. The building is constructed within the specifications of the IBC, the egress is adequate for the building, the sprinkler system has a proper design and a strong water supply without a fire pump, and the fire alarm and detection system meets the requirements listed in NFPA 72. One aspect of the building, that is also found in the other buildings within the housing community, is that there are unenclosed stairwells connecting four stories located within the core of the buildings. This is allowed per the 2013 version of the CBC due to an exception because the building is fully sprinklered. This exception causes a lot of emphasis to be put on the sprinklers operating in the event of a fire. For the performance based analysis is composed of three design fires and a fire model within the report investigates one of the design fire scenarios occurring within the main core and the sprinklers not activating to see if the building design still meets the intent of the code. The results found that in such an event, the available safe egress time (ASET) was less than the required safe egress time (RSET), meaning that in the event that the sprinklers fail in a fire scenario in the core of the building, the building design fails in the intent of the code. Ways to remedy this include increasing administrative controls to limit the amount of fuel in the corridor, increasing testing and maintenance of the sprinkler system to ensure that it functions when needed, an impairment control policy, and adding compartmentation within the building to separate the core stairwell from the rest of the building

Fire and Life Safety Evaluation of the Christopher Cohan Center

This project is an academic exercise, as part of the MS Fire Protection Engineering program of California Polytechnic State University. The project is a culminating report with regards to life safety analysis of the Christopher Cohan Center of Cal Poly, which builds on the fundamental and applied courses of the program. The analysis is twofold, where the first part is a Prescriptive Analysis of the building and its features, followed by a Performance Based Life Safety Analysis. Both parts are performed in accordance with NFPA 101 Life Safety Code 2015 edition, Codes/Standards references within NFPA 101, and supplemented by methods of the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering. California have yet to adopt the Life Safety Code, which per definition, makes it impossible to determine if the building is a new or existing structure. Nevertheless, the building has been analyzed as an existing building. Where noted, necessary assumptions were made to complete the analysis. The building in question is part of the Performing Arts Center of Cal Poly, and consists of assembly-, business-, and storage occupancies. Two adjacent buildings make up the remaining parts of the Performing Arts Center, but these buildings will not be analyzed in this report. The Cohan Center is separated from adjacent buildings by 4-hour rated walls, and/or separation distances of 60 ft. The prescriptive analysis concludes that the building in general meets the requirements of the applicable codes and standards, with the following exceptions: a place of assembly at the Balcony Level have no other means of egress than through the communicating space, the spacing of smoke detectors does not meet prescriptive requirements in the Entry Lobby, and the water supply for the sprinkler system is insufficient. All conclusions are based on the information available. The recommended actions are to perform a new water flow test, and based on the result, consider installing a fire pump to provide sufficient flow and pressure to the most remote area of the sprinkler system. The performance based analysis addressed life safety in the event of fire in scenery on stage. The fire was modeled at floor level, and in the fly-gallery. Based on building inspections, the author considers ignition more likely in the fly-gallery, than at the stage floor. The main focus of this model was to evaluate consequences of smoke spread, if the proscenium wall curtain fails to deploy. The analysis concluded that the fly-gallery fire meets the performance criteria, and results in an acceptable level of life safety. The scenery fire at the stage floor fails to meet the performance criteria of the Life Safety Code, with the current building design and feature. Further analysis concludes that installing addressable smoke detectors at the stage ceiling, that activates all smoke vents and sends an alarm signal to the fire alarm control panel, resulted in meeting the performance criteria regardless of the modeled fire location

FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY ANALYSIS BONDERSON ENGINEERING PROJETS CENTER

A Fire and Life Safety Analysis was performed as one of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Fire Protection Engineering from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. The Fire and Life Safety Analysis consists of a prescriptive analysis as well as a performance based analysis. These analyses were performed on the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center which is part of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The prescriptive analysis consisted of the four following parts: Egress Analysis and Design, Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, Water-based Fire Suppression, and Structural Fire Protection. The purpose of the prescriptive analysis was to determine if the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center adhered to the codes and standards applicable to the building. The prescriptive analysis was performed using primarily the 2013 edition of the California Building Code (CBC) along with the 2013 editions of NFPA codes. The egress analysis and design met most of the code requirements. One area that the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center did not meet was door swing direction. Room 104 (See Appendix A for building layout) was originally an office classification, but since construction has been utilized as an assembly space. The decreased occupant load factor resulted in a new occupant load which is greater than 50 persons. Per CBC 1008.1.2 exit doors must swing in the direction of egress travel where serving a room or area containing an occupant load of 50 or more persons, which the building does not adhere to. The fire detection and alarm systems analysis was performed primarily utilizing NFPA 72. The building had multiple shortcomings in regards to spacing gaps of the detection devices. These shortcomings were found on the first and second floor, including the lobby, robotics room, project integration room and computer cluster room. The water-based fire suppression system analysis was performed primarily utilizing NFPA 13 and NFPA 25. The water supply and sprinkler system are acceptable. The structural fire protection analysis was performed primarily utilizing the CBC. The main shortcoming discovered was in relation to the atrium. The building must have a 1 hour fire barrier separating atrium spaces from adjacent spaces or it must provide an acceptable smoke control system. The building provides neither of these provisions. The performance based analysis was performed in order to ascertain the ability for the occupant of a building to evacuate safely in the event of a fire. Two separate fire scenarios were evaluated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Pathfinder. Tenability criteria was determined and used in conjunction with FDS in order to determine the available safe egress time (ASET). This was compared against the required safe egress time (RSET) which was determined using Pathfinder. The RSET time was greater than the ASET time, meaning occupants would not be able to safely evacuate the building in the event of an emergency

Cal Poly Engineering IV Building

This report analyzes the fire protection systems of Engineering IV building at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. It is a cumulative project of the Fire Protection Engineering Program at Cal Poly. The report consists of a prescriptive analysis and a performance-based design analysis. The building contains dry laboratories, classrooms, offices, and administrative spaces. The building is a three-story structure. There is an atrium that connects the first floor to the third floor. However, the building has a horizontal enclosure to separate the connection between the second floor and the third floor. The prescriptive analysis is based on the code standards and regulations, which includes five subsections: means of egress analysis, structure analysis, fire alarm analysis, and sprinkler system analysis. The means of egress analysis section determines the occupancy load of each floor, occupancy capacity based on the door/stair width factor, common path, travel distance, and dead-end corridors. The structural analysis determines height limitations, number of story limitations, and area limitations based on the construction type of this building. The fire alarm analysis discusses detection devices application, notification devices application, and battery calculations for the system. The sprinkler system analysis discusses water source information, water demand curve, and design area. Overall, the Engineering IV building meets the code requirements and standard regulations. The performance-based design establishes a computational fire dynamic simulation (FDS) to calculate the time to reach untenable conditions based on the assumed tenability criteria (smoke density, visibility, the temperature at 6 feet above the walking surface). The tenability criteria are referred from SFPE Handbook 5th edition. Pyrosim is utilized in the analysis to present a visual friendly output result and to determine the available safe egress time based on assumptions. Required safe egress time (RSET) is determined by an evacuation model (hand calculation) and the results are compared to ASET. Three design fire scenarios are selected in this report based on recommendations of NFPA 101, Chapter 5. The first design fire scenario is a typical office catching on fire. The consequence of the office fire is smoke spreading to a corridor which may cause occupants to get stuck in a corridor. The ASET for this design fire scenario is 385 seconds, which is greater than RSET. The second fire scenario is selected in the atrium. Smoke spread into a large open space may delay the time to detect the fire. As a result, it will raise the risk for occupants to evacuate the building within a safe time. The result shows that ASET is 355 seconds and RSET is 343 seconds. The last design fire scenario is in a lab with a large fuel load. In this report, it discusses the possibility of people getting stuck in the compartment and corridor. Based on the assumptions, the result indicates that ASET is greater than RSET. Therefore, all three design fire scenarios proves that the fire protection system design in this building is adequate for occupancy to evacuate before the time reaches untenable conditions. In one of the design fires, ASET is only slightly greater RSET and the safety factor is close to 1, which may challenge occupant’s life safety. But Stair 3 in the atrium may be used for means of egress at the beginning of the fire. Even though it is not designed for evacuation, it can decrease overall evacuation time by avoiding queuing on the second floor

University of Southern California Heritage Hall- Fire Protection and Life Safety Analysis

This fire protection and life safety analysis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The study was performed on the University of Southern California’s Heritage Hall, which includes both a code-determined prescriptive examination and a performance-based analysis. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the Heritage Hall address based on compliance with all applicable codes and standards, as well as the determined occupant tenability criteria. The prescriptive examination of Heritage Hall consisted of the evaluation of all structural fire protection, egress analysis and design, water-based fire suppression, and fire alarm systems. This analysis was primarily performed by utilizing the 2013 edition of California Building Code and the 2013 editions of all applicable NFPA codes and standards. The structural fire protection overview provided an in-depth prescriptive analysis of the conversions made for Heritage Hall during the 2012 renovation project. The latest recapitalization expanded the lower level and added more spaces for student athletes, thus converting those locations to the A-3 occupancy classification. Per CBC Table 601, non-bearing walls and partitions were not required to be fire-rated. The structural update complied with all updated building codes due to a water curtain installed per Section 404.6 of the CBC, which allowed the center museum’s atrium not to be separated by a 1-hour fire barrier. Instead, both glass walls surrounding the atrium were used to create smoke partitions to meet standards. The egress analysis and design was utilized to determine new occupant loads for each floor, remove the B-2 occupancy classification, the creation of a new area of refuge. Per CBC Table 1018.1, corridor walls and ceilings were not required to be fire resistance rated due to the building being fully sprinklered. Only the area of refuge at the lower level was provided with a 1-hour fire rated separation, and existing 1-hour separations, such as the lower level’s exit access corridor, remained intact. Using the Life Safety Code, a building evacuation analysis was performed at Heritage Hall’s lower level. The average evacuation time of all lower level occupants was determined to be 5.43 minutes, with a range of 2.74-8.13 minutes depending on whether occupants used the exit corridor or the stairways. All egress components and occupancy classification were deemed acceptable. The water-based suppression analysis was performed by primarily using NFPA 13 and NFPA 25 codes and standards. A complete analysis of the building’s risers, sprinklers, and system demand calculations provided acceptable criteria for the water-based fire protection system installed. The outside overhang was chosen not to have sprinklers installed due to the large amount of remaining asbestos at the interstitial level near the ceiling. The overhang is made of concrete and directly exposed to the outside. The building’s fire alarm system was installed in 2012, with all new fire detection devices, notification appliances, fire alarm control panel, and a mass notification system. The fire alarm system design was analyzed using NFPA 72, with all spacing and location requirements deemed acceptable for the devices installed. All spot-type smoke and heat detectors are ceiling-mounted in accordance with the open ceiling plan at the lower level, which contains both ceiling and wall-mounted sprinklers. The performance-based analysis was performed using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), a fire modeling program provided by NIST, and the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering. Two unique design fire performance scenarios were established for Heritage Hall: a workstation fire in the first floor atrium and a stacked-chairs fire near the lower level exit corridor that prevents its use. In order to establish a basis for analysis and comparison, various tenability criteria were determined for the building’s occupants. The performance criteria consisted of visibility, toxicity, and tenability requirements for the facility, which were compared with modeling simulations created using FDS. The simulations allowed for the determination of the available safe egress time (ASET). Occupant behavior and characteristics were paired with Thunderhead Engineering’s Pathfinder program to provide a required set egress time (RSET) for each fire scenario. While the lower level corridor fire scenario met all tenability requirements, the atrium’s fire scenario simulation did not provide an acceptable ASET, and therefore did not pass the critical occupant visibility requirements for safe evacuation. Recommendations were provided to establish a legitimate smoke barrier per CBC Section 404.6, or an appropriate door separation for each side entrance to the atrium per CBC Section 715.1

FIRE PROTECTION ANALYSIS OF WARREN J. BAKER CENTER FOR SCIENCE

A prescriptive and performance based analysis was performed on the Warren J Baker Center for Science on the California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo campus. The code based analysis included reviewing the building’s egress components, structural fire protection, fire sprinkler system, and fire alarm system. This included the requirements of the California Building Code, as well as applicable NFPA codes. Analysis of the egress components of the building revealed several dead end corridors within the building that exceed the maximum allowed length of 50 feet. In addition, the student workspace areas on Level 3 require two exits, but are only provided with one. The structural fire protection requirements were found to meet the requirements of the California Building Code, including the required height, area and occupancy separation. The provided fire suppression system and fire alarm system were found to be compliant with the requirements of NFPA 13 and NFPA 72, respectively. A performance based analysis was conducted on the natural ventilation smoke control system within the atrium of the building. This was done by comparing the results of Pathfinder and Fire Dynamics Simulator models to determine if the available safe egress time is greater than the required safe egress time. It was found that the existing smoke control system failed performance requirements in two separate design fire scenarios. A new natural ventilation smoke control system design with 150% greater ventilation was proposed and tested using the most severe fire scenario and was found to provide an available safe egress time greater than the required safe egress time

Fire and Life Safety Analysis: Building 171A – Poly Canyon Village

A fire and life safety analysis was performed in fulfillment of one of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Fire Protection Engineering from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). The analysis consisted of a prescriptive and a performance-based analysis. These analyses were performed on Building 171A which is part of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. The prescriptive analysis consisted of four distinct areas of focus: 1) Structural Fire Protection, 2) Water-Based Suppression Systems, 3) Fire Alarm and Detection Systems, 4) Egress Analysis and Design Prescriptive analyses are performed to determine whether a building conforms to the applicable codes and standards. The prescriptive analysis of Building 171A was undertaken using the 2016 editions of the California Building Code (CBC) and California Fire Code (CFC), and the most recent editions of various National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes. No deficiencies were encountered in the structural fire protection, water-based suppression systems, fire alarm and detection systems, or the egress design of Building 171A. Information required to establish code compliance beyond all doubt was occasionally not available. In such cases, it was assumed the system or systems were arranged in such a way as to be compliant else the building plans would not have been approved. This analysis determined Building 171A to be in compliance with code requirements. Performance-based analyses are used to establish the functionality of a building’s fire protection strategy by using performance criteria that demonstrate compliance with design goals. Because of the residential nature of Building 171A, the ability of occupants to evacuate safely was assessed. Two viable fire scenarios specific to Building 171A were evaluated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Pathfinder. The first design fire was modeled as an arson fire on the second floor of the central stairway. For this fire, a commonly used liquid accelerant was assumed. The fuel was treated as a pool fire with no growth phase. Physical properties like soot and carbon monoxide yield from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Handbook were entered into the model to increase the accuracy of results. Tenability criteria were not exceeded at any point during the simulation for this design fire. Therefore the available safe egress time (ASET) was greater than the model run time of 600 seconds. The second design fire was modeled as a furniture fire in the study room on the second floor. This fire was assumed to initiate in an armchair. Exact materials could not be determined however the individual component materials must result in an item that as a whole complies with California Technical Bulletin 133 (CTB 133). Calculations for this fire were based on a fast αt2 fire with a maximum heat release rate of 80 kW. The predominant material was assumed to be flexible polyurethane foam with the worst carbon monoxide and soot yields. From SFPE Handbook tables, this was determined to be GM27 polyurethane. The tenability criteria monitored for the duration of the simulation were not exceeded at any point for this design fire. Therefore the ASET was greater than the model run time of 600 seconds. Occupant characteristics were entered into Pathfinder, an agent-based egress modeling program, to determine the required safe egress time (RSET). A pre-movement time was incorporated into the model encompassing detection, alarm activation, and occupant response time. In consideration of the wide variability of occupants’ responses, a factor of safety of 1.5 was also included. The RSET for the Central Stairway and Study Room fires was calculated to be 440 and 490 seconds, respectively. This is considerably less than the ASET since tenability did not fail within the 600 seconds of model run time. Therefore both fire scenarios had RSET values less than ASET values indicating that passive and active fire protection systems in Building 171A would enable occupants to safely evacuate

Fire and Life Safety Analysis of the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center

As part of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Fire Protection Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, a prescriptive and performance based design analysis was conducted for the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center building (Cal Poly campus). The purpose of this analysis was to review the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center’s compliance with applicable and recognized fire and building codes with regards to its fire protection systems and features. The fire protection systems and features analyzed in this report include: 1) Egress Systems, 2) Structural Fire Protection, 3) Fire Detection and Alarm Systems, 4) Fire Suppression Systems. Prescriptive analysis of the Bonderson Engineering Projects Center was performed in order to determine if the building adhered to standards set forth within applicable standards and codes. Analysis was based primarily upon both the International Building Code 2009 Edition and NFPA 101: Life Safety Code 2012 Edition. Where required, other NFPA codes and standards were utilized, including the 2010 Editions of NFPA 13: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems and NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code. The egress systems in the building largely met prescriptive code requirements except for a few issues related to room 104 and its change in occupancy use (door swing direction, locks without panic hardware, etc). The structural system is a Type II-B classification and was found to meet prescriptive code requirements. Some shortcomings with the detection and alarm systems were discovered during the analysis, mainly with respect to spacing gaps. Several visible notification devices on the second floor did not meet prescriptive code due to gaps in required coverage. Additionally, it was determined that detailed measurements of the average ambient sound level should be taken in order to better analyze the audible notification systems. Lastly, the sprinkler system was found to meet prescriptive code requirements, both for water demand and bracing. Performance based design analysis was performed in order to gain understanding on the ability of the building to safely egress occupants during various fire scenarios when built to the prescriptive approaches set forth in the codes and standards. This performance based design analysis was based upon standards set forth in Chapter 5 of the Life Safety Code. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) and Pathfinder computer simulators were utilized to carry out the performance based design. ASET vs. RSET analysis solidified the code requirements which prohibit highly combustible materials from within atrium spaces

Biological Activity of Extracts from Aromatic Plants as Control Agents against Spoilage Molds Isolated from Sheep Cheese

[EN] The aim of this work was to assess the antifungal and antioxidant activity of essential oils and ethanolic extracts from distilled solid by-products from aromatic plants (Artemisia dracunculus, Hyssopus officinalis, Lavandula stoechas, Origanum vulgare and Satureja montana) against 14 fungi strains isolated from sheep cheese and identified at species level using DNA barcoding based on β-tubulin sequence analysis. In addition, capacity of fungi to produce ochratoxin A, patulin, cyclopiazonic acid and sterigmatocystin was analyzed. Of the isolates, 85.7% belonged to Penicillium (P. commune/biforme, P. crustosum) and 14.3% to Aspergillus (A. puulaauensis and A. jensenii), the first time that these Aspergillus species have been found in sheep’s cheese. All P. commune isolates were producers of cyclopiazonic acid, and the two Aspergillus strains produced sterigmatocystin, but the others did not produce any tested mycotoxin. Among the essential oils tested, oregano, savory and tarragon had a significant antifungal activity against all the isolated strains, but no ethanolic extract showed antifungal activity. By contrast, ethanolic extracts showed great potential as antioxidants. The identification of new molds in cheese will help the dairy industry to know more about those molds affecting the sector, and the use of aromatic plants in the control of fungal spoilage could be a suitable alternative to chemical preservatives used in the agri-food industrySIThis research was financially supported by the Spanish National Institute for Agricultural Research and Experimentation (INIA, http://inia.es) by the project RTA2015-00018-C03-0

NEW CAMPUS LIFE CENTER FIRE PROTECTION EVALUATION

This project report is a fire and life safety evaluation of a newly constructed building. The new Campus Life Center (CLC) building is located on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. The CLC is a student center where students, staff, and guests can gather to socialize, study, eat and attend conferences. The prescriptive requirements were based on the Georgia State Fire Codes, adopted on January 2014 and served as code of record for this facility. Occupant classification was established from both International Building Code (IBC) and Life Safety Code (LSC), NFPA 101, to determine construction type, interior finish and egress requirements. Building elements such as walls, doors, and floors were identified and verified that the elements met the construction type and interior finish requirements as specified in the building codes. Egress component widths were verified and exceeded the capacity width needed for the classified occupancy densities in the building. Incoming fire water line provided sufficient capacity for the automatic wet-sprinkler system without the need for a fire pump based on the calculated demand of the remote sprinkler area. This facility is equipped with an addressable fire alarm – mass notification system. The system was installed to monitor the automatic wet-sprinkler system, provide automatic and manual detection, and notify occupants of an emergency event including, fire, weather, and active shooter in the building. The smoke management design in this building was based on powering down mechanical equipment to reduce smoke movement throughout the building. A performance-based analysis was performed and documented in this report. A computer-generated movement model was created to determine occupant evacuation. The total time for all occupants to egress the building is defined as the required safe escape time (RSET) and was six-minutes. Tenability was established by a set value limit of visibility, temperature and the amount of carbon monoxide in a given space for occupants to safely escape during a fire event. Two design fires were selected and analyzed using fire dynamics simulator (FDS) and SmokeView. The first design fire was located on the second level, centrally positioned in a double story, 30-feet tall space with a concentrated assembly occupancy. The design fire was modeled in the space with stackable polypropylene chairs with steel frame as the fuel source. It took less than 200 seconds to evacuate this space. During that time there was no issues with getting close to untenable conditions while the fire grew in this space. The second design fire was located in the University Emporium, also located on the second level. In the mercantile occupancy, the store shelves with paper and plastics products were the main fuel source for the fire. Tenable conditions became close to their limit for occupants to egress the space. At 30-seconds, occupants were able to evacuate this space but not the entire floor. Recommendations based on the prescriptive and performance-based analysis for this student center are to provide clear pathways throughout the emporium so occupants can leave under 30-seconds. In commons area, furniture placement during functions that support large occupant capacities should be analyzed to limit queuing in egress pathways. Smoke detection in the double high space would provide earlier notification to occupants in other parts of the building