Stairs, elevators, HVAC systems, and electrical equipment are important building systems described in the document. Stairs come in various designs like straight run, return, and spiral and are a means of egress. Elevators transport people and goods and include safety features. HVAC systems heat, cool, and ventilate buildings through components like ducts, fans, and air handlers. Electrical equipment includes transformers that convert voltages and emergency generators for backup power. All of these systems must be properly installed and maintained for building safety.

1. Building Construction Related to
the Fire Service
Fourth Edition
Chapter 4 — Building Systems

2. ‣ Describe the building system functions
of stairs.
Learning Objective 1

3. Most stairs enable access to multiple levels of
the structure and serve as a basic component of
building egress.

4. All stair types have basic components
in common.

5. Stairs can be prefabricated using
lightweight materials and techniques.

6. The design or layout of a set of stairs
may take several different forms.

7. Straight-run stairs extend in one
direction for their entire length.

8. Return stairs have an intermediate landing
between floors and reverse direction at that
point.

9. Scissor stairs are two separate sets of
stairs constructed in a common shaft.

10. Scissor stairs are two separate sets of
stairs constructed in a common shaft.

11. Circular stairs are often found as grand stairs
or convenience stairs serving only two levels.

12. Spiral stairs consist of a series of steps spiraling
around a single column to fit in a small space.

13. Folding stairs are ladders used to
provide access to an attic space.

14. Folding stairs are ladders used to
provide access to an attic space.

15. Folding stairs are ladders used to
provide access to an attic space.

16. Some buildings may use fixed ladders
to provide access to specific areas.

17. Stairs are a component of the required
means of egress from a building.

18. Some types of exit stairs provide
egress, but not access.

19. Protected stairs must resist the effects of the
products of combustion for safe occupant egress.

20. Exterior stairs are naturally
ventilated on one or more sides.

21. Fire escapes include open metal stairs and
landings attached to the outside of a building.

22. NOTE
‣ Fire escapes have not been permitted
in new construction for many decades,
though many still exist.

23. Smokeproof stair enclosures limit the penetration
of combustion products into a stairway enclosure.

24. Smokeproof stair enclosures may use
either active or passive smoke control.

25. Active smokeproof enclosures may have stairwells
designed to pressurize when the fire alarm system
is activated.

26. Codes specify maximum and minimum pressure
differentials between the stair enclosure and the
building.

27. Passive smokeproof enclosures protect the
stairway enclosure and provide a means of
smoke ventilation.

28. Open stairways are not enclosed with
fire-rated construction.

29. ‣ Describe mechanical conveyor systems
used in buildings.
Learning Objective 2

30. Mechanical conveyor systems are used
to transport items and materials.

31. Incomplete door or shutter closure is a primary
safety hazard at conveyor penetrations during a
fire.

32. Escalators are a conveyor transport
device aligned as a stairway.

33. Escalators are a conveyor transport
device aligned as a stairway.

34. An emergency stop switch will stop
the escalator and set the brake.

35. Vertical penetrations for escalators serving
more than two floors must be protected.

36. Moving walkways are similar to
escalators.

37. ‣ Describe the building system functions
of elevators.
Learning Objective 3

38. Elevators are complex mechanical
building systems.

39. Firefighters may view elevators negatively
or positively during a fire response.

40. The safe and reliable use of elevators
is a topic of regulation by government.

41. Elevators have gained new
applications.

42. Each jurisdiction establishes its own set of
policies and procedures regarding the use of
elevators during a fire.

43. Elevators can be classified according
to their use.

44. Passenger elevators carry people and
may be designed to also carry freight.
Courtesy
of
the
McKinney
(TX)
Fire
Department

45. Freight elevators carry resources
that may be bulky or heavy.

46. All elevators use some form of power to
perform the hoisting and lowering
operations.

47. Hydraulic elevators operate via fluid forced,
under pressure, into a cylinder containing a
piston or ram.

48. Hydraulic elevators operate via fluid forced,
under pressure, into a cylinder containing a
piston or ram.

49. Electric elevators use a hoisting cable
and a drum.

50. There are four common styles of
elevators.

51. Drum elevators use a hoisting cable wound on a
drum located in a motor room directly over the
hoistway.

52. Traction elevators are the most common
type of elevator in buildings over six stories.

53. Traction elevators are the most common
type of elevator in buildings over six stories.

54. Traction elevators are the most common
type of elevator in buildings over six stories.

55. Traction motors have a braking system that
operates during normal operation and
malfunctions.

56. Machine Room-Less elevators and dumbwaiters
are two other styles of electric elevators.

57. Equipment that can safely stop a car in the event
of a failure will help maintain the maximum
protection of passengers.

58. Equipment that can safely stop a car in the event
of a failure will help maintain the maximum
protection of passengers.

59. An elevator hoistway is the vertical
shaft in which the elevator car travels.

60. An elevator hoistway is the vertical
shaft in which the elevator car travels.

61. An elevator hoistway is the vertical
shaft in which the elevator car travels.

62. An elevator hoistway is the vertical
shaft in which the elevator car travels.

63. Elevator hoistway enclosures are usually
required to be a fire-rated assembly.

64. Elevator and stair shafts are built early in the
construction process and often use shear walls.

65. Hoistways may act as a vertical chimney to
spread fire and smoke throughout a building.

66. A building with three or fewer elevators
may contain all three in a single hoistway.

67. In very tall buildings, express
elevators are divided into zones.

68. Blind hoistways are used for express elevators
that serve the upper elevator zones in a building.

69. Elevator doors include both car doors
and hoistway doors.

70. Elevator car and hoistways operations
occur in a specific sequence.

71. Elevator car and hoistways operations
occur in a specific sequence.

72. Elevator car and hoistways operations
occur in a specific sequence.

73. Passenger elevator car doors use the power of an
electric motor mounted on top of the elevator
car.

74. Only trained personnel should attempt an
evacuation of passengers from a stalled car.

75. Access panels provide emergency
exits in elevators.

76. All top access panels can be opened
from the outside.

77. In multiple-elevator hoistways, most
elevator cars are equipped with side exits.

78. If a car is stopped in a blind hoistway,
the emergency exits must be used.

79. First responders should be able to access
elevators and elevator shafts in their jurisdiction.

80. ‣ Identify types of vertical shafts and
utility chases.
Learning Objective 4

81. Vertical shafts and utility chases can provide a
path for smoke and fire travel and serve as the
area of origin for fires.

82. Vertical shafts and utility chases can provide a
path for smoke and fire travel and serve as the
area of origin for fires.

83. A refuse chute is a space for gravity-aided
removal of trash or laundry from upper floors of
a building.

84. Refuse chutes are required to be
constructed of noncombustible material.

85. Current codes require access openings for chutes
to be in a separate room from the corridor.

86. Grease ducts are typically installed as part of an
exhaust system for commercial cooking
appliances.

87. A building may have one or more pipe chases,
depending on the building size and design.

88. Pipe chases can spread smoke and fire to other
floors of a building if not properly protected.

89. Occasionally, buildings do not have pipe chases
and use mechanical equipment rooms instead.

90. ‣ Explain various functions of building air
handling systems.
Learning Objective 5

91. Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems
(HVAC) create a comfortable environment for
occupants.

92. Depending on a building’s age and complexity,
an HVAC system may be simple or sophisticated.

93. In a high-rise office building, the HVAC system
may be monitored and controlled by computers.

94. Wider accessibility of HVAC systems has
had a major impact on building design.

95. Historically, early forced-air systems
provided only heat through a ducted system.
Courtesy
of
the
McKinney
(TX)
Fire
Department

96. HVAC systems may incorporate
natural ventilation features.

97. Codes require safety considerations to limit the
possibility that contaminants will spread through a
building.

98. Intakes must be positioned in a location that
allows unrestricted air flow.

99. Fans are generally used to draw
supply air and expel exhaust air.

100. Air filtration systems are necessary
to keep the air free of contaminants.

101. Many types of equipment are used to heat
and cool the air circulated in buildings.

102. Air cooled chillers remove heat from a piped water
system that passes through air-handling
equipment in a building.

103. Air ducts are the distribution
component of the HVAC system.

104. Building, mechanical, and fire codes
contain many requirements for ducts.
Courtesy
of
Gregory
Havel,
Burlington,
WI.

105. Heated and/or cooled air may be provided
without the use of ducted systems.

106. HVAC systems may be cooperative to or
independent from simple ventilation or exhaust
systems.

107. Forced-air systems distribute conditioned
air through the building via ductwork.

108. Forced-air systems distribute conditioned
air through the building via ductwork.

109. NFPA® 90A, Standard for the Installation of Air-
Conditioning and Ventilating Systems is widely
used.

110. A forced-air HVAC system in a multistory building
often includes vertical ducts and a mechanical
room.

111. Placing the controls, intake, and exhaust, at the
top of the building minimizes the obstructions to
air flow.

112. CAUTION
‣ Modified HVAC systems may
substantially change the weight of the
system and the dead load on roof
support systems.

113. Most of the air flowing through the HVAC system
can be recirculated through the building space.

114. Most of the air flowing through the HVAC system
can be recirculated through the building space.

115. The design of many modern buildings can make
traditional ventilation methods difficult or
impossible.

116. In smoke control mode, the HVAC discharges
smoke through the exhaust fan from the fire
floor to the outside.

117. Air supply is restricted to the fire floor through
the use of a damper, and continued to adjacent
floors.

118. The design of a smoke control system
requires extensive engineering analysis.

119. Transferring an HVAC system to smoke control
mode can be accomplished automatically.

120. Transferring an HVAC system to smoke control
mode can be accomplished automatically.

121. Manual pull stations accessible to the public
should activate only the alarm system, not the
smoke control system.

122. The transfer of an HVAC system to smoke
control mode can be accomplished manually.

123. The transfer of an HVAC system to smoke
control mode can be accomplished manually.
Courtesy
of
Colorado
Springs
(CO)
Fire
Department

124. The transfer of an HVAC system to smoke
control mode can be accomplished manually.

125. The transfer of an HVAC system to smoke
control mode can be accomplished manually.

126. Products of combustion are vented to the outside
using smoke and heat vents via the shortest
route possible.

127. Typical heat and smoke vents are
often small-area hatchways.

128. Draft curtains (curtain boards) may be used in
conjunction with smoke vents to increase their
effectiveness.

129. Size and spacing of smoke and heat vents
depend on the floor-to-ceiling height of a
building and its contents.

130. Smoke and heat vents are less effective when
used in conjunction with sprinkler systems.

131. Personnel may encounter a number
of vent hazards.

132. CAUTION
‣ Smoke vents are spring-loaded and
can operate quickly. Firefighters
manually opening vents must position
themselves away from the hatch
opening before operating them.

133. One style of smoke control for
stairways is the use of a smoke tower.

134. Smoke towers require expensive
concessions.

135. A pressurized stairwell minimizes the use of
space while protecting stairways from products
of combustion.

136. One type of pressurization system is
the single-injection system.

137. Multiple-injection systems use several
discharge points along an air supply shaft.

138. Stairwell pressurization systems
require careful engineering analysis.

139. Stairwell pressurization systems
require careful engineering analysis.

140. Pressure in a stairwell may be modulated or
vented.

141. Overpressure relief in a stairwell is accomplished
through the use of dampers that are open to the
outside.

142. ‣ Identify types of electrical equipment
used for building systems.
Learning Objective 6

143. Electrical equipment may be installed
in dedicated rooms or vaults.

144. Transformers convert high-voltage electricity to
an appropriate voltage for building systems use.

145. Fires involving electrical equipment usually
de-energize the equipment early in the event.

146. Transformers generate heat.

147. Air-cooled transformers use the
surrounding air to cool the unit.

148. Air-cooled transformers have similar hazards
as other energized electrical equipment.

149. The electric utility supplies many
buildings with 480/277-volt services.

150. Dry transformers are located throughout the
building to step down the voltage to 120-volts.

151. Oil-cooled transformers contain oil to conduct
heat away from the core and insulate
components from arcing.

152. Because oil provides electrical insulation
it must have dielectric properties.

153. Transformers are located in rooms or vaults
that may be inside or outside the building.

154. Building codes or operational needs may indicate
the type of emergency backup power supplies
required.

155. Building codes or operational needs may indicate
the type of emergency backup power supplies
required.

156. Emergency generators may be either
permanent or portable.

157. Size of the generator is determined by amount of power
needed for desired services when normal power fails.

158. Codes specify the minimum required fuel storage
for diesel- or gasoline- driven generators.

159. For many facilities, operational needs will
determine the fuel storage requirements.

160. An emergency power supply system
may include other components.

161. Emergency power supplies can
require batteries.

162. Stationary storage battery systems should be
documented during pre-incident planning.

163. Other types of battery systems, are
found in and on buildings.