Design for fire quiz

Please answer the following 10 multiple choice questions, then click 'submit' to check the result. The pass mark for a CPD certificate is 8 out of 10, and you may retake the quiz as many times as you wish, but the questions will vary! Please note that one, two, three or all of the possible answers presented for each question may be right, and to gain a mark for that question all correct answers must be identified.

Good luck

Design for fire

Which of the following describes the building at Cardington in which the major fire test programme was carried out between 1994 and 2003?

Non-composite steel frame with precast planks
Steel frame with Slimdek beams
Steel frame with composite steel deck floors
Post tensioned flat slab

What is the word or phrase used to describe the moment when simultaneous ignition of the contents of a fire compartment takes place?

Super ignition
Flashover
Auto ignition
Pyrolysis

Which of the following statements is correct?

The standard fire test is always a good representation of what happens in a real building fire.
A standard fire test on composite steel deck floors is a good indicator of how these floors will behave in real fires.
Continuous composite steel deck floors generally have much greater strength in fire than is indicated by the standard fire test on isolated elements.
The standard fire test is unsafe.

What is the meaning of time equivalent in fire engineering?

It is the severity of a fire in a compartment in terms of exposure to a standard fire test
It is the time in minutes at which the fire in a compartment will burn above 600°C
It is the period for which a fire will burn based on times measured in other, equivalent, compartments
It is the period of time which is required for the fire brigade to attend and extinguish a compartment fire.

Which of the following is not a correct conclusion following the Cardington fire tests?

That composite steel deck construction has significantly greater reserves of strength than is indicated by tests of individual members
That columns are critical stabilising elements and must be protected
That all beams supporting composite steel deck floors do not need to be protected in order to prevent structural collapse in fire
That the results are applicable to forms of construction other than steel frames with composite steel deck floors.

Which of the following statements is not always correct?

Fire safety engineering can provide an alternative approach to fire safety to that given in Government published documents such as Approved Document B.
A fire engineering approach should always be considered in large buildings.
For some buildings, the provisions of documents such as Approved Document B for the design of fire precautions may not be adequate and a fire safety engineering approach may be the only viable way to a satisfactory standard of fire safety
Fire safety engineering has wide applications in finding solutions to particular problems in the design of fire precautions

How does an element of construction demonstrate that it can perform a fire resisting function if required?

Through trial and error in real building fires
Through a detailed theoretical study
Via a fire test carried out in accordance with a standard acceptable in the country in which that element is to be used
Via tests carried out in the manufacturer's own furnaces

Where a single storey building must retain stability to prevent fire spread to adjacent buildings (i.e. a boundary condition), the most efficient method of designing is usually to?

Fire protect the whole building
Fire protect the stanchions along the affected wall(s) and design the bases to resist the overturning moment from collapse of the unprotected rafters
Fire protect selected frames of the building
Rely on the owner of the adjacent building to install cladding capable of resisting the fire spread

The maximum period of fire resistance required in the documents published by Government across the UK to help meet the requirements of their Building Regulation is?

60 minutes
90 minutes
120 minutes
240 minutes

In which areas of the UK are sprinklers not mandatory in buildings over 30 metres in height?

England & Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
All of the above