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 have been used as compensatory features where beams have been designed to be unprotected in composite steel deck construction?

Increased numbers of shear studs
Increased mesh size
Flexible connections to accommodate increased deflections
Changing the floor to precast plank

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

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

Structural steel in single storey buildings does not generally require fire protection. Which of these situations is not an exception to that rule?

The steel is in an external wall which must retain stability to prevent fire spread to adjacent buildings
The steel forms part of a compartment wall or the enclosing structure of a protected zone
The building contains a valuable cargo which must be protected and so the building must be protected against collapse
The steel forms part of a separating wall

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/are true?

Approved Document B must be used in the design of fire precautions in England?
The use of Approved Document B for the design of fire precautions in buildings in England is deemed to satisfy the requirements of the Building Regulations.
It is not necessary to use Approved Document B for the design of fire precautions in England if it can be shown that you have met the requirements of the Building Regulations in some other way.
The use of Approved Document B does not guarantee that all buildings will be safe in fire

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

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

Which of the following is/are not considered a major risk factor in fire in BS9999, the new British Standard published to provide an alternative approach to the design of fire precautions in buildings to those in Government published documents?

Whether the occupants of the building are familiar with their surroundings.
Whether the occupants of the building are likely to be asleep
Where there is not a fire station nearby
The height of the building

A new British Standard, BS 9999, has been published to provide an alternative approach to the design of fire precautions in buildings to those in Government published documents. Does BSI describe it as being?

Based on structured risk based design
Based on conservative experience
Based on European approaches to the design of fire precautions in buildings
Based on an averaged approach from across the regions of the UK