Reference no: EM132572795
Scenario-Based Case Study
Question 1: Prepare a well-organized narrative addressing the existing fire protection, detection, and suppression systems for the warehouse in the Points to Ponder Scenario. Your discussion will consist of your evaluation of the previous fire protection, detection, and suppression systems. In addition, your recommendations for the rebuild of the warehouse should include the advantages that these systems have on life safety and loss prevention. Make sure to include emerging technologies related to fire protection systems that you recommend, and differentiate between the types of fire protection systems you believe would protect employees and visitors.
As you make suggestions to improve life, safety, and fire protection, refer back to the background information, if needed, to provide you with the necessary material to identify the basic components common to fire protection for the City of Washington Distribution Warehouse.
Building upon the background information, as firefighters entered the structure, they had to wade through large amounts of product debris falling from the high-rack storage, and smaller debris was floating out of the loading dock doors. The products piled in the high racks hindered the operation of the in-rack sprinkler heads, allowing the products on the lower shelves to continue burning.
Note: On the fire scene, in order for the firefighters to understand where the fire is located, sides and quadrant designations have been identified as A, B, C, D. The structure faces the street (i.e., the address side), which is normally the front door; this is referred to as Side A. Facing the front door going clockwise, each side then has a letter designation of B, C, D. This means that Side B is on the left, Side C is the rear, and Side D is the right.
Question 2: As we saw in the unit lesson, it is critical for fire protection design engineers to understand the dynamics of fire and fire behavior. In this section, you should address the areas listed below.
- Briefly describe the stages of fire from the ignition phase through decay.
- Discuss heat, fuel, oxygen, and a chemical chain reaction (fire tetrahedron) and how it produces flaming (visible fire).
- Summarize the benefits of fire protection systems in different types of structures based on fire behavior.