FIS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION MIDTERM
Type IV construction is:
Heavy timber wood frame construction
Which type of foundation is a thick slab beneath the entire area of a building?
Mat slab
Structural components in Type 2-B construction are:
Unprotected/ no fire resistance
Where can an HAVAC system's smoke control mode be controlled from?
control panel, main control room, fire fighter's smoke control station
Most structural lumber has a moisture content of:
19 percent or less
Stairwells in buildings taller than four stories are required to have a:
2 hour enclosures
Light wood framing uses nominal lumber that is ________ at its smallest dimension.
2 inches (50mm)
A vertical or horizontal misalignment along the length of a crack in a concrete foundation wall indicates:
A movement or shift in structure.
Which of the following statements regarding multiple layers of surface material is MOST accurate?
Act as insulator and will contribute to spread of fire.
Which HVAC component is necessary to keep the air free of contaminants?
Air filtration
Stairway landings in a smoke-proof enclosure where a person may wait safely until further assistance or instructions are available are referred to as:
Area of refuge
Since energy and resources are expended in the construction of a building, they are frequently constructed:
As investment tools
Which of the following is an essential consideration in the design of fire protection systems?
Automatic sprinkler system
Mechanical conveyor systems have safeguards against incomplete door or shutter closure during a fire that include:
Automatic stop controls, breaks in conveyors etc.
Which of the following uses wall to support spanning elements?
Bearing wall structures
Which of the following is a common type of reaction within a horizontal structural assembly that is loaded vertically?
Bending moment
The parapet height above a combustible roof is determined by the:
Building code
Which of the following statements regarding compartmentation is MOST accurate?
Building codes contain explicit requirements for fire-rated walls in various occupancies.
An opening in an exterior wall subject to severe fire exposure from the outside is a:
Class D fire door
Which of the following footings is a square pad of concrete that supports a column, is often reinforced, and is limited to a relatively small load?
Column
A fundamental fire concern with Type 3 construction is the:
Combustible concealed spaces that are created between floors and ceiling joist and between studs in partition walls when they are covered with interior finish material.
Which of the following are inherent in lightweight and engineered construction and provide paths for the rapid spread of fire through a structure?
Combustible voids
As with other art forms, architectural styles are subject to change over time and relation to the:
Communal environment
A type of damping mechanism that absorbs resonant energy when buildings move during an earthquake is:
Damping mechanism
Building codes regulate the use of interstitial spaces as return-air plenum because improper implementation can result in:
Dangerous egress conditions
Building classification can help fire fighters determine the likelihood of structural collapse under fire conditions and can indicate the:
Degree of occupants safety
During renovation and remodeling, building departments require that structural modification be:
Designed by structural engineers and performed by licensed contractors.
Which of the following are symptoms of settlement?
Distorted building frame, sloped floors, cracked walls, etc.
Air-cooled transformers that use the surrounding air to cool the unit are also referred to as:
Dry transformers
Which load type involves motion and is capable of delivering energy greatly in excess of the weight of the object involved?
Dynamic
What do building codes specify for the construction of pipe chasers?
Enclosure protection
In jurisdictions where the fire department does not have formal authority to review building plans, fire departments are MOST likely to:
Establish a cooperative relationship with building officials.
Which technique may be used to shorten the construction time by overlapping the design and construction phases?
Fast-Track Construction
For fire doors, one of the two criteria for acceptability is that:
Fire doors must remain securely in its frame during flame test and the fire door assembly must remain in place when subjected to a hose stream after fire test.
Which of the following statements about fire escapes anchor points is MOST accurate?
Fire escapes usually anchored to the building and anchor points may fail without warning
Which of the following indicate the ability of a structural assembly to maintain its load-bearing capacity and structural integrity under fire conditions?
Fire resistance
What does the first digit in the three-digit number code for building classification represent?
Fire resistance rating (in hours) of exterior bearing walls.
Which is an applicable requirement for ignition-resistant construction?
Fire resistant covering, exterior wall that is noncombustible or 1 hour fire rating, limitation on the size of attic.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) in building construction?
Flame spread rapid
Which of the following is a measurement that compares the surface flammability of a material to standard materials under controlled test conditions?
Flame spread rating
Which of the following can record data from inspections and preplans for a specific occupancy and allows the data to be retrieved on districting or dispatching maps?
Geographic Information System (GIS)
The pressure in a pressurized stairwell must be:
High enough that it will prevent flow of smoke in stairwell but low enough to allow occupant access into the stairwell.
Fire resistance ratings incorporated into building codes:
Include minimum requirements for structural components (beams, columns, walls, partitions etc.)
Which of the statements about freestanding walls is MOST accurate?
Independent of the basic building frame
What may cause deterioration that is unique to wood?
Insects, decay, shrinkage
Hollow expanded polystyrene (EPS) blocks can be filled with concrete to create:
Insulated concrete form (ICF) construction
In all climate, what increases a structure's energy conservation?
Insulating materials
What does a grade stamp on the back of a wood structural panel indicate?
Intended structural application and its suitability for exposure of water
What is a type of fire retardant coating that is sometimes applied to interior finishes?
Intumescent coatings, mastics, gas-forming paints
What will be the last portion of the rigid frame assembly to fail under fire conditions?
Joints
The most significant force generated by an earthquake is:
Lateral Load
Which of the following is a factor that an engineer designing heavy-timber construction will account for?
Likelihood of collapse of roof or floor decks, Methods used to join,Integrity of timber connections under fire conditions,Suitability of protection of connectors
For a structure to remain intact, the total stresses within structural members must be:
Lower than failure point of material for structure
Which of the following is a requirement for fire walls?
Maintain thresholds for requirement of factors such as fire flow.
Why are protected stairs extremely important in the overall life safety of a building?
Minor impairment in visibility significantly impairs occupants' ability to safely egress.
Which pressurization method provides a more uniform flow of air into the stairwell and negates the primary limitation of single-injection system?
Multiple-injection system
Which of the following is the BEST choice for wood decay resistance in light frame construction when wood is used in the foundation walls?
Must be insulated and treated with preservatives.
Which of the following statements about live loads is MOST accurate?
Not fixed or permanant
Which of the following electrical equipment conducts heat away from the core and electrically insulates internal components from arcing?
Oil-cool transformer
Plywood is an example of:
Panels made up of several thin layers (veneers) rotary-sliced from rotating logs and glued together
Which of the following types of wood panels may be used in lateral-force-resisting diaphragms but is generally not used for structural applications?
Particleboard
What is a primary safety limitation of I-Joists that are made of engineered wood?
Possibility of swift collapse
Which of the following is a system of upright post mounted to wedge-shaped concrete piers that transfer the weight of the structure to the ground?
Post and Piers foundation
Fire fighters manually activating vents must ensure that they are operating the appropriate vents in order to:
Prevent drawing the fire to other uninvolved areas
Transfer switches for emergency power supply systems may be required by code to be located in:
Protected room
Recirculation of air through an HVAC system can increase system efficiency by:
Reduce amount of air that must be heated or cooled to the desired building temperature.
Which stairs have intermediate landing between floors, and reverse direction at that point?
Return
Which type of door ordinarily closes under the force of gravity when a fusible link melts?
Rolling (overhead)
Which of the following are rigid, three-dimensional structure that have thinner components compared to other structural members?
Shell
Using temporary supports for existing foundation is referred to as:
Shoring
A disadvantage of platform framing is:
Shrinkage
Which statement about snow load is MOST accurate?
Snow load on the ground is used to calculate the load on the roof.
The speed governor which slows the drive motor when an elevator starts to exceed a safe speed is also known as the:
Speed-reducing swtich
The most common type of connector between heavy timber members is:
Steel gust plates with through bolts.
Altered load patterns caused by supports that shift or settle may:
Structural collapse
Flame spread over a specific material can be measured and predicted in degrees known as the:
Surface-burning characteristics
Springs in folding stairs lose tension rapidly when exposed to heat, which may cause the star assembly to:
Swing down into the structure during a fire.
What may cause peripheral structural members to expand and contract at a rate different from internal members?
Temperature changes external to building
Machine Room-Less (MRL) elevators differ from other types of elevators because:
The other components may all fit within the hoistway.
What is the distinctive characteristic of post and beam framing?
The spacing of vertical post and the cross sectional dimensions of the members
Building codes typically allow the use of open stairs in buildings only when:
They connect no more than two adjacent floors above the basement level.
Which type of fire wall must have a structural framework with sufficient strength to resist the lateral pull of the collapse of framework on either side?
Tied
Fire doors with 1/2-hour and 1/3-hour ratings are primarily used in smoke barriers and openings:
To corridors
Building construction and occupancy classification are used together in building codes because they:
To establish limitation on permissible heights and open areas of buildings
Scissor stairs are:
Two separate set of stairs constructed in a common shaft.
Wood-frame buildings that have exposed interior walls with no interior are classified as:
Type V-B
Building types whose structural framing materials contribute a significant amount of fuel to a fire include:
Types III , IV, V
Space frames are well suited to support:
Uniformly distributed loads
The only standardized test method for fire resistance that is universally accepted by building codes because they:
Use of fire ratings developed over years has contributed significantly to fire safety communities and individual buildings.
Which of the following statements regarding NFPA interior finish tests is MOST accurate?
Used to evaluate the performance of textile wall coverings under fire conditions.
To prevent mushrooming of heat and gases, building codes require________ at the top of most elevator hoistways.
Venting
What is a disadvantage of using fire-retardant treatments on wood?
Water chem not approved, reduces wood strength
The final building design always involve:
What is desired, what is needed, and what is practical.
Glazing is used in partitions and fire doors:
Where visibility is desired and fire rating is required.
Fans will move air throughout the HVAC system, but:
Will move contaminants that are introduced into the system.
Which of the following statements about the use of combustible materials in Type 1 construction is MOST accurate?
fire-resistive construction
Which of the following statements about swinging fire doors is MOST accurate?
protect stairwell enclosure and corridors
Which of the following statements regarding structural stiffening strategies for improving a structure's ability to withstand seismic load is MOST accurate?
used to harden a structure against expected loads
Which of the following is a characteristic of post and beam framing?
wood frame construction with columns and beams
