Fire Protection

From a constructional point of view, the most important parameters governing the suitability of a particular envelope component for fire-protection purposes are the fire behavior of the materials it is composed of as well as its constructional make-up. Further, the combustibility of a material also matters since it increases the fire load and hence the fire hazard present in a building. In this chapter, the constructional measures are discussed necessary to achieve a certain fire-resistance duration of a building component, a measure which is intended to reduce the damage produced by a fire and, particularly, to allow dwellers to safely evacuate the burning building.