Structural Design for Fire Safety

A comprehensive introduction to the structural design of buildings and building elements exposed to fire, this reference resource bridges the gap between the well established principles of structural engineering and the rapidly developing area of fire protection engineering. Gathering together a large volume of material from many sources relating to the fire resistance of building structures, the book starts with the fundamentals and also offers methods of calculating fire severity and achieving fire resistance, including the important contribution of structural fire resistance to overall fire safety.

Table of Contents:
Building fire safety; fire and heat; room fires; fire severity; fire resistance; structural design for fire; steel structures; concrete structures; heavy timber construction; light frame construction; design recommendations.

Review :
The first word that springs to mind on thinking about this book is "clarity." The overall approach is carefully crafted to lead the reader, whether novice or well-informed, through a logical development and exposition of the subject. The book brings together under one title a range of thinking which would normally be found in disparate publications. This simplifies hugely the task of thinking about fire effects on building structures.

The book opens with six chapters on the physics and fundamentals of fire. Structural engineers with limited knowledge of fire will I believe experience a number of "Aha!" moments as concepts which might previously have been vague mysteries are now made clear. In particular the chapters on post-flashover fires and fire severity will be enlightening.

An excellent feature is the extensive use of simplified worked examples. As an aid to understanding I have always found that actually putting numbers into the formulae is like putting flesh on the bones. By following a worked example you can both tell that you have interpreted the formula correctly and also acquire a quantitative feeling for the attributes being assessed.

Moving into the actual material design sections, structural engineers will be on more familiar territory. Firstly an overview chapter provides a link between the fire physics and general structural philosophies, with a review of limit state and other approaches. Again simplified worked examples are usefully given. The real meat of the book then follows, with discursive chapters on steel, concrete and timber. Concepts are enlivened by case studies, including photographs of fire disasters.

Overall, I would regard this as an essential book for all structural engineers, on the basis that performance based fire design is progressively becoming the norm world-wide. Reliance on rote based prescriptive design must now be relegated to the dust-bin of history, as understanding advances. For fire engineers, this book gives insights into the problems facing structural engineers as they grapple with the fire discipline.

For student and university use the book will also clearly be of great value.

Reviewed by J. A. (Tony) Gibson. President, Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand for the Journal of the Structural Engineering Society New Zealand