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Article: Specifying fireproofing: more than a rating game.(includes related article)
- Article from:
- Building Design & Construction
- Article date:
- November 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Like most fire protection measures, applied fire-resistant systems are required by code groups for two reasons: to help provide safe egress from buildings and, in dense urban settings, to prevent fire from spreading to nearby structures. Among other uses, the fire-resistive finishes are typically applied to the surfaces of structural members, exit ways and other assemblies, essentially buying time for a building and its occupants.
How much time? In the case of commercial and public buildings, model building codes require that columns, beams, and floor-ceiling and roof-ceiling assemblies carry fire ratings of one to two hours. The same is true of the walls and ...