Costa Rica Real Estate – Construction Materials & Fire Resistance

Choosing construction materials for their safety.

The greatest danger of fire in a building is when the fire is spreading into different areas. This spread is favored or caused by the use of highly flammable decorative materials and by faulty design concepts, says a specialist in fire safety.

As a fire grows, the behavior of the combination of construction elements is extremely important since at high temperatures these begin to progressively lose their rigidity and resistance affecting the structure, which can even collapse.

The behavior of each material depends on its resistance to fire and the combination of components that react to flames or heat.

The National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models of the University of Costa Rica (LANAMME) is in charge of authenticating certificates from the National Association of Fire Protection about resistance to fire.

Although they cannot conduct fire-resistance tests they can establish that what the supplier says with respect to a material’s reaction and resistance to fire is correct.

They also verify the source of the information and its reliability. These kinds of tests are well established and easy to verify. LANAMME participates actively in the School of Civil Engineering so that future engineers are exposed to basic knowledge pertaining to engineering and fire safety.
Containing the fire.

The stable behavior of walls, floors, roofs, structural elements and composite elements of construction in case of fire is fundamental in keeping a fire from spreading. Generally requirements are clearly determined by civil engineering fire codes.

Norms establish that a constructions reaction to fire be measured in terms of hours. That is, the length of time the material resists high temperatures created by fire before allowing flames or hot gases to pass to another area.

During the test, the structure, that is, walls with their decorative components are subjected to temperatures of 1093 C° for a determined period (zero to four hours). The number of hours it lasts without losing its construction properties is the maximum time of its fire-retardant property.

Also tested is the reaction to actual fire. The test measures up to what point a material contributes to the start, development and spread of fire, considering properties such as flammability, combustibility, speed of combustion, etc.

Steel and its by-products:

Characteristics: Including perling, industrial tubing, iron and panels for galvanized iron roofs.
Reaction to fire: These materials are not flammable. Nevertheless, subjected to high temperatures for a long time they expand, distort and collapse.
Fire resistance: Critical temperature is approximately 538 C°. At this point it will not support its designated load.

Concrete blocks:

Characteristics: Concrete blocks are made of concrete, a mixture of clean water, stone and cement.
Reaction to fire: Loses water and contracts, gets fissures and cracks.
Fire resistance: Resistance depends on proportions of the mix of concrete blocks and the width of the walls. Generally resistance is more than four hours.

Fiber-cement-Plycem

Characteristics: Composed of crunched concrete, organic mineralized fibers and inert inorganic additives.
Reaction to fire: Slows the passage of flames and hot gases but will succumb once time of resistance ends.
Fire resistance: Depends on the structure and the thickness of the panels. On average will last 1-3 hours depending on the qualities of its components.

Gypsum panels:

Characteristics: Thin panels composed of plaster rock with a thick cardboard cover.
Reaction to fire: Once past resistance time, loses form and characteristics.
Fire resistance: Components and fibers resist high temperatures and help maintain the integrity of the panel for up to four hours, depending on the structure.

JPM Panels:

Characteristics: JPM is manufactured from a homogeneous mix of plaster and cellulose fiber in standard lengths of 1.22 m. x 2.44 m.
Reaction to fire: Once past resistance time, loses form and characteristics.
Fire resistance: Retards action of flames for 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the wall structure.

Natural Solid Wood:

Characteristics: Natural, flexible, lightweight and resistant
Reaction to fire: On burning loses girth and height. The heat evaporates humidity starting a process of carbonization that slows the action of fire. When the temperature reaches 400 or 500 C°, the wood burns, without carbonization.
Fire resistance: Wood is combustible but not flammable

Our thanks to our friends at La Nacion – Costa Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission to use their article in English..

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.