HKIE Professional Assessment - Fire Discipline flashcards
HKIE Professional Assessment - Fire Discipline · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Fire tetrahedron
- The four requirements for flaming combustion: fuel, oxidant, heat and an uninhibited chemical chain reaction. Removing any one extinguishes the flame.
- t-squared fire growth
- A fire growth model in which heat release rate rises with the square of time: Q = αt², where α is the growth coefficient in kW/s².
- Flashover
- The transition from a growing compartment fire to full involvement of combustible contents, commonly associated with upper-layer gas temperatures near 600 °C or floor radiant flux near 20 kW/m².
- Ventilation-limited fire
- A compartment fire whose heat release rate is controlled by the air supply through openings rather than by fuel surface area, typical after flashover in a closed compartment.
- Smoke layer descent
- The downward accumulation of hot combustion products beneath a ceiling, reducing the clear layer and available egress time as the fire grows.
- Travel distance
- The measured distance an occupant must travel from any point to a place of safety, limited by code according to occupancy, sprinkler protection and escape route arrangement.
- Fire resistance rating
- The period for which an element satisfies stability, integrity and insulation criteria under a standard fire test, expressed in minutes such as 60/60/60.
- Compartmentation
- Division of a building into fire-rated compartments by walls, floors and doors to limit fire and smoke spread, fire size and consequential damage.
- Protected lobby
- A fire-rated lobby separating accommodation from a staircase, fitted with self-closing fire doors to keep smoke out of the escape stair.
- Sprinkler design density
- The discharge rate in mm/min applied over a specified operating area at the most hydraulically remote heads, selected from the occupancy hazard classification.
- Sprinkler K-factor
- A coefficient relating head flow to pressure by Q = K√P, characterising the discharge capacity of a sprinkler head.
- Clean agent hold time
- The period for which a gaseous suppression concentration is maintained in an enclosure after discharge, verified by a door fan integrity test.
- Water-mist system
- A suppression system producing fine droplets for cooling and oxygen displacement, requiring listing for the specific hazard and not interchangeable with sprinklers.
- Cause-and-effect matrix
- A documented table linking each detection or alarm input to the required outputs, such as plant shutdown, door release, pressurisation and suppression release.
- Pre-action sprinkler system
- A dry system in which water is admitted to the pipework only after a detection signal, reducing accidental discharge risk in sensitive occupancies.
- Design fire scenario
- A justified credible fire case defined by fuel, arrangement, ignition, ventilation and active system reliability, used as the input to fire engineering analysis.
- ASET versus RSET
- Available safe egress time from tenability analysis compared with required safe egress time from detection, pre-movement and travel, with a safety margin.
- Zone model
- A fire model assuming uniform upper and lower compartment layers, used for smoke filling and temperature estimates where geometry permits.
- CFD fire model
- A field model solving the flow equations on a computational grid, used where geometry, smoke control or complex mixing make zone models inadequate.
- Tenability criteria
- Limits on visibility, temperature, radiant heat flux and toxic gas exposure used to judge whether occupants can escape without injury.
- Buildings Ordinance Cap. 123
- Hong Kong legislation controlling construction, alteration and use of buildings, administered by the Building Authority through the Buildings Department.
- Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance
- Hong Kong Cap. 572, requiring fire safety improvements to pre-specified composite and domestic buildings in respect of installations, escape and construction.
- FSI Code of Practice
- The Hong Kong code specifying minimum fire service installations and equipment and their inspection, testing and maintenance requirements.
- Occupation permit
- Approval allowing a building to be occupied, granted after satisfactory completion and acceptance testing of required fire service installations.
- Jockey pump
- A small pump maintaining fire main pressure against minor leakage, preventing the main duty fire pump from starting on small pressure fluctuations.
- Landing valve
- A valved outlet on a fire main at each floor of a building, allowing the Fire Services Department to connect hose and obtain water at that level.
- Staircase pressurisation
- A smoke control method maintaining positive pressure in an escape stair relative to accommodation, with relief and door force limits.
- Fire service water tank
- A dedicated stored water supply of specified effective capacity, excluding unusable reserve, providing the design flow for the required duration.
- V-pattern burn
- A fire damage pattern fanning upward from a point of origin, used with other evidence to indicate fire direction but never conclusive alone.
- Char depth analysis
- Estimation of fire duration and intensity from the depth of charring on timber, interpreted alongside ventilation and fuel conditions.
- Accelerant residue analysis
- Laboratory examination, commonly by GC-MS, of fire debris for ignitable liquid residues, which supports but does not alone prove deliberate ignition.
- Post-fire structural assessment
- Engineering evaluation of residual capacity after fire, considering reduced sections, elevated-temperature strength loss, spalling and distortion before reoccupation.
- Certifying engineer duty
- Personal professional responsibility for work signed or certified, requiring actual review and the ability to defend the design and its assumptions.