Training Presentation

Building construction is an important topic for firefighters to understand. Knowing the components of building construction and the different types of construction is the foundation to applying firefighting strategy and tactics and is paramount to firefighter safety.

Do an original, informational, pre-incident planning training of fire academy recruits in your own community. You will deliver this recording as though you are teaching live in a classroom. Begin by identifying the five types of construction as defined by International Building Code (IBC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

• Give one example for each of the five types of building construction. Use examples from your own community, where possible, to help students make the connection and see the value of the information.
• Describe how fire affects each type of construction. For each example building, identify if it is traditional, modern, or legacy construction, and offer specific characteristics of that construction.
• Discuss the dangers of any structural component in the type of construction chosen if exposed to direct fire. For example, at the local self-storage facility, lightweight building materials are susceptible to early failure in fire.
• Discuss the importance of building components being designed, installed, and maintained properly so as not to fail under active fire conditions. Show how this is achieved for each of the example buildings. For example, in the local church, lightweight wood trusses when exposed to active fire conditions may weaken, increasing the potential for collapse.
• Discuss fire protection features found in the different building constructions. Conclude with a summary of how knowledge of the building construction is essential in pre-incident planning.

You must submit photographs or images of each of the five buildings that can be distributed to the students. Be sure to label each building so students can identify the building type.