Reducing the Risk of Fire on Your Farm - Ontario Ministry of ...

REDUCING THE RISK OF FIRE ON YOUR FARM<strong>Fire</strong> CompartmentsA fire compartment is a usable, enclosed space in a building that is separated from all o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>building. Many Codes specify maximum compartment sizes, to contain a specific fire risk within an area andprotect people in <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> building. For <strong>the</strong> concept to work, compartment boundaries must have anadequate level <strong>of</strong> fire-resistance. All openings and penetrations through <strong>the</strong>se boundaries require protectionwith rated closures or fire stops. The level <strong>of</strong> fire-resistance required depends on many things including <strong>the</strong>building size and type <strong>of</strong> occupancy.The NFBCC does not limit <strong>the</strong> building size <strong>of</strong> farm buildings, but specifies that where <strong>the</strong> floor area exceeds<strong>the</strong> maximum size (Table 3.2), <strong>the</strong> building be separated into fire compartments.Table 3.2. Maximum Floor Areas for Farm Buildings <strong>of</strong> Low Human OccupancyNumber <strong>of</strong> StoreysMaximum Floor Area/Storey1 4,800 m 2 (51,600 ft 2 )2 2,400 m 2 (25,800 ft 2 )3 1,200 m 2 (12,900 ft 2 )Source: National Farm Building Code <strong>of</strong> Canada, 1995.Review existing farm buildings to assess <strong>the</strong> practicality <strong>of</strong> reducing fire compartment sizes to conform withbuilding area limits established in Table 3.2.Consider <strong>the</strong>se sizes when designing new buildings. For a one storey barn, <strong>the</strong> NFBCC allows a maximumcompartment size <strong>of</strong> 4,800 m 2 (51,600 ft 2 ). If <strong>the</strong> building footprint is larger than 4,800 m 2 , <strong>the</strong> designer’s challengeis to maximize <strong>the</strong> overall efficiency <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> layout and achieve all <strong>the</strong> safety objectives for compartmentalization.For example, dividing a large free stall dairy barn, 33 m (110 ft) wide x 198 m (650 ft) long, into two compartmentsto meet <strong>the</strong> compartment size requirement would involve erecting a fire separation wall near <strong>the</strong> midpoint <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>198 m (650 ft) length. Since <strong>the</strong> cow alleyways and <strong>the</strong> central feed alleyway run on <strong>the</strong> long axis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> building,this would result in five large door openings in <strong>the</strong> fire separation equipped with closure devices (fire doors). Thislayout could negatively impact equipment and cow traffic, and air movement in <strong>the</strong> barn (Figure 3.3).16