Introduction

This chapter introduces fire fundamentals and establishes principles of construction fire safety. The “fire tetrahedron concept” is presented to review the necessary components for a fire to occur (fuel, oxidizer, heat and an uninhibited chemical chain reaction). Building fire safety focuses closely on eliminating, reducing or managing fuel and heat sources. The importance of construction fire safety is examined and the multidimensional impacts it could have on the project. Projects that experience fires have significant hurdles to overcome, such as property damage, schedule delays, cost impacts, morale loss and a strain on key relationships. However, the most important goal of building and construction fire safety is to keep occupants safe. The construction fire safety plan is developed to mitigate the risks associated with construction activities in buildings. This chapter will explore the contents of these plans and how they can be implemented.