Building material and Fire..?

Question

Hi,
Does a building made of concrete susceptible to fire? I mean is the concrete flammable/combustible material or is a fire-proof material?
Thanks

Answer 1

There is no such thing as fire proof. SERIOUSLY. Almost anything will burn if it gets hot enough. Thats why they put aluminum in rocket fuel. Steel will burn. Not just melt but actually react with oxygen and burn to produce heat many times hotteer than wood alone. Concrete can burn too. Worse, if it gets hot enough concrete can explode. Though there are techniques to prevent and minimize this. Worse still, fire fighters will not have much luck hacking through concrete to get to you. Plus you are thinking concrete vs wood framing. But are you going to use cellulose insulation? Fiber board? Is your roof going to be all metal $$$ ? Do you want bare concrete walls like a prison or are you going to put a light wood frame up to support drywall? Personally, I like the idea of a spartan concrete house but most people dont agree with me. If you are not going to have bare concrete walls and tile all through your house with concrete slab foundation and make sure all your furniture and maybe even clothing are flame resistant then you are wasting your time worrying about the flamability of your structural material. Most fires go from the inside out. By the time your wood frame catches fire you will either be out of the house or you will be charcoal. A better bet would be to add extra exits to your house and make sure windows are large enough to crawl through and they open and close easily. Plenty of smoke and CO detectors with spare batteries and a couple extinguishers that are not burried and forgotton behind 3 feet of junk under your kitchen sink. Better yet, dont take the advise of some dip wad like me, get a professional's advice. Go to your local firedepartment they will be very happy to give you advice about fire prevention and good house design.

Answer 2

The smart fire protection guys stay away from the word fireproof. We speak of noncombustible, combustible, flammable, fire retardant and fire resistant.

Noncombustibles are stuff which will not burn under ordinary circumstances, but which can lose strength and fail under fire conditions. Most metals are noncombustible.

Combustibles are the ordinary stuff, wood, paper and the like. Diesel fuel is also called combustible. Flammables are the quick burners like gasoline, propane and other volatile liquids.

Fire retardant applies to surface treated wood, and textiles. Also to some wire insulation. Also the goop that firefighting planes drop is called fire retardant.

Fire resistant materials are those that will not burn under normal circumstances, but which can fail after prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Concrete, masonry and stone are in this category.

Some insulating materials are called fire resistant. These materials are applied to steel in building construction to insulate the steel to help slow the temperature rise. This type of construction is called fire resistive.

Typically it is the building contents that catch fire and provide fuel for fire and smoke (for the home, photoelectric rather than ionization). Where there are smoke detectors of the proper type occupants most often have time to evacuate before the time the building construction makes a major contribution to a fire.

These are generalizations of course.

Answer 3

Concrete building still have electrical, gas lines, flooring, ceiling, paint, heaters, air conditioner, doors; all materials other than the concrete can cause a fire depending on the condition and age.
Keep a fire extinguisher by each exit, mounted on the wall.
Know how to use your extinguisher safely and properly.
Smoke detectors.
There is information at your local fire department, because each area is different.
Fire Dog Fire Protection

Answer 4

For all practical purposes, concrete is a fireproof building material.

If I ever have to be in a house fire I hope the house is all concrete, without too much flammable stuff attached to the concrete inside or outside.

They even use a lightweight form of concrete to cover steel beams in building construction to provide a certain number of hours of fireproofing until the beams absorb enough heat to fail, in order to give the people in the building enough time to get out before collapse occurs.

Where you can run into a problem with concrete is if prestressed concrete beams are used in the construction, because in a fire the steel used to prestress the concrete can lose its strength and fail. These are usually load bearing horizontal concrete beams that are prestressed with steel rebar.

Answer 5

Concrete buildings are also destroyed by fire even thogh they are neither flammable like oil/gas nor combustible like wood /papers and does not also fall under fireproof category like asbestos/ceramics .
Concrete walls of buildings are rated for firesafety based on its fire withstanding capabilty i.e fire exposure time duration before damage sets in e.g 1, or 2 hour etc. by safety codes . Thickness of wall/ conctrete cover thickness over reinforcement rods are criteria - more thick being more fire safe .
All things are burned by fire and lead to formation oxides at long exposure to fire.

Answer 6

yes and no