Fire Resistive Construction

Overview

This Construction Brief will give you an overview of ISO's Construction Class 6 – fire resistive construction. When you've completed this course, you'll know what an ISO report means when it says a building is fire resistive construction. And you'll understand why a particular structure is—or isn't—fire resistive.

Walls:

• Solid masonry, including reinforced concrete not less than four inches thick
• Hollow masonry not less than 12 inches thick
• Hollow masonry less than 12 inches thick, but not less than eight inches thick with a listed fire-resistance rating of not less than two hours
• Assemblies with not less than a two-hour fire-resistance rating

Floors and roofs:

• Reinforced concrete not less than four inches thick
• Assemblies with not less than a two-hour fire-resistance rating

Structural metal supports:

• Horizontal and vertical load-bearing protected metal supports—including prestressed and posttensioned concrete units—with not less than a two-hour fire-resistance rating

The exterior bearing walls and load-bearing portions of exterior walls must be of noncombustible materials or of masonry, but exterior nonbearing walls and wall panels may be slow burning, combustible, or with no fire-resistance rating.