Fire Engineering Essay Example

Fire Engineering Essay Example Fire Engineering Essay Fire Engineering Essay Essay Topic: To Build a Fire Fire Engineering Name: Institution: Lecturer: : Course: Date: Fire Engineering 1. What do laws in your state indicate about false fire alarms and tampering with fire protection equipment? Cite the law. If anyone purposely breaks, molests or tampers with any private or public fire equipment, they will be considered guilty; for instance, tampering with fire alarms, fire extinguishers, emergency radios or phones. This includes attracting false attention to suggest fire accident. For example, shouting for help, sounding fire alarms or any other way of communication suggesting fire. However, this law does not prohibit testing of fire safety equipment like alarms. It should be strictly noted that only authorized persons are allowed to do those tests. The penalty for this offense is stated in Fire Safety Act 1988. A culprit will be guilty of a misdemeanor. He or she will be penalized according to the ruling of the court. In most cases, one is fined an amount not more than $1,000. Everyone is required to protect fire safety equipment and use only when necessary (National Fire Protection Association., Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 1988). 2. A factory has ceased to make metal parts for machines and is now being used to store plastic garbage cans (the type used outside). It is a sprinklered building. Is this acceptable? Why or why not? Cite the code. It is not acceptable to drastically change the function of a sprinklered building. The factory was previously dealing with metal, and now it is a store for plastic bags. The management is supposed to comply with requirements of having a plastic bags store. This includes installing the right equipment and fire safety equipment. There are also requirements for a sprinkler building. The management is required to adhere to them. This law is quoted in the provincial building codes Act (National Fire Protection Association., Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 1988). 3. Explain the requirements for use of charcoal grills at an apartment building. Cite the code. FC307.5 contains the requirements of charcoal in apartment buildings. No one will be allowed to light any sort of fire that will be unsafe. Open fires have an extremely high chance of spreading and causing fire accidents. As a result, there are strict measures when handling them. This includes charcoal grills or any open fire. Should charcoal grills be used, they should be away from balconies and decks of apartments. They should be not less than fifteen feet way from combustible structures and homes. Combustion of charcoal produces carbon monoxide, which is dangerous to human beings. This is one of the reasons why the charcoal grills, should be used far away from homes. This code only allows use of electricity stoves in the house. They must be inspected and listed by the relevant authority. However, homes of one and two families are excluded from this code (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, 1997). .4. A house is used both for personal residence and to provide day care for seven children in the basement. What is the occupancy classification and what restrictions are made on the use? It is not wrong to have a day care combined with the personal residence. The building code section 308, 1-1 states that such a building should be large enough to hold up to sixteen people. It allows people to live together just in case there are others who depend on each other for help; for example, small children or disabled people. These people should be receiving help on a 24 hours basis. It is wrong to have a dare care facility at the basement of the house. Section 308, 1-4 states that there should be a separate building for looking after these children. This is an appropriate day care center. It is designed for less than 24 hour care or less. These children should be accommodated in the main house and not the basement. The basement is meant for utility space. For example, heaters, fuse boxes and parking lots. There is a separate section of building codes that talk about utility space and miscellaneous (Lataille, 2003). 5. You notice a property is vacant and has vegetation covering it- what actions are required to bring this structure in code compliance. Property management codes require all property to be free from rodents or any other infestation. Therefore, any vegetation around homes or other structures should be not more than six inches or 152.4 mm. If the property is vacant, the local authorities should look for the administrator. He or she should be informed about the status of the structure and the immediate measure to be taken. For example, he or she should organize how the compound should be cleaned. All the overgrown vegetation should be cut and disposed off. The environment should comply with the codes of property management. There is a penalty for violating codes of property management. Therefore, the administrator is likely to face the consequences of deserting his or her property (Lataille, 2003) 6. Under what conditions is the use of portable electrical connectors permitted. These kinds of equipment include laptops, CD players, DVD players, notepads, cell phones, iPads among others. People can only use them in areas where it is safe to use them. For instance, some of these devices interfere with signals of other equipment; for instance, cell phones are known to interfere with some hospital electronic equipment. During taking off or landing of airplanes, people are required to switch off any electronic equipment. However, it has not been confirmed that it is true phones interfere with aircraft operations. The Aviation department just takes a precaution measure to ensure maximum safety during the flight (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, 1997). 7. What fire extinguishers are required in Educational Occupancies and what spacing is indicated? In addition, the local school board proposes placing fire extinguishers only in the offices, janitor’s closets and special purpose classrooms (labs and shops), what are your thoughts? Portable fire extinguishers should be used in all educational facilities. Portable fire extinguishers are easy and effective to use because of their mobility. In case a fire starts and there are no extinguisher on site, a person can easily rush for the nearest and use it to put out the fire. Every room should have a fire extinguisher. This will enhance efficiency of fighting fire in case of a fire accident. I think that the extinguishers should be placed in every possible place likely to catch fire. Installing in specific places may not help because fire may start at a place where there is no extinguisher. They should be available in all fire prone areas (National Fire Protection Association., Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 1988). Reference: Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. (1997). Fire engineering. London: Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. Lataille, J. I. (2003). Fire protection engineering in building design. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. National Fire Protection Association., Society of Fire Protection Engineers. (1988). SFPE handbook of fire protection engineering. Quincy, Mass: National Fire Protection Association.

The Pastry War (French Mexican War, 1838 to 1839)

The Pastry War (French Mexican War, 1838 to 1839) The â€Å"Pastry War† was fought between France and Mexico from November 1838 to March 1839. The war was nominally fought because French citizens living in Mexico during a prolonged period of strife had their investments ruined and the Mexican government refused any sort of reparations, but it also had to do with long-standing Mexican debt. After a few months of blockades and naval bombardments of the port of Veracruz, the war ended when Mexico agreed to compensate France. Background of the War Mexico had serious growing pains after gaining its independence from Spain in 1821. A succession of governments replaced one another, and the presidency changed hands about 20 times in the first 20 years of independence. Late 1828 was particularly lawless, as forces loyal to rival presidential candidates Manuel Gà ³mez Pedraza and Vicente Guerrero Saldaà ±a fought in the streets after a hotly contested election. It was during this period that a pastry shop belonging to a French national identified only as Monsieur Remontel was allegedly ransacked by drunken army forces. Debts and Reparations In the 1830’s, several French citizens demanded reparations from the Mexican government for damages to their businesses and investments. One of them was Monsieur Remontel, who asked the Mexican government for the princely sum of 60,000 pesos. Mexico owed a great deal of money to European nations, including France, and the chaotic situation in the country seemed to indicate that these debts would never be paid. France, using the claims of its citizens as an excuse, sent a fleet to Mexico in early 1838 and blockaded the main port of Veracruz. The War By November, diplomatic relations between France and Mexico over lifting the blockade had deteriorated. France, which was demanding 600,000 pesos as reparations for the losses of its citizens, began shelling the fort of San Juan de Ulà ºa, which guarded the entrance to the port of Veracruz. Mexico declared war on France, and French troops attacked and captured the city. The Mexicans were outnumbered and outgunned, but still fought valiantly. The Return of Santa Anna The Pastry War marked the return of Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. Santa Anna had been an important figure in the early period after independence, but had been disgraced after the loss of Texas, seen as an utter fiasco by most of Mexico. In 1838 he was conveniently at his ranch near Veracruz when the war broke out. Santa Anna rushed to Veracruz to lead its defense. Santa Anna and the defenders of Veracruz were soundly routed by superior French forces, but he emerged a hero, partly because he had lost one of his legs during the fighting. He had the leg buried with full military honors. Resolution to the Pastry War With their main port captured, Mexico had no choice but to relent. Through British diplomatic channels, Mexico agreed to pay the full amount of restoration demanded by France, 600,000 pesos. The French withdrew from Veracruz and their fleet returned to France in March of 1839. Aftermath of the War The Pastry War, considered a minor episode in the history of Mexico, nevertheless had several important consequences. Politically, it marked the return of Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna to national prominence. Considered a hero in spite of the fact that he and his men lost the city of Veracruz, Santa Anna was able to regain much of the prestige he had lost after the catastrophe in Texas. Economically, the war was disproportionally disastrous for Mexico, as not only did they have to pay the 600,000 pesos to France, but they had to rebuild Veracruz and lost several months worth of customs revenue from their most important port. The Mexican economy, which had already been a shambles before the war, was hit hard. The Pastry War weakened the Mexican economy and military less than ten years before the much more historically important Mexican-American War broke out. Finally, it established a pattern of French intervention in Mexico which would culminate in the 1864 introduction of Maximilia n of Austria as Emperor of Mexico with the support of French troops.