Notable Notes in CDI 106

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Fire Code, the following words and
phrases shall mean and be construed as indicated:

Abatement - Any act that would remove or neutralize a fire hazard.

Administrator - Any person who acts as agent of the owner and manages the use of a
building for him.

Blasting Agent - Any material or mixture consisting of a fuel and oxidizer used to set off
explosives. b

Cellulose Nitrate or Nitro Cellulose - A highly combustible and explosive compound

produced by the reaction of nitric acid with a cellulose material.

Cellulose Nitrate Plastic (Pyroxylin) - Any plastic substance, materials or compound

having cellulose nitrate (nitro cellulose) as base.

Combustible Flammable or Inflammable - Descriptive of materials that are easily set on

fire.

Combustible Fiber - Any readily ignitable and free burning fiber such as cotton, oakum,
rags, waste cloth, waste paper, kapok, hay, straw, Spanish moss, excelsior and other
similar materials commonly used in commerce.

Combustible Liquid - Any liquid having a flash point at or above 37.8°C (100 °F).

Corrosive Liquid - Any liquid which causes fire when in contact with organic matter or
with certain chemicals.

Curtain Board - A vertical panel of non-combustible or fire resistive materials attached to

and extending below the bottom chord of the roof trusses, to divide the underside of the
roof into separate compartments so that heat and smoke will be directed upwards to a
roof vent.

Cryogenic - Descriptive of any material which by its nature or as a result of its reaction
with other elements produces a rapid drop in temperature of the immediate
surroundings.

Damper - A normally open device installed inside air duct system which automatically
closes to restrict the passage of smoke or fire.

Distillation - The process of first raising the temperature in separate the more volatile
from the less volatile parts and then cooling and condensing the resulting vapor so as to
produce a nearly purified substance.
Duct System - A continuous passageway for the transmission of air.

Dust - A finely powdered substance which, when mixed with air in the proper proportion
and ignited will cause an explosion.

Electrical Arc - An extremely hot luminous bridge formed by passage of an electric

current across a space between two conductors or terminals due to the incandescence
of the conducting vapor.

Ember - A hot piece or lump that remains after a material has partially burned, and is
still oxidizing without the manifestation of flames.

Finishes - Materials used as final coating of a surface for ornamental or protective

purposes.

Fire - The active principle of burning, characterized by the heat and light of combustion.

Fire Trap - A building unsafe in case of fire because it will burn easily or because it
lacks adequate exits or fire escapes.

Fire Alarm - Any visual or audible signal produced by a device or system to warn the
occupants of the building or firefighting elements of the presence or danger of fire to
enable them to undertake immediate action to save life and property and to suppress
the fire.

Fire Door - A fire resistive door prescribed for openings in fire separation walls or
partitions.

Fire Hazard - Any condition or act which increases or may cause an increase in the
probability of the occurrence of fire, or which may obstruct, delay, hinder or interfere
with firefighting operations and the safeguarding of life and property.

Fire Lane - The portion of a roadway or public-way that should be kept opened and
unobstructed at all times for the expedient operation of firefighting units.

Fire Protective and Fire Safety Device - Any device intended for the protection of
buildings or persons to include, but not limited to, built-in protection system such as
sprinklers and other automatic extinguishing system, detectors for heat, smoke and
combustion products and other warning system components, personal protective
equipment such as fire blankets, helmets, fire suits, gloves and other garments that may
be put on or worn by persons to protect themselves during fire.

Fire Safety Constructions - Refers to design and installation of walls, barriers, doors,
windows, vents, means of egress etc. integral to and incorporated into a building or
structure in order to minimize danger to life from fire, smoke, fumes or panic before the
building is evacuated. These features are also designed to achieve, among others, safe
and rapid evacuation of people through means of egress on construction which are
sealed from smoke or fire, the confinement of fire or smoke in the room or floor of origin
and delay their spread to other parts of the building by means of smoke sealed and fire
resistant doors, walls and floors. It shall also mean to include the treatment of buildings
components or contents with flame retardant chemicals.

Flash Point - The minimum temperature at which any material gives off vapor in
sufficient concentration to form an ignitable mixture with air.

Forcing - A process where a piece of metal is heated prior to changing its shape or
dimensions.

Fulminate - A kind of stable explosive compound which explodes by percussion.

Hazardous Operation/Process - Any act of manufacturing, fabrication, conversion, etc.,

that uses or produces materials which are likely to cause fires or explosions.

Horizontal Exit - Passageway from one building to another or through or around a wall
in approximately the same floor level.

Hose Box - A box or cabinet where fire hoses, valves and other equipment are stored
and arranged for firefighting.

Hose Reel - A cylindrical device turning on an axis around which a fire hose is wound
and connected.

Hypergolic Fuel - A rocket or liquid propellant which consist of combinations of fuels and
oxidizers which ignite spontaneously on contact with each other.

Industrial Baking and Drying - The industrial process of subjecting materials to heat for
the purpose of removing solvents or moisture from the same, and/or to fuse certain
chemical salts to form a uniform glazing on the surface of materials being treated.

Jumper - A piece of metal or an electrical conductor used to bypass a safety device in

an electrical system.

Occupancy - The purpose for which a building or portion thereof is used or intended to
be used.

Occupant - Any person actually occupying and using a building or portions thereof by
virtue of a lease contract with the owner or administrator or by permission or sufferance
of the latter.

Organic Peroxide - A strong oxidizing organic compound which releases oxygen readily.
It causes fire when in contact with combustible materials especially under conditions of
high temperature.
Overloading - The use of one or more electrical appliances or devices which draw or
consume electrical current beyond the designed capacity of the existing electrical
system.

Owner - The person who holds the legal right of possession or title to a building or real
property.

Oxidizing Material - A material that readily yields oxygen in quantities sufficient to

stimulate or support combustion.

Pressurized or Forced Draft Burning Equipment - Type of burner where the fuel is
subjected to pressure prior to discharge into the combustion chamber and/or which
includes fans or other provisions for the introduction of air at above normal atmospheric
pressure into the same combustion chamber.

Public Assembly Building - Any building or structure where fifty (50) or more people
congregate, gather, or assemble for any purpose.

Public Way - Any street, alley or other strip of land unobstructed from the ground to the
sky, deeded, dedicated or otherwise permanently appropriated for public use.

Pyrophoric - Descriptive of any substance that ignites spontaneously when exposed to

air.

Refining - A process where impurities and/or deleterious materials are removed from a
mixture in order to produce a pure element or compound. It shall also refer to partial
distillation and electrolysis.

Self-closing Doors - Automatic closing doors that are designed to confine smoke and
heat and delay the spread of fire.

Smelting - Melting or fusing of metallic ores or compounds so as to separate impurities

from pure metals.

Sprinkler System - An integrated network of hydraulically designed piping installed in a

building, structure or area with outlets arranged in a systematic pattern which
automatically discharges water when activated by heat or combustion products from a
fire.

Standpipe System - A system of vertical pipes in a building to which fire hoses can be
attached on each floor, including a system by which water is made available to the
outlets as needed.

Vestibule - A passage hall or antechamber between the outer doors and the interior
parts of a house or building.
Vertical Shaft - An enclosed vertical space of passage that extends from floor to floor,
as well as from the base to the top of the building.