Key Terms for Building Services II (Post MID Syllabus)

- Access Control: is a fundamental component of data security that dictates who's allowed to access and use Facility
areas. Through authentication and authorization, access control policies make sure users are who they say they are
and that they have appropriate access to company’s assigned areas.
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- FALSE ALARM: When the ALARM SYSTEM is triggered without an obvious cause (intruder, fire, etc.). Equipment
malfunction (due to environmental factors or outright failure), vandalism, and user error are the common causes of
false alarms.

- Fire hose: (or firehose) is a high-pressure hose that carries water or other fire retardant (such as foam) to a fire to
extinguish it. Outdoors, it attaches either to a fire engine, fire hydrant, or a portable fire pump. Indoors, it can
permanently attach to a building's standpipe or plumbing system.

- Fire safety plan: A document which outlines the responsibilities of the building's occupants in the event of a fire. It
assigns the FIRE SAFETY OFFICER, DEPUTY FIRE SAFETY OFFICER, and FLOOR WARDENS and details the requirements
for periodic testing of the building's life safety systems (including the elevator, generator, fire pump, emergency
lighting, hoses, extinguishers, and sprinkler system). It also contains a list of those occupants which require special
assistance, and provides detailed plans of each floor area for reference purposes by responding fire fighting
personnel.

- Firefighter: A person whose primary employment is as a firefighter for a municipality or other agency or
company and who derives the majority of his earned income working in the fire service.

OR

- People who respond to fire alarms and other emergencies for fire suppression, rescue, and related duties.
- Fire code (Fire safety code): regulations for fire prevention and safety involving flammables, explosives and other
dangerous operations and occupancies.

- Fire escape: A building structure arranged outside to assist in safe evacuation of occupants during an emergency;
may connect horizontally beyond a fire wall or vertically to a roof or (preferably) to the ground, perhaps with a
counter-weighted span to deny access to intruders.

- Fire resistance: means the time during which a fire resistant material i.e. material having a certain degree of fire
resistance, fulfills its function of contributing to the fire safety of a building when subjected to prescribed conditions
of heat and load or restraint.

- Fire Assembly Point: Fire Assembly Points are temporary gathering areas where it can be immediately determined if
everyone is out of the building. The assembly point should be located far enough away from the building to afford
protection from heat and smoke in a fire situation but not so far away as to discourage people from using it. Fire
1 Assembly Points should be in positions that do not put staff, visitors and users of the building at risk from emergency
vehicles responding to the incident, or from general/other traffic in the vicinity, therefore the Fire Assembly Points
should be located away from, and off the vehicle access routes leading to the building.
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Building Services II: Compiled by Ar Sarmad Salahuddin B. Arch (NCA), MSc (Pratt Institute), Ar Rifza Awan B. Arch (UET)
 - Fire Rating: A fire-resistance rating typically means the duration for which a passive fire protection system can
withstand a standard fire resistance test. This can be quantified simply as a measure of time, or it may entail other
criteria, involving evidence of functionality or fitness for purpose.

- HAZMAT: Hazardous materials, including solids, liquids, or gases that may cause injury, death, or damage if released
or triggered.
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- Incident Report: An incident report is a formal document that details the facts related to an incident at the
workplace. The report usually relates to an accident or injury that has occurred on the worksite, but it can also
pertain to any unusual worksite occurrences such as near misses, security lapses, property and equipment damage,
and health and safety issues.

- Means of egress: The way out of a building during an emergency; may be by door, window, hallway, or exterior fire
escape; local building codes will often dictate the size. location and type according to the number of occupants and
the type of occupancy.
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- Maglocks: The full term is 'Electromagnetic Lock', often referred to as a magnetic lock or maglock in everyday terms.
A maglock is an electrically powered magnet that, when provided with power, will attract a metal plate, known as an
armature plate, fitted opposite the magnet. Maglocks are attached to periphery doors in the facility, in the event of
emergency; they are released for emergency exit.

- Protocols: the original draft of a diplomatic document, especially of the terms of a treaty agreed to in conference
and signed by the parties.

OR

- It is a set of rules that need to be followed by the communicating parties in order to have successful and reliable
data communication. For example procedures to follow in the event of emergency during a flight.

- Sensor: a device which detects or measures a physical property and records, indicates, or otherwise responds
to it.

- Supervisory Signal: A supervisory signal indicates that there’s a problem with one of the systems attached to and
monitored by your fire alarm system. The problem could be related to valves, kitchen hood suppression, valve room
temperature, fire pump condition, and more — all of which could hinder an important functionality of your fire
alarm system, leading to devastating damage if not attended to promptly.

- Salvage: Removing or covering personal property which could be subjected to possible smoke, fire, water or other
damage during firefighting, or removal and diverting of smoke and water to prevent further damage.

- Standpipe is a type of rigid water piping which is built into multi-story buildings in a vertical position, or into bridges
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in a horizontal position, to which fire hoses can be connected, allowing manual application of water to the fire.
Within the context of a building or bridge, a standpipe serves the same purpose as a fire hydrant.

Building Services II: Compiled by Ar Sarmad Salahuddin B. Arch (NCA), MSc (Pratt Institute), Ar Rifza Awan B. Arch (UET)