On-demand Webinar

View Important Policies and System Requirements for this course.

This webinar was co-sponsored by ASCE's Construction Institute (CI) and ASCE Continuing Education

Instructor:  Matthew Stuart, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, F.SEI, SECB

Course Length: 1 Hour

The webinars offered by ASCE are the easiest ones for me to present groups. I appreciate how ASCE consistently organizes its webinars.  -   Dana M. Hardy, Executive Secretary City of Oklahoma Utilities Administration

Purpose and Background

Openings and penetrations in firewalls are also discussed. Closing mechanisms associated with firewall openings and penetrations are also described. This course will delineate the differences in both the design and ratings of the four major types of firewalls. Recommendations concerning the construction requirements of firewalls and the restrictions on openings and penetrations in firewalls are provided.

The material presented in this webinar focuses on Factory Mutual (FM) requirements because typically for a new building design, firewall requirements specified by the building codes are establish by the Architect-of-Record, while firewall requirements mandated by insurance underwriters (such as FM), which are typically more stringent than building code requirements, are handled by the Structural-Engineer-of-Record.

Primary Discussion Topics

  • The reason for firewalls in buildings
  • Fire resistance ratings
  • Construction restrictions
  • Differences between firewalls, barriers, and partitions

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Provide a basic understanding of the distinctions between a firewall, fire barrier and fire partition
  • Delineate the differences in both the design and ratings of the four major types of firewalls
  • Provide recommendations concerning the construction requirements of firewalls
  • Describe restrictions on openings and penetrations in firewalls

Webinar Benefits

  • Enable a design professional to understand the basic types of firewalls used in buildings
  • Enable the participants to become familiar with the restrictions associated with openings and penetrations in firewalls

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).

Intended Audience

This webinar is intended for structural engineers and architects.

Webinar Outline

  • Provide the participants with a general understanding of firewalls
  • Provide information concerning the four types of fire resistant barriers, which include a firewall, a standard firewall, fire barriers and fire partitions
  • Discuss openings and penetrations in firewalls
  • Discuss closing mechanisms associated with firewall openings and penetrations

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion

To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 1 year of purchasing the course.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]