Two figures in, a clear answer out. The fire flow calculator uses no. exterior exposures, no. burning floors, building height, no. interior exposures, fire involvement, building length, building length, building width and building width to produce rff and volume, applying the standard relationship for this problem in the order the calculation actually needs it.
What Is the Fire Flow Calculator?
The fire flow calculator turns no. exterior exposures, no. burning floors, building height, no. interior exposures, fire involvement, building length, building length, building width and building width into rff and volume, so you can order the right amount of material the first time.
Material estimates are where projects go over budget. Getting the quantities right before the delivery arrives is worth more than any discount on the order.
How to Measure for the Fire Flow
Measure everything in the same unit and take the largest dimension you can reasonably use rather than the average. Formwork, ground conditions and cutting waste all push the real figure above the theoretical one.
Where a plan calls for a specific thickness, check it against local building regulations before you order. The calculator reflects the relationship, not the code.
Allowing for Waste and Errors
Order a little more than the calculation suggests. The gap between the theoretical quantity and what actually arrives on site is normally waste, spillage, over-excavation and uneven grading, and all of it comes out of the same budget.
Write the figures down and compare them with what you actually used on site. That is how you build an estimate you can trust for the next job.
A Worked Example
Working through an example, with no. exterior exposures set to 10, no. burning floors set to 5, building height set to 2, the calculator returns rff of 237,500, and volume of 40, and rff (required fire flow iowa) of 0.4. Substitute your own figures and the same steps produce the same kind of answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to work out rff?
Enter no. exterior exposures, no. burning floors, building height, no. interior exposures, fire involvement, building length, building length, building width and building width. The calculator then works through the relationship and reports rff and volume.
What does the fire flow actually calculate?
It takes no. exterior exposures, no. burning floors, building height, no. interior exposures, fire involvement, building length, building length, building width and building width and converts them into rff and volume using the standard relationship for this problem. Each step is applied in turn, so every output is traceable back to the numbers you typed in.
How should I enter no. exterior exposures?
Use the value you actually have, in the unit shown next to the field. Enter every value in the same unit system. The calculator assumes the figures you supply are consistent, so it cannot correct a mistake that happens before the calculation starts.
Does anything you type get stored?
No. The whole calculation runs inside your browser, and nothing you enter is uploaded, logged or sent anywhere.
Do I have to fill in every field?
Only the fields a particular result depends on. If you leave one blank, the results that need it simply show a note instead of a number, and everything else still works.