What is the primary fire spread concern in Type V balloon frame construction?

What is the primary fire spread concern in Type V balloon frame construction?

• A. Horizontal Spread Between Rooms
• B. Water Penetration
• C. Vertical Fire Spread
• D. Thermal Bridging

Answer: (C)

In Type V balloon frame construction, the big worry is vertical fire spread. The walls are built with long, continuous studs that run from the foundation all the way to the roof, leaving large vertical channels behind the framing. There are few fire stops between floors, so flames and heat can move upward through these concealed spaces, climbing from lower levels to upper floors and even into the attic very quickly. This makes the fire spread primarily in the vertical direction, more than horizontally from room to room. Water penetration and thermal bridging touch on other issues, but they don’t describe the main fire behavior in this construction type as clearly as the vertical rise through the framing does.

In Type V balloon frame construction, the big worry is vertical fire spread. The walls are built with long, continuous studs that run from the foundation all the way to the roof, leaving large vertical channels behind the framing. There are few fire stops between floors, so flames and heat can move upward through these concealed spaces, climbing from lower levels to upper floors and even into the attic very quickly. This makes the fire spread primarily in the vertical direction, more than horizontally from room to room. Water penetration and thermal bridging touch on other issues, but they don’t describe the main fire behavior in this construction type as clearly as the vertical rise through the framing does.