Fig. 2 – Column and beams view.1. Introduction  

Although the Brazilian population density is not to be big (180 million inhabitants for 8,5 million m2), it experiences a massive people migration to the biggest cities, in the search for a job. Most part of these people, due to their very poor economic conditions, join or create what we call "favela" (shantytown). An alternative to reduce this situation is the construction of low-cost buildings. The cost reduction is gotten in detriment of requirements as comfort and safety, but, still, such requirements are sufficiently superior to those found in the "favela". The Brazilian regulation allows that, buildings of social interest, with limited total area and height, can dispense structural verification in fire situation. These residential buildings are, most of all, an assemblage of small area apartments, separated by concrete or ceramic blocks. The inherent low fire load, the structure partial protection against fire and compartmentation, while imperfect, allows intuit that the safety is not very harmed in these cases.

Fig. 1 – Conjunto Habitacional Juscelino

Fig. 1 - Conjunto Habitacional Juscelino Kubitschek.

The four storey steel framed building "Conjunto Habitacional Juscelino Kubitschek" (Fig. 1), conceived as of social interest, was erected in 1988, in Limeira city (State of Sao Paulo). It constitutes four identical blocks, two by two. Each block has four floors, with eight apartments per floor. These apartments are very simple, have 44.29 m2 total area, and contain two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, a bath-room and a small service area. The building has a steel cold formed structure (Fig. 2).

In January 2002, a fire started in the fourth floor apartment, and despite the fire not had been effectively controlled, even so, the fire didn't spread to other apartments. The fire destroyed all living room furniture and covering. The family who slept in the bedrooms was saved, and part of all inner masonry was demolished in the after fire due to small cracks and fissures. The fire didn't damage the steel structure. This real fire allowed to the authors to face a more scientific evaluation of the fire effects. This paper describes the analysis conducted and presents the main conclusions, taking as reference the real situation found at the end of the fire after.

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