Large construction site fires have been gaining attention in the media and have resulted in large financial losses. With so much at risk, it’s essential that fire safety policies and procedures be in place at all construction sites.
In cooperation with FireforceOne, the American Wood Council (AWC) has developed three manuals and a website designed to inform developers, local building departments and fire departments on how to prevent and mitigate fire losses in buildings under construction.
The manuals are developed with each of the three audiences in mind:
- Basic Fire Precautions during Construction of Large Buildings – applies to the design and planning stages, as well as the actual construction of buildings.
- Hot Work during Construction of Large Buildings – describes best management practices of hot work, which is likely to mitigate the occurrence of large loss fires more than any other specific topic with buildings under construction.
- Fire Department’s Role in Prevention and Suppression of Fires during Construction of Large Buildings – outlines pre-fire planning for large building projects, and prepares tactics and strategy for a fire if it occurs.
The website (www.ConstructionFireSafetyPractices.com) identifies many best management practices that were developed following an extensive literature search, placing emphasis on personal accountability of all stakeholders in the process. The intent of this website is to provide generic guidelines on best practices for maintaining fire safety and the applicability of the regulatory system, including building codes and standards, to mitigate fire loss.
We invite you to visit www.ConstructionFireSafetyPractices.com. Please download the manuals, read the articles and share the information with your local developers, building departments and fire departments. We look forward to your receiving your comments on this website and its contents at fire@awc.org.