Lately, competing building materials have been using construction fires as an opportunity to attack wood construction.
It’s true; fires do occur in buildings under construction. But they occur in buildings of all material types, including concrete and steel. However, because wood construction has captured a larger share of the market recently, we are seeing more fires in wood buildings as well as a corresponding increase in media reports on them.
As an industry, we are aware of the challenge presented by these fires and a team of national experts from across the construction sector have begun meeting to find solutions. But construction fires are not an issue to be solved by legislatures, as some would have you believe. Our national building codes are the culmination of extensive work and research done by architects, engineers, and building and fire code officials to establish precise requirements for safe construction. To substitute the judgment of legislators for these construction experts simply does not make sense. As those experts all know, noncombustible structural materials like steel and concrete are also affected by fire and can fail, as we’ve seen in several examples nationwide over the last few months.
Whether analyzed by life cycle cost or life cycle environmental impact, the data shows that wood construction outperforms competing materials. It does not make sense to limit use of wood construction when state-of-the-art building codes identify its safe, long-term, and resilient use.
Additionally, as an interim step, AWC has developed information and training for developers, construction, and fire crews specifically to help prevent these types of construction fires. Specific topics covered in the manuals include:
- Basic Fire Precautions During Construction of Large Buildings – Applies to the design and planning stages, as well as the actual construction of buildings. Many hazards can be addressed before they become an issue through the adoption of management best practices.
- Hot Work During Construction of Large Buildings – Describes management best practices of hot work, thought to be the most impactful way to reduce the occurrence of large loss fires more than any other specific activity for buildings under construction. Hot work activities include cutting, welding, grinding, thermal spraying, thawing pipe, installation of torch-applied roof system, or any other similar activity. Accountability and oversight must be in place to ensure these practices are implemented and working, and that all procedures are being followed.
- 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.
These materials are intended to be a resource to guide professionals whose job it is to provide safety training to construction industry employees. However, we do note that they are not intended to provide all of the information necessary for the development of a comprehensive safety training course, as they present issues only pertaining to fire safety.