Hi and welcome to my latest blog – Tall wood buildings and the potential fire challenges this type of building brings.
These buildings have been cited for their advantages in sustainability resulting from the use of wood as a renewable construction material. Claims have been made that they are designed to be safer than buildings created using steel due to the formation of an insulating char layer that forms on the perimeter of a laminated wood beam when exposed to a fire. Structural components in use comprise of engineered wood such as: cross laminated timber (CLT), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), or glued laminated timber (Glulam).
Construction is currently underway on a 10-story apartment building in Melbourne, Australia, with taller structures up to 30 stories under design in Norway, Austria and Vancouver. The Melbourne building is being built by Lend Lease and uses CLT
Timber is considered an attractive material for green building construction, as it is perceived as an en environmentally friendly and a sustainable resource.
One of the primary challenges for the design of timber structures for fire safety is wood’s combustible nature. In wood buildings, the timber structure can be assumed to contribute to the fuel load. Exposed timber has the potential to impact compartment fire dynamics throughout the fire duration, although I do think further analysis is necessary to understand the effect of exposed timber elements in the early fire hazard.
Penetrations in buildings are generally provided for plumbing, air-conditioning and electrical services. These penetrations require fire stopping to contain fires and prevent smoke and fire spreading to adjacent areas and these fire stopping seals should be non-combustible. In combustible elements like timber there is a potential for charring at he seal between the structure and the fire stopping could compromise the effectiveness of the fire stopping.
I am all for the increasing introduction of sustainable products for buildings, however I do believe that fire risks these timber buildings over a certain height bring do require further investigation.
You can read the full report here: http://www.nfpa.org/~/media/Files/Research/Research%20Foundation/Research%20Foundation%20reports/Building%20and%20life%20safety/FireSafetyChallengesTallWoodBldgs.pdf
……….. ‘Til the next time Greg