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Report on Fire-Safety Challenges of Tall Wood Buildings Released

May 20, 2014
Engineered wood is being used as a structural material for taller and taller buildings.

The performance of tall wood buildings under credible fire scenarios is the subject of a new report from the Fire Protection Research Foundation, an affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association.

Engineered wood is being used as a structural material for taller and taller buildings, including a newly constructed 10-story apartment building in Australia and taller structures in development in Vancouver and Norway. The wood products include cross-laminated timber, laminated veneer lumber, and glued laminated timber.

One of the objectives of the research program was to investigate claims that buildings made of engineered wood are safer than buildings made of structural steel because of the formation of an insulating char layer on the perimeter of a laminated wood beam exposed to fire.

The study was sponsored by the Foundation’s Property Insurance Research Group.

To download the report, “Fire Safety Challenges of Tall Wood Buildings,” go to http://bit.ly/NFPA_wood.

About the Author

Scott Arnold | Executive Editor

Described by a colleague as "a cyborg ... requir(ing) virtually no sleep, no time off, and bland nourishment that can be consumed while at his desk" who was sent "back from the future not to terminate anyone, but with the prime directive 'to edit dry technical copy' in order to save the world at a later date," Scott Arnold joined the editorial staff of HPAC Engineering in 1999. Prior to that, he worked as an editor for daily newspapers and a specialty-publications company. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Kent State University.