News Articles & Other Resources
Fire Protecting an 8-storey Wood Building
This article in Canadian Consulting Engineer describes the most important innovations that were implemented at the Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George, BC to meet design and safety criteria.
The World’s Most Advanced Building Material is…WOOD and It’s Going to Remake the Skyline
Concentrating mainly on newer mass timber construction methods, such as cross-laminated timber, this article discusses how wood and timber materials have increased in popularity as building components. The article compares CLT reaction to fire and its fire resistance ratings to that of steel and concrete. Read the article here
Firefighting in Canada – Timber Tower
When assistant deputy chief Ray Bryant heard about construction of the world’s tallest wood building in the world in Vancouver, his reaction was predictable. “I thought it was an insane idea,” Bryant said. As Len Garis and Karin Mark write, an understanding of the compartment-style construction changed Bryant’s mind and he now considers the student residence building extremely safe.
Firefighting in Canada – Best Practices in protecting vulnerable construction sites
A building is never more vulnerable to fire than during its construction – particularly when exposed wood is present. But a growing focus on best practices in Canada and around the world could help reduce these risks and prevent these types of devastating construction-site fires.
Western Exteriors: Managing fire risk when building with wood
Wood’s comeback as a construction material of choice is changing how we build in Canada. At the same time, the increased popularity of wood has drawn attention to the added fire risk during the earliest stage in a building’s life.
Firefighter Wood Product And Building Systems Awareness: A Resource Guide
The construction industry continues to be a growing economic sector in Canada. Within this market, various stakeholders are exploring traditional building products as well as innovating with these and other products. Numerous jurisdictions are exploring reformative measures that have the potential to enhance opportunities for the wood industry to respond to various economic, sustainability, environmental, and safety challenges and opportunities. This resource guide focuses on some of those safety issues by providing links to both general and more specialized information sources regarding various fire safety factors related to wood building construction.