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Casey C. Grant, Research Director Fire Protection Research Foundation Quincy, Massachusetts USA F IRE H AZARDS IN T IMBER B UILDINGS AND THEIR N EED FOR S PRINKLERS F IRE S PRINKLER I NTERNATIONAL 2014 21 M AY 2014 L ONDON, E NGLAND

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A GENDA 1) Overview and Background 2)Timber Building Construction 3)Building Regulations for Timber 4)Timber Fire Performance 5)Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers

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F IRE H AZARDS IN T IMBER B UILDINGS AND THEIR N EED FOR S PRINKLERS 1) Overview and Background Focus of this presentation: o Fire hazards o Timber buildings o Tall wood buildings Key focus: Fire Safety Challenges of Tall Wood Buildings FPRF Report, Dec 2013 Report Author: Arup Phase 1 Study Available on FPRF Website www.nfpa.org/foundation www.nfpa.org/foundation

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FPRF P ROJECT B ACKGROUND Recent architectural trends include design and construction of increasingly tall buildings with structural components Using components of laminated wood referred to by names such as: cross laminated timber (CLT), laminated strand lumber (LSL) glued laminated timber (Glulam) Construction currently underway on buildings up to 10 stories in Australia, Austria, Canada and Norway Motivation includes sustainability and green approach (use of renewable construction materials) Questions on claims of safety exceeding other construction 1) Overview and Background

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FPRF P ROJECT O RIGIN AND D EVELOPMENT Need exists to clarify building performance under credible fire scenarios. Questions on characteristics (e.g., fire service operations, interior/exterior flame spread, structural stability, fire exposure hazard, etc) Project funded by PIRG Property Insurance Research Group Project contractor was Arup Project started earlier in 2013 Phase 1 completed December 2013 1) Overview and Background

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FPRF P ROJECT S COPE AND T ASKS Focus on buildings 6 stories and greater Intent is to consider fire protection features that are functioning, or are partially or fully impaired Objectives (overall): Characterize the fire performance of tall wooden structures. Define the necessary design and material requirements to achieve a level of safety and property protection equal to or above steel structures. Communicate the results to serve as a guide for architects, engineers, and code officials. Phase 1 Task 1: Literature Review Phase 1 Task 2: Gap Analysis 1) Overview and Background

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R EPORT : I NTRODUCTION 1.1) Phase 1 of the Fire Safety Study 1.2) Background 1.3) Context: Visions of Tall Timber 1.4) Principles of Fire Safety 1.5) Timber Building Fundamentals 1.6) Timber Fire Fundamentals 1) Overview and Background

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R EPORT : T ASK 1 L ITERATURE R EVIEW 2.1) Overview 2.2) Testing Data on Timber Structural Components in Fire 2.3) Ongoing Research Studies 2.4) Review of Fire Incidents in Timber Structures 2.5) Review of Existing Design Guidelines 2.6) Global Case Studies of High-Rise / Tall Timber Framed Buildings 1) Overview and Background

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R EPORT : T ASK 2 G AP A NALYSIS 3.1) Overview 3.2) Structural and Non- Structural Component and Sub-System Fire Tests 3.3) Compartment Fire Dynamics 3.4) Environment 3.5) Economics 3.6) Society 3.7) Prioritization 1) Overview and Background

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S UPPORTING I NFO : T ALL B UILDING F IRE P ROTECTION 1) Overview and Background Report: High Rise Building Fires Fire Stats on U.S. High Rise Buildings For 2007 through 2011

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S UPPORTING I NFO : T ALL B UILDING F IRE P ROTECTION 1) Overview and Background Annual average: 15,400 fires; 46 civilian fatalities; 530 civilian injuries; $219M property damage Risk is lower in high rise buildings Reason: higher levels of built-in fire protection (e.g., fire resistive construction, sprinklers)

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A GENDA 1) Overview and Background 2)Timber Building Construction 3)Building Regulations for Timber 4)Timber Fire Performance 5)Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers

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E XAMPLES OF F EATURES AND C HARACTERISTICS 2) Timber Building Construction Heavy timber frame products - Engineered wood products Glue laminated wood (Glulam) Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

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E XAMPLES OF F EATURES AND C HARACTERISTICS 2) Timber Building Construction Heavy timber frame products - Composite wood products Post-tensioned timber Timber-concrete composite

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2) Timber Building Construction Heavy timber frame construction - Panelized construction E XAMPLES OF F EATURES AND C HARACTERISTICS

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2) Timber Building Construction Historical examples E XAMPLES OF E XISTING T IMBER B UILDINGS Yiangxian Pagoda, China, 1056 Urnes Stakirke, Norway, 1132 Leckie Building, Vancouver, Canada, 1908

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2) Timber Building Construction Contemporary examples - Post and beam construction E XAMPLES OF E XISTING T IMBER B UILDINGS Bullitt Center Seattle, WA 2013 Life Cycle Tower One Austria, 2012 Wood Innovation Design Centre Prince George, Canada, 2014

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2) Timber Building Construction Contemporary examples - Panelized construction E XAMPLES OF E XISTING T IMBER B UILDINGS Via Cenni Milan, Italy 2013 Stadthaus London, UK 2009 Forte Building Melbourne, Australia 2013

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2) Timber Building Construction F EASIBILITY E XAMPLES OF T ALL T IMBER B UILDINGS Timber Tower SOM, 2013 40-story office building CEI Architecture, 2013 30-story high-rise Michael Green Architecture, 2012

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A GENDA 1) Overview and Background 2)Timber Building Construction 3)Building Regulations for Timber 4)Timber Fire Performance 5)Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers

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I NTERNATIONAL R EGULATIONS 3) Building Regulations for Timber CountryApplicable Building Code Maximum # of Stories SprinkleredUnsprinklered Australia2013 Building Code of Australia (BCA)33 AustriaAustrian Building Codes8 (*72 feet)3 Canada 2010 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) 43 Germany2012 Federal Building Code8 (*59 feet)3 Sweden2013 Planning and Building Act82 United Kingdom 2010 Building Regulations5**4** * Indicates a height limit in addition to a maximum story limit

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U.S. R EGULATIONS 3) Building Regulations for Timber Applicable Building Code Maximum # of Stories SprinkleredUnsprinklered 2013 International Building Code (IBC) 5*4* 2012 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 5000 6*5* * Number of heavy timber stories permitted

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A GENDA 1) Overview and Background 2)Timber Building Construction 3)Building Regulations for Timber 4)Timber Fire Performance 5)Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers

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C HARRING Well understood Predictable ~0.7mm/min (0.03 in/min) 4) Timber Fire Performance

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E XAMPLES FROM L ITERATURE R EVIEW Timber Frame 2000 (TF 2000) - Cardington, UK, 1999 - Fire resistance mid-rise timber building 4) Timber Fire Performance

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E XAMPLES FROM L ITERATURE R EVIEW Natural fire testing, Frangi and Fontana, 2005 - CLT structure - Sprinklered vs. non-sprinklered - Exposed wood vs. gypsum lining 4) Timber Fire Performance Exposed CLT Gypsum board lining Sprinkler protection

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E XAMPLES FROM L ITERATURE R EVIEW Light timber assemblies - Improved fire resistance with gypsum board layers and thickness - Design equations (Just, Schmid and Konig, 2010) 4) Timber Fire Performance

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E XAMPLES FROM L ITERATURE R EVIEW CLT assemblies (Osborne, Dagenais, Benichou, 2012) - Charring rate consistent with wood (~0.7 mm/min [0.03 in/min]) - Predictable behavior - Improved performance with gypsum board protection 4) Timber Fire Performance

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E XAMPLES FROM L ITERATURE R EVIEW Timber composite assemblies (ONeill, 2012) - Fire performance based on testing - Up to 2-hour ratings for assemblies 4) Timber Fire Performance

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E XAMPLES FROM L ITERATURE R EVIEW Environmental impact of fire protection (Wieczorek, Ditch & Bill 2010) - Tests demonstrate the positive impact of sprinklers: o Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 97.8% o Reduction in water usage between 50% and 91% o Significant improvement in water runoff quality o Reduction in fire-damaged contents 4) Timber Fire Performance

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A GENDA 1) Overview and Background 2)Timber Building Construction 3)Building Regulations for Timber 4)Timber Fire Performance 5)Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction Fire Hazards in Timber Buildings and their Need for Sprinklers

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T OPICS BEING CONSIDERED System level testing e.g., with exposed steel Wood contribution to compartment fire Composite assemblies Connections Delamination Penetrations & firestopping Economics Fire protection Life cycle costs Not being questioned at this time: appropriate sprinkler design 5) Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

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R ECOMMENDATIONS FOR F UTURE R ESEARCH 5) Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction 1)Fire testing of new and innovative timber and hybrid solutions; 2)Full-scale / large-scale fire testing of mock up tall timber frames; 3)Natural fire testing in full-scale / large-scale tall timber frames; 4)Economic analysis to quantify construction, operation and costs of tall timber buildings; and 5)Emphasis on effective risk communication and education

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B UILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION Additional challenges 5) Knowledge Gaps & Future Direction

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Contact Information: One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA USA 02169-7471 Phone: 617-984-7284 Email: cgrant@nfpa.orgcgrant@nfpa.org FPRF Website: www.nfpa.org/foundation Casey Grant, P.E. Fire Protection Research Foundation www.NFPA.org/Foundation