Fire Safety Provisions for Tall Mass Timber Buildings to Be Adopted by the NFPA

September 18, 2020 Shane Hedmond

Cross Laminated Timber. Photo by the Oregon Department of Forestry, CC BY 2.0 — Cross Laminated Timber. Photo by the Oregon Department of Forestry, CC BY 2.0

Tall mass timber buildings have been gaining steam across the globe over the past few years, but their detractors argue that they are at a much greater risk of burning to the ground than traditional tall structures made of steel and concrete. The National Fire Protection Association has recently adopted provisions to allow for taller mass timber buildings within NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code.

Katerra Opens the Largest Cross-Laminated Timber Factory in North America

September 30, 2019 Shane Hedmond

Mass timber buildings have been a bit of a hot topic in the construction industry for the past few years, especially after Oregon became the first state to approve mass timber buildings up to 18 stories high, which was closely followed by the International Code Council approval of the same height in 2018.

First Approval Granted for Possible Tallest Mass Timber Building in North America

February 19, 2019 Shane Hedmond

A new 21-story apartment building proposed for Milwaukee, Wisconsin as received unanimous approval from the City Plan Commission. If built, the new tower could possibly be North America’s tallest mass timber building.

America’s ‘Largest’ Mass Timber Building is Under Construction in Oregon

December 5, 2017 Shane Hedmond

Wood construction has typically been used for purely residential products in the past few decades and especially after fire protection standards became more stringent. Besides fire rating, concrete and metal has several other benefits over wood, including overall strength, resistance to insects, and resistance to rot. Wood, however, does have some advantages over concrete and steel, like its relative light weight and it’s much less harmful to the environment.

North America’s Tallest Wood Building to Be Built in Quebec

October 8, 2015 Shane Hedmond

The Origine Condominium Complex.  Rendering courtesy of Nordic Structures — The Origine Condominium Complex. Rendering courtesy of Nordic Structures

Buildings have been made with wood for thousands of years, but those buildings rarely make it above a couple stories high. Due to building codes and requirements, non-combustible materials like concrete and steel are required to be used in most commercial buildings. Typical timber buildings, like many North American houses will easily burn in the right conditions, but more and more projects are using cross-laminated timber (CLT) which has excellent non-combustion properties