by Brianna Crandall — March 7, 2016—The American Wood Council (AWC) recently released a series of three manuals and launched a Web site designed to inform developers, local building departments, and fire departments on how to prevent and reduce fire losses in buildings under construction. Facilities managers can also benefit from the resources when overseeing construction projects for their facilities.
“This is a timely and relevant topic, in large part due to the significant impacts large construction fires have,” said AWC Director of Fire Technology Kuma Sumathipala. “More importantly, the fires that have occurred were preventable by adhering to the best practices outlined in these materials.”
The three construction fire manuals were developed in a cooperative effort between AWC and FireforceOne, a consulting firm led by former California State Fire Marshall Ronny Coleman. The manuals are:
- Basic Fire Precautions during Construction of Large Buildings, which applies to the design and planning stages, as well as the actual construction of buildings
- Hot Work during Construction of Large Buildings, which describes best management practices of hot work, which is likely to reduce the occurrence of large-loss fires more than any other specific topic with buildings under construction
- Fire Department’s Role in Prevention and Suppression of Fires during Construction of Large Buildings, which outlines pre-fire planning for large building projects, and prepares tactics and strategy for a fire if it occurs
“The trend and pattern of these types of fires show an increasing percentage are resulting in large financial losses. Our research into the causes and outcomes of these fires point to the need for more construction-site accountability and enforcement of existing fire and building codes in order to minimize the risks,” said AWC president and CEO Robert Glowinski.
In 2014, the International Code Council (ICC) convened a series of roundtables to engage members and multi-disciplinary stakeholders in a discussion about emerging safety issues. One such roundtable discussion focused on fires in multi-story buildings under construction.
Safer Buildings Coalition Executive Director Alan Perdue, who was the ICC roundtable moderator, noted:
AWC listened attentively to the discussion that occurred during the ICC roundtable and the recommendations that resulted. They responded with an outstanding Web site, which contains many educational resources for all construction-site workers and visitors. In order to achieve the desired results, several recommendations in the roundtable report will require developers, builders, and governmental agencies to take action.
Prior to the ICC roundtables, AWC and FireforceOne had established a working group of international stakeholders with diverse perspectives on construction-site fire safety to guide development of these materials.
Resource co-developer Ronny Coleman added:
The willingness to share information and to pursue best management practice discussions among the stakeholders was extraordinary. These manuals and the other educational tools developed contain the best thinking of an experienced group from across the building community. We strongly encourage planners, developers, and builders to use these materials with their employees, staff, and subcontractors to increase fire safety at large building construction sites.
The three new manuals are available for free on the new Construction Fire Safety Practices Web site.
