# Presentation: 526207

## Engineering Fire Safety for Standards and Codes Development

- Richard W. Bukowski, P.E., FSFPE
- Senior Engineer
- NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory
- Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 USA

## US Building Regulatory System

- State and local regulation based on model codes (codes become regulations when adopted into law) adapted for local conditions and practices
- Model codes developed by non-profit membership groups (NFPA and ICC)
- No formal role for the Federal government
- Regulations specify what is required under what conditions
- Performance codes available but the system is still largely prescriptive
- Referenced standards contain technical details of how

## Primary Engineering StandardsDesign, Installation, Operation, Maintenance, Testing

- Structural safety (normal and expected conditions of use)
- ASCE 7 Design loads (dead, live, wind, snow, seismic, ...) {GBJ9}
- ACI 318 Concrete {GBJ10} & AISC 7 Steel (response to loads)
- ASCE/SFPE 29 Structural response to fire (ASTM E119/ISO 834 equivalence)
- Fire Safety (design fire scenarios, understand the consequences in extreme events)
- NFPA 70 Electrical safety (prevention)
- NFPA 72 Fire Alarm Systems
- NFPA 13 Fire Sprinkler Systems
- NFPA 90B Smoke Control
- Egress design and passive methods are part of the building code {GBJ16}
- The primary objectives of US building regulations are to promote the public health, safety, and welfare with structural and fire safety the key technological challenges

## Who does the Fire Safety Design?

- Prescriptive design
- Specified by licensed design professional, usually architect
- Based on prescribed requirements in regulations and referenced standards
- It complies by being there

- Performance design
- Design by qualified, licensed professional, usually engineer
- Based on agreed performance objectives and engineering analysis
- Verified by peer review

## Performance Design in the US

- Long been accepted as an equivalent means to meet the intent of the regulation
- Hard to measure/agree on equivalence or intent
- Common for unique or constrained projects
- Unique Las Vegas hotels (35 story pyramid, 11 story building on top of a 300 m stand, ...)
- Constrained shopping malls, airports and convention centers (large, open spaces; issues: large fire areas and travel distances)
- Very similar in China

- CCTV Hq
- Cultural Ctr

- CCTV Hotel

- Beijing Airport
- Terminal 3

- National Stadium and the Water Cube

## Standards of Practice for Fire Safety Engineering

- SFPE *Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering*
- SFPE *Engineering Guide to Performance-based Fire Protection Analysis and Design of Buildings*
- Fire Engineering Guidelines
- BSI DD240
- Australia, New Zealand, Japan
- Multinational collaboration (US, Canada, Australia & New Zealand)
- ISO TC92 SC4 technical reports and standards

## Global Trends in Fire Safety Standards

- Strong influence of ISO (TC92) in the development of Fire Safety Engineering Practice
- TC92 Framework (N911)
- Standards developers who meet the WTO Guidelines for International Standards
- ISO, NFPA, UL
- Increasing role of Professional Societies
- Society of Fire Protection Engineers (US++)
- Institute of Fire Engineers (EU++)
- Society of Fire Safety (AU)
- China Fire Protection Association (CN)

## TC92 Framework

- Level 1 assess all aspects of performance
- (A)  Standard Guides on Goals and Objectives
- (B) Test methods to produce data for assessment of whole building performance
- (C)  Requirements for models and engineering methods of whole building performance
- (D) Terminology or Maintenance standards
- Level 2 assess specific aspects of performance
- Specific performance metrics (combustion, active or passive system performance, tenability, ...)
- Engineering methods (fire dynamics, structural response to fire, human behavior)
- Level 3 Operational standards
- Computer models and calculation methods
- Test methods (classification)

## Closing Thoughts

- The world is moving toward performance based methods for building regulation
- Basis for performance regulations is well established
- More work needed in performance standards development
- Top level goals and objectives, performance levels, and metrics are common (some cultural variations)
- Preservation of historical and cultural resources
- Property protection
-  We can all benefit from cooperation to fill remaining gaps (FORUM, CIB, IRCC)
- Example: CIB W14 Structural Fire Resistance Prediction