FEATURED REPORT : COMBUSTIBLE EXTERIORS

Fire Safe North America members have been outspoken critics of the use combustible materials used on building exteriors. In January 2016, Fire Safe North America mailed a letter to all 50 governors to reject the recent trend to remove a key fire test standard from their code [NFPA 285].  Many states in the USA and other countries are, or have considered, trading off exterior wall assembly fire performance safety requirements when interior automatic fire sprinkler systems are present.

In 2015, Fire Safe North America retained a well known fire protection engineer to research the history of the fire test and how failed exterior wall assemblies have resulted in needless loss of life and property. The resulting paper is a relevant and timely discussion on the importance of specifying and enforcing the use of assemblies that comply with NFPA 285 during the pre-construction design, plan review, and materials selection process of multistory buildings.