flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

New engineering guide on fire safety for very tall buildings released

Codes and Standards

New engineering guide on fire safety for very tall buildings released

Topics include emergency egress, fire resistance, building envelope, suppression, detection, alarms, and smoke control.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | January 3, 2022
Empire State Building

Courtesy Pixabay

A new engineering guide, “Fire Safety for Very Tall Buildings,” is now available.

Topics featured include emergency egress, fire resistance, building envelope, suppression, detection, alarms, and smoke control, with new guidance on considerations for existing buildings, energy storage systems, aerial vehicle platforms, and unique building features such as observation decks and fireworks displays. Performance-based design and international practices are also included. 

The guide is a product of The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), The International Code Council (ICC), and Springer, a global scientific and technical publisher.

“We know that very tall buildings impose unique fire protection challenges and require new engineering solutions above and beyond traditional methods,” said Nicole Boston, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, in a news release. “This engineering guide provides fire safety engineers and fire protection professionals with specific and necessary engineering principles to overcome the challenges of fire and to protect very tall buildings, their occupants, and first responders.”

Related Stories

Building Enclosure Systems | Oct 30, 2024

Winners of Building Envelope Innovation Prize focus on secondary glazing

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the winners of the first phase of the Building Envelope Innovation Prize. The prize targets high-performance, cost-effective secondary glazing systems to improve efficiency of commercial windows.

M/E/P Systems | Oct 30, 2024

After residential success, DOE will test heat pumps for cold climates in commercial sector

All eight manufacturers in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge completed rigorous product field testing to demonstrate energy efficiency and improved performance in cold weather.

Resiliency | Oct 29, 2024

Climate change degrades buildings slowly but steadily

While natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires can destroy buildings in minutes, other factors exacerbated by climate change degrade buildings more slowly but still cause costly damage.

Contractors | Oct 25, 2024

Construction industry CEOs kick off effort to prevent suicide among workers

A new construction industry CEO Advisory Council dedicated to addressing the issue of suicide in the construction industry recently took shape. The council will guide an industry-wide effort to develop solutions targeting the high rate of suicide among construction workers.

Codes and Standards | Oct 17, 2024

Austin, Texas, adopts AI-driven building permit software

After a successful pilot program, Austin has adopted AI-driven building permit software to speed up the building permitting process.

Resiliency | Oct 17, 2024

U.S. is reducing floodplain development in most areas

The perception that the U.S. has not been able to curb development in flood-prone areas is mostly inaccurate, according to new research from climate adaptation experts. A national survey of floodplain development between 2001 and 2019 found that fewer structures were built in floodplains than might be expected if cities were building at random.

Seismic Design | Oct 17, 2024

Calif. governor signs limited extension to hospital seismic retrofit mandate

Some California hospitals will have three additional years to comply with the state’s seismic retrofit mandate, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill extending the 2030 deadline.

Codes and Standards | Oct 16, 2024

North Carolina’s code policies likely worsened damage caused by Hurricane Helene

The North Carolina Legislature’s rejection of building code updates likely worsened the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, code experts say. Over the past 15 years, lawmakers rejected limits on construction on steep slopes, which might have reduced the number of homes destroyed by landslides. 

MFPRO+ News | Oct 16, 2024

One-third of young adults say hurricanes like Helene and Milton will impact where they choose to live

Nearly one-third of U.S. residents between 18 and 34 years old say they are reconsidering where they want to move after seeing the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, according to a Redfin report. About 15% of those over age 35 echoed their younger cohort’s sentiment.

Construction Costs | Oct 16, 2024

Construction Crane Index: Most major markets’ crane counts increase or hold steady in third quarter

Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB’s) latest Crane Index and Quarterly Cost Report shows continued decreasing cost inflation and crane counts increasing or holding steady in 10 of the 14 major markets it surveyed. The national average increase in construction costs was 1.07%, the lowest it’s been in the last three years.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021