Half of all properties in the lower 48 states face some degree of wildfire risk, according to the First Street Foundation, a nonprofit research group in New York. This number will rise to 56 percent by 2052. In some rural states, including Wyoming and Montana, more than 90 percent of properties already face some risk.
With the increased threat of damage caused by wildfires, homeowners and building professionals are rethinking how homes should be built and, based on recent flame tests, many are calling for the use of noncombustible cold-formed steel (CFS) framing.
Scientists Flame-Test Steel-Framed Home
Blair Gilbert, chief executive director of DreamWeaver Homes, says it’s time to move beyond the ‘antiquated’ construction methodology that dominates the U.S. construction industry.
“While the United States is in many ways a world leader in technology, it is lagging when it comes to construction,” says Gilbert in an article for Thomas Insights. “Wildfires destroy entire towns, yet insurance companies repeatedly give homeowners money to build replacement homes with flammable material — wood.”
According to Gilbert, Australia historically has suffered from wildfires. As a result, the country has become the unofficial leader in developing a construction process resistant to fire.
“It is estimated that upwards of 90% of the homes in Australia are built with light-gauge steel framing,” says Gilbert.
In 2010, Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization ‘flame-tested’ a steel-framed house to learn how the structure would stand up to realistic wildfire conditions. (See video below.)
So what were the results? Ken Watson, executive director of the National Association of Steel-Framed Housing, says: “Commonly, people say that either steel melts or it buckles. Obviously the steel hasn’t melted, and while the outer cladding is buckled, the inner frame is still in quite good condition.”
While the temperature in the flame-tested home would have been too great to survive due to the failure of windows and doors, the home remained standing and the steel frame was relatively undamaged, says the Supaloc Steel Building Systems website.
5 Reasons to Use Steel for Fire Safety
Why are homeowners like the Booster’s and contractors like Farrow Development using steel framing? Here are 5 reasons:
- Steel is noncombustible
Steel can’t burn, because it contains no elements that can serve as fuel. Steel provides no means for a fire to start, does not contribute to fire growth or fire spread and does not contribute to the generation of smoke and toxic combustion products in fires.
- Steel maintains its noncombustibility
Steel remains noncombustible throughout the entire lifecycle of the building — during building construction, occupation and future renovation and repair.
- Steel-framed buildings lower the fire risk to workers and occupants
Decades of research into understanding the behavior of structural steel components when exposed to fire has given designers the confidence to engineer buildings that will provide optimum fire safety.
Fire resistance-rated walls and floors help limit or slow the spread of flames in a building and maintain the integrity of the structure.
- Steel-framed buildings lower the impact on municipal fire services
Recent building code changes that permit increased building heights and areas for wood framing have had devastating results. A rash of catastrophic, multi-story, wood-frame building fires in Canada and the United States have destroyed entire building complexes.
Such fires have challenged the resources of fire services. They have prompted several municipalities to implement site-safety regulations during the construction of combustible buildings that will ultimately increase the construction costs and timeframes of projects. Some cities, such as the affluent Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs, are working to ban combustible framing above three stories.
- Steel-framed buildings tend to cost less to insure
Insurers traditionally offer steel-framed structures lower builders risk and general liability premiums compared to structures framed with wood.
Contractors Shift from Wood to Steel Framing
With the continued threat of wildfires, contractors in the U.S. are shifting from wood to steel framing. Some recent examples include:
- John Farrow, president of Farrow Development, is working to rebuild parts of Santa Rosa, California, after the 2017 Tubbs Fire destroyed thousands of homes in local communities. According to an article in the North Bay Business Journal, Farrow chose to use non-combustible CFSl framing and stucco finishes for the rebuild
- Canada-based home building company BONE Structure is rebuilding homes in Napa, California by using prefabricated steel framing wrapped in non-combustible insulation. BONE Structure is working with a growing number of homeowners to build homes with a design and materials to resist fire, SFGATE says
- Architect Mike Roddy, CEO at Butte Built Better, has built 700 steel framed homes after wildfires devastated parts of Southern Oregon. According to the Mail Tribune, Roddy believes communities where wood-dominant buildings have burned to the ground should explore rebuilding with non-combustible steel framing
Unlike wood studs, which easily combust when temperatures reach over 500 degrees, steel studs do not ignite when exposed to the same temperatures, says TheBigRedGuide. Without the ability to add fuel to a spreading fire, steel studs protect the integrity of a structure.
Cited from BUILDSTEEL.ORG