Building Codes and Fire Safety

 LightRock says:

Back in February, there was a townhouse fire in Raleigh, NC, but not just any townhouse fire. Around 40 townhouses were destroyed in a fire that swept through a new development. Most of the homes were occupied. The fire started in the middle of the day. The buildings were built by a major homebuilder to meet current codes. Raleigh has a multi-station, well regarded full-time career fire department. The fire made a lot of people, including the mayor of Raleigh, ask how something like this could happen.

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As a result, the City of Raleigh commissioned a study by a Charlotte based engineering firm to look at the fire and what went wrong. As we’ve discussed the firefighting issues associated with “modern” building materials and construction, all perfectly allowable by current codes and the Geezer has found some good examples from the east coast of the U.S. to western Canada. I don’t think any of them have been quite so telling as the Pine Knoll Townes fire in Raleigh.

An article in last week’s Raleigh News and Observer contained some nuggets worth highlighting and commenting on.

“The Pine Knoll complex met building requirements, but officials were stunned by the ferocious nature of the fire, which was fueled by unusually dry conditions and high winds.” Officials shouldn’t have been. Everything about Pine Knoll Townes was designed to burn, right down to the pine straw in the flower beds. Unusually dry conditions and high winds? I hardly think so. Last winter wasn’t particularly wet in Raleigh, however, the last time I checked North Carolina hasn’t become a desert either. Winds weren’t so high that the news helicopters couldn’t fly.

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Wind-resistant smoke

The study “recommends that Raleigh limit the use of combustible materials for building and landscaping for new townhouses and take steps to prevent urban wildfires.” I think this quote is particularly significant. It shows how fire-unaware building code officials really are. The City of Raleigh had to hire a consultant to tell them that they should limit the “use of combustible materials.” Something so fundamental and, for most readers of FireGeezer.com, obvious is a revelation. And by all means, don’t skip over the last 2 words of the quote…urban wildfires. I have to admit, that is the first time I’ve seen that term used and it is very telling. It would appear that wildfires are no longer confined to the wildland or to what the guys out west call “interface” areas. Instead, we are apparently building townhouse projects that, by virtue of their design, create the conditions for urban wildfires.

“We appreciate [the city] taking the time to prepare the report.” So was the stunningly underwhelming reaction of Dan Tingen, who is chairman of the North Carolina Building Code Council. Tingen is also a Raleigh area builder. He also commented on the Council’s consideration of limiting the use of pine straw in flower beds. Some in the firefighting community try to vilify builders and developers. I’ll give Mr. Tingen the benefit of the doubt. He’s probably not a bad guy. At the very least, he’s uninformed and not aware of the fire related implications of what is being built today. Builders aren’t focused on fire. Issues such as manufacturing efficiency and affordability are their areas of focus. Perhaps Pine Knoll Townes will cause Mr. Tingen to consider the probably unintended consequences of today’s building codes and materials.

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With the U.S. housing market taking a downward turn, it is probably worth remembering that for the last 20 or so years, there has been a residential housing boom throughout North America. Most of the single and multi family residential construction during this time has been lightweight and unprotected by built in systems. While building officials consider whether there should be limits on pine straw or requiring less combustible materials for the eaves of townhouses, this is of little consequence to the firefighting community. The deed is done. Millions of these buildings have already been built. As is being documented with some regularity, they burn like mad. Nothing is going to change these realities and we are going to have to learn to effectively deal with them.