Fire Performance of Houses

Partners on the Fire Performance of Houses (Members Only)

Objective

To better understand the impact of residential construction products and systems on life safety of occupants in houses, and to develop scientific and technical information to facilitate the evaluation of innovative products and systems.

Background

Canadians have always looked at ways to improve the quality of their homes, and this trend has never been stronger than in the past three decades. More recently, consumers are also asking for construction products to have less of an impact on the environment. Manufacturers have met these demands and are continuing to meet new demands by producing engineered products and systems that are durable, strong, safe and affordable.

As new products and systems are introduced, we need to better understand their fire performance and the impact that they will have on occupant safety under fire conditions. The Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC), responsible for developing the national model building codes, and the Canadian Commission on Construction Materials Evaluation (CCCME), requested the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct such a study, initially looking at products and systems that are already in common use.

The NRC Fire Performance of Houses project is a unique study that attests to NRC's leading-edge expertise and responsiveness to Canadians' needs for safe homes.

The overall research is planned for a number of phases of full-scale experimental studies with each phase investigating a specific structural system for single-family houses.   NRC-IRC built a three-level experimental facility simulating a typical two-storey detached single-family house with a basement for the studies.

Statement of Work – Phase 1: Unprotected Floor Assemblies in Basement Fire Scenarios

Phase 1 of the project focused on basement fire scenarios and looked at different floor assemblies commonly used in houses. The main objectives of Phase 1 were to establish a sequence of fire events following the ignition of a severe basement fire, and to better understand the fire performance of various floor assemblies directly above the basement under specific fire conditions, as well as examine some of the factors that impact the ability of occupants' on the upper storeys to evacuate in the event of a basement fire.

Although basements are not the most frequent sites of fires in Canadian homes, the Phase 1 severe fire scenarios were chosen to challenge the structural integrity of the floor structure on the first storey as these floor assemblies provide the normal escape route for occupants on the first and upper storeys. The findings of this research must be interpreted within the context of the relatively severe fire scenarios used in these fire experiments.

Outcomes –  Phase I Summary Report

This study fills some of the knowledge gaps on fire performance of commonly used construction products and systems and the impact these have on the life safety of occupants in houses. The Phase 1 report of this study provides useful scientific and technical information that reinforces the importance of continued public awareness of home fire safety and fire emergency preparedness. The findings support having working interconnected smoke alarms located on each level of a house as required in the National Building Code of Canada.

Partners

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association, Canadian Wood Council, Cement Association of Canada, City of Calgary, FPInnovations - Forintek Division, North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Wood I-Joist Manufacturers Association

Start/Completion Dates

This project began in June 2004 and was completed in December 2008.

Related Project

Performance of Protected Ceiling/Floor Assemblies in a Basement Fire

Related Information

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Research in Construction