Learn the balance of fire design principles that can improve fire safety in buildings.
Structure fires and wildfires result in significant loss of life and property in the United States each year. In addition to the direct losses of fighting fires, such as relocating residents and rebuilding, large fire events can cause substantial indirect losses to communities. There has been an increase in single-family and multifamily structure fire losses partly due to the increased use of combustible construction methods. This presentation investigates the causes of these fires and provides balanced design recommendations using active and passive fire protection strategies.
Learning Objectives
- You will be able to explain the reasons for the increase of fire losses in single family and multifamily buildings from structure fires and wildfires.
- You will be able to describe how the building code has evolved to increase the reliance on active fire.
- You will be able to recognize the balance fire design principles that can improve fire safety in buildings.
- You will be able to discuss the contribution noncombustible materials such as concrete makes to fire safety.
Agenda
Impact of Natural Disasters
- Structure Fires
- Insurance Risk
- Insurance Cost Study
- Wildfires
- Cost of Wildfires
- Wildfire Risk
Minimum Code Requirements
- Literature Review and Study of Trade-Offs
Balanced Approach to Fire Safety
- NFPA 550
- Recommendations
- General
- Multifamily Structures
- Buildings Under Construction - NFPA 241
- Wildfire Safety - Iwuic and NFPA 1144
- Noncombustible Building Systems and Finishes
- Concrete Frame
- Bearing Wall Systems
- Concrete Floor Systems
- Concrete Finish Systems
Case Studies
- Apartment Building Survives Blast and Fire
- Exterior Walls Provide Fire Separations at Infill Site
- Noncombustible Exterior Finishes Save Home From Devastating Wildfire
- Noncombustible Construction Used for Student Dormitories
Speakers
Shamim Rashid-Sumar, PE, FSFPE,
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association- Vice President, Fire Codes and Standards at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
- Works with national model building codes and international standards organizations to advocate for noncombustible and resilient construction
- Provides technical support regarding codes, standards, regulations, and legislation at the national, state, and local level
- In her nearly two decades of experience in building and fire code consulting and performance-based design, she has worked on a multitude of projects, including government facilities, hospitals, medical centers, airport terminals, museums, high-rise buildings, hotels, malls, and other special use facilities
- Member of the ASTM E05 Fire Standards Technical Committee; associate member of ACI 216 Committee on Fire Resistance and Fire Protection of Structures and ACI 560 Committee on Design and Construction with Insulating Concrete Forms; and a principal member of several NFPA technical committees, including technical committees on building construction, fire protection features, residential occupancies, fire tests, and structures, construction & materials; former member of the UAE Code Committee as well as an NFPA 101 international instructor
- Registered professional fire protection engineer in Delaware; holds previous registrations as a House of Expertise Engineer in the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
- A strong believer in maintaining fire safety in the built environment, she was active in the Middle East and India for 12 years as an industry expert, speaking on technical topics such as façade risk assessments, fire alarm system fundamentals and nuisance alarms, recent updates to the UAE and Saudi Building Codes and delivery of code-compliant projects
- Appointed a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), 2019; as a current member of the SFPE International Board of Directors, she brings her global perspective to the SFPE’s governance committee and overall growth of the Society; she is also a member of the SFPE Foundation’s Board of Governors
- B.S. degree in fire protection engineering and a minor citation in French language and cultures, University of Maryland College Park
Who Should Attend
This live webinar is designed for engineers, architects, contractors, subcontractors, project managers, developers, principals, planners, real estate professionals, building owners and managers, and attorneys.
