The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) sponsors research to create a safer operational environment for firefighters by increasing awareness about the performance of construction components and technology during fires.
In partnership with the USFA, the American Wood Council (AWC) provides a web-based educational program — Woodaware.info — for the fire service on modern construction components and technology. Woodaware provides information on modern building components, including trusses, structural glued laminated timber beams, I-joists, structural composite lumber, structural insulated panels and wood structural panels.
USFA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology partnered on a project to examine the feasibility of predicting structural collapse and determine if there were any trends or patterns that could be detected in firefighter fatalities due to structural collapse.
Building construction methods and materials impact how home fires grow and develop and today, home fires spread faster than ever.
To help address these issues the USFA invited fire service members, fire researchers and other home fire safety organizations to participate in a workshop to:
Workshop participants collaborated to create an eight-point action plan to address the changing severity of home fires by:
