Fire

Recently, Vancouver architect, Michael Green, issued a report entitled Tall Wood, arguing that skyscrapers and other tall buildings should use more wood as a primary construction material. His argument is that wood is up to the task, is less polluting, and is more environmentally sustainable than the materials currently used. Green’s (2012) buildings would employ … Read more

The purpose of this study was to examine fire-related casualties, fire outcomes, and casualty behaviour for fires that occurred in residential properties, and to compare fires that occurred in buildings completely protected by sprinkler systems with those fires that occurred in buildings without any sprinkler protection.  

Although it is estimated that less than 0.3% of Canadian vehicles currently on the roads are fuelled by propane, there is a growing policy concern regarding the fire-and-safety risks posed by storing these vehicles in the common parking areas of multi-residential buildings.    

The purpose of this study was to examine the significance of fires that occur on the exterior of multi-residential buildings. This research was motivated by the findings of previous investigations into sprinkler systems and the storage of propane in these types of buildings, which suggested there are existing vulnerabilities associated with fires that commence in … Read more

This document examines the feasibility of creating a National Fire Information Database for Canada. In pursuing this, we examined what data are currently collected and the structure of organizations responsible for maintaining national databases in other countries. Because of the allocation of jurisdictional responsibilities relating to the services provided by fire departments in Canada, creating, … Read more

On January 24, 2012, more than 100 firefighters in Washington, DC walked out of their Fire Chief’s “State of the Department” address over the Chief’s desire to move his department away from the traditional 24-hour on, 72-hour off shift schedule to a 12-hour shift model (D.C. Firefighters Protest Chief’s Proposed Shift Change, January 25, 2012). … Read more

Le présent rapport évalue les préoccupations d’intervenants clés relativement au Projet de loi 52 d’initiative parlementaire, Loi de 2012 sur la revitalisation de l’industrie forestière de l’Ontario (hauteur des bâtiments à ossature de bois) (Projet de loi 52), actuellement à l’étude par l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario.  

This report evaluates the key stakeholder concerns with the proposed Ontario (ON) Private Member’s Bill 52 – “Ontario’s Forestry Industry Revitalization Act (Height of Wood Frame Buildings), 2012” (aka Bill 52): a matter that is currently before the Ontario Legislator.  

It is important to emphasize and explain, from the outset, that this paper is not intended to suggest that fire safety inspections should not be done. Instead, the purpose of this research is to demonstrate that elapsed time since last inspection does not seem to influence fire outcomes with respect to extent of fire and … Read more

This paper summarizes the findings from an evaluation of the historical fire protection performance of sprinkler systems in multi-level residential buildings in British Columbia (BC), with the intent of anticipating how the fire safety systems should perform in six-story mid-rise wood-frame buildings, permitted in BC since 2009.