Journal Article Reports on Improvements in Urban Resilience to Wildfires

A new peer reviewed journal article “A fire safety engineering approach to improving community resilience to the impacts of wildfire” has been published in the Fire and Materials. The article was co-authored by Daniel Gorham, research engineer for the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes, Dr. Greg Penney, Dr. Greg Baker from the Fire Research Group Ltd., and Dr. Andres Valencia at the University of Canterbury.

Addressing Issues in Community Wildfire Resilience

As wildfires become increasingly severe, frequent, and destructive, researchers hope to find effective ways to improve community resilience. This study examined community resilience in urban areas that experienced wildfires. Researchers investigated more effective and resilient urban design and engineering practices to address issues that often hinder wildfire resilience efforts:

• Misaligned planning and building policies that lead to inconsistent governance
• The adoption of unproven building standards due to limited research in which existing urban design is based
• Contradictory urban design and building standards

Findings Identify Performance-Based Design as a Key Area for Future Research

Though the findings only partially support the aims of this project, it asserts a foundation of examining and refining current practice within the field. Future research should continue to embrace performance-based design when investigating wildland urban interface (WUI) fires. Until more research supports the evidence-based framework, development of effective urban design and administration of proper building standards will continue to be stifled.

“While there is an abundance of research in the literature on wildfire, little has been translated to criteria that may be used for performance-based design of buildings in the WUI. Performance-based design offers the opportunity to protect occupants, enhance survivability of structures, and increase chances for successful firefighting operations. Future work aims to address the gaps between current knowledge and implementation of performance-based design at the WUI.”
—Daniel Gorham,  Research Engineer, FSRI

Read the peer-reviewed journal article 

Abstract

Each year, severe wildfires continue to cause significant destruction resulting in the loss of life, property, critical infrastructure, and the environment. In an effort to increase community preparedness and resilience to wildfire, international jurisdictions have adopted both guiding principles and prescriptive codes that apply to both urban planning and fire engineering design of buildings within the wildland-urban interface. These measures are intended to protect occupants, enhance the survivability of structures from different fire exposure mechanisms, and increase the chances of successful firefighting operations. However, research has identified (i) inconsistent approaches to regulation and governance, (ii) limited research on which urban design and building standards are based; and (iii) misaligned or contradictory urban design and building standards. This not only stifles the use of development proposing suitable performance-based design that could achieve the required outcomes but can increase administrative burdens and development costs without increasing safety. The aim of this current study is to contribute to addressing identified shortfalls by identifying and distilling the last 23 years of research in the field related to (i) the development of evidence-based performance requirements, and (ii) the application of effective governance arrangements in order to enhance urban design and wildfire engineering practices. These aims are achieved through a systematic literature review.  Ultimately however, of the 608 initial articles captured in the identification phase of the SLR, not a single article provided insight into the most effective regulatory or governance mechanism, and only three provided criteria suitable for adoption as a performance requirement.  While the aims of this study were only partially achieved, it does provide a foundation for the field by way of identifying and distilling the current state of practice.

About Fire and Materials:

Fire and Materials is the leading journal at the interface of fire safety and materials science. The publication covers all aspects of the fire properties of materials and their applications, including polymers, metals, ceramics, and natural products such as wood and cellulosics.

Papers on all areas of fire safety science and engineering are welcomed, including those on passive and active fire prevention, modeling, fire retardant chemicals, human behavior and wildland and large fires