| Course Summary: Traditionally, structural fire safety is contemplated after the structural engineering is complete for a given building. Specifically, structural systems that have been optimized for ambient design loads are then blanketed with fireproofing. This century-old approach endeavors to reduce the heating of individual structural members with the intent of mitigating the risk of structural collapse under fire conditions. However, project stakeholders may be left wondering if the intended structural fire safety is provided and if a rational use of resources was employed. This differs from almost all other aspects of building design in which these aspects are taken extremely seriously.
As an alternative to the traditional approach, performance-based structural fire design is beginning to establish a foothold in the United States. Notably, newly developed guidance contained within ASCE/SEI 7-22, ASCE/SEI Manual of Practice No. 138, SFPE International Handbook of Structural Fire Engineering, and the freely available ASCE/SEI Structural Fire Design Guide provide designers the framework to legitimately practice structural fire design, as well as provide building officials a potent set of tools to properly evaluate such designs. The envisioned endgame of this movement is a gradual transition toward reliability-based and intrinsically fire safe structures that are rationalized optimized, which is nothing new for conventional structural engineering. Since structural fire design has the potential to produce buildings that are safer with a more rational use of resources, the future is bright for structural design for “earth, wind and fire.”
The ASCE/SEI Structural Fire Design Guide is free for download here (click “View PDF”): Performance-Based Structural Fire Design | Books (ascelibrary.org)
Presenter Biography: Kevin LaMalva, P.E., F.ASCE, F.SEI has over 16 years of experience as a structural/fire consultant with dual registration in both fire protection engineering and civil engineering. Aside from faithfully serving clients, Kevin is a member of numerous industry committees (ASCE/SEI, SFPE, ICC, NIST, NFPA, ACI and others) that conduct research and develop standards for structural fire safety. Notably, Kevin led a group of over 40 engineers to develop the first-of-its kind ASCE/SEI Structural Fire Design Guide, served as editor of ASCE/SEI Manual of Practice No. 138, and served as co-editor of the SFPE International Handbook of Structural Fire Engineering. For his work in structural fire safety, Kevin was awarded the SFPE D. Peter Lund Award distinction of ENR Newsmaker for serving the "best interests of the construction industry and the public." Kevin can be reached at kevin.lamalva@holmes.us |
