The Need For Common Terminology For Fire Safe Design Of Timber Structures

Abstract

Timber buildings are becoming more prevalent globally and engineers and approval authorities look for suitable guidance to assist with construction. Researchers publish valuable papers on the fire safety of timber and its use for the built environment, that are being used by the engineering community at a fast pace. It has become clear to the authors that terminology specifically related to the fire safety of timber buildings is not always consistent between published research, available guidance and engineering application. This can lead to misinterpretation of published results and the applicability, potentially resulting in errors in engineering design and approval. To assist the research, engineering and approvals community this paper identifies a number of relatively commonly used terms and recommends definitions and guidance for use. The motivation is that these definitions can be adopted and be improved for clarity when they are used for education purposes or applied to the fire safety design of timber structures. Consistency in terminology use between researchers, engineers and officials can only positively assist with the continued growth of timber construction.