Mass timber fire engineering addresses the fire safety considerations specific to encapsulated and exposed mass timber construction, including structural fire resistance, compartmentation, and combustible construction limits.
It combines prescriptive code requirements with performance-based analysis where a design exceeds prescriptive limits.
Why It’s Needed
This service applies to mid-rise and high-rise mass timber buildings using CLT, glulam, or NLT, including residential, institutional, and mixed-use projects, particularly where building height, area, or exposed wood surface area exceeds the Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC) limits in the NBCC/OBC.
Our Approach
We assess exposed timber surface area limits, required fire-resistance ratings, compartmentation strategy, and encapsulation requirements, and where needed, develop alternative solutions supported by fire test data and fire modelling to demonstrate equivalent life safety performance.
Scope of Work
- Code compliance review for mass timber construction
- Exposed wood surface area calculations
- Fire-resistance rating verification
- Alternative solution development for designs exceeding EMTC limits
- Coordination with structural engineers on char rate and encapsulation details
Applicable Codes, Standards, and References
- NBCC / OBC Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC) provisions
Benefit
Enables the use of mass timber beyond standard prescriptive limits while maintaining code-equivalent fire safety performance, supporting sustainable design goals.
