Wood Solutions has introduced a new Fire Design Guide that simplifies compliance for a range of prefabricated timber structures.
Contrary to public perceptions, timber buildings can be designed to meet fire safety requirements as well as other emergency situations. Designing for fire safety means the occupants must be able to escape in the early stages of a fire, with the building’s inherent fire resistance preventing the fire from spreading and causing serious damage.
The new Wood Solutions Fire Design Guide summarises fire safety design processes for Expan-developed systems, including timber concrete composite (TCC) floors, timber cassette floors and post-tensioned timber beams without any fire-rated lining or additional protection. Simplifying the path to innovative timber solutions for building designers and engineers, the Expan system is the outcome of a unique collaboration between commercial and academic partners, with the aim to create innovative structural timber solutions.
Written by a team comprising of design and fire engineering specialists, the Fire Design Guide includes background information, designs of timber members, and extensive case studies and supporting data.
The new Guide addresses designing for fire safety when using elements of the Expan system including innovative timber frames, wall and floor systems, and quick-connect portal frames. Expan’s totally prefabricated technology cleverly embeds post-tensioned tendons into timber to lock the system together. The resulting cost-effective and time-efficient system creates wide open spaces and layouts, offering a breakthrough in design and construction of commercial and industrial buildings.
The Fire Design Guide can be downloaded from the Wood Solutions website.
