Mass Timber Buildings: After the Fire Assessment and Repairs Are Probably Not What You Would Expect
Presented by: Carl Baldassarra, PE, FSFPE, Senior Principal, Fire Protection Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc; Richard Kristie, PE, SE, Principal, Structural Engineer, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
ABOUT THE PRESENTATION
Within less than the past two decades, changes in manufacturing and construction techniques, along with changes in building codes, have allowed the initiation of a new era of timber construction, hallmarked by smaller pieces of wood being processed and manufactured into larger prefabricated columns, beams, floor slabs, and other structural and non-structural elements. The result is buildings that are more sustainable and often with significant visual warmth. The continuing rapid growth in market share of such timber buildings continues at a rate both domestically and in many other areas globally that suggests the current work is only an extremely small fraction of the upper end potential.
Among the many issues continually confronted within this complex and rapidly evolving phenomenon, is how to design, build, and maintain them in a manner that appropriately manages fire risks. Understanding of that body of knowledge continues to mature and, now, one of the new emerging challenges is how to assess and repair damage (at the fire floor and adjacent floors) caused by both the fire itself and the water used to extinguish it.
New framing systems require new techniques for repair, especially when there is the need for replacement of elements. Water damage has always been a collateral issue after a fire, but with wood construction there is the need to properly dry out water-soaked elements below the fire floors which requires a special process of evaluation and remediation that can vary from project to project.
Drawing on their decades of significant experience within their respective disciplines (including conventional heavy timber building systems, glulam, and rapidly emerging CLT and NLT systems), and their significant recent knowledge of working with newer timber systems, our presenters will provide updates on additional recent code changes regarding mass timber construction and fire-related issues. This will be followed by an overview of the methods used to assess structural damage and potential structural repair options associated with the impacts of fire and water on engineered mass timber construction. The presenters will identify recent research and case studies of mass timber repair projects.
This presentation will be of special interest to all who are involved in the planning, design, construction, or operation and maintenance of buildings, and especially those involved in wood construction of all types.
ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS
Carl F. Baldassarra, PE, FSFPE
Carl Baldassarra is a Senior Principal and Manager of the Fire Protection practice at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates in Chicago/Northbrook, Illinois. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President at Rolf Jensen & Associates, and President of Schirmer Engineering Corporation where he worked for more than thirty-five years. Over his career, Mr. Baldassarra has served on many NFPA and ICC technical committees, including the ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Tall Wood Buildings, responsible for development of the first comprehensive criteria for mass timber construction in the 2021 edition of the IBC. He has also served on the ICC Code Technology Committee; and technical committees for NFPA 1, NFPA 13, NFPA 92, and NFPA 101.
Carl is a Past President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and former member of its board of directors. He currently serves as Chair of the SFPE Ethics committee and is a member of the SFPE’s Editorial Board responsible for FPE magazine. Carl also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Chapter of SFPE. He has a BS degree in fire protection engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, an MBA, and is a licensed professional engineer in several states. He is a member of CCHRB and has been a frequent presenter at CCHRB meetings and seminars..
Richard J. Kristie, PE, SE
Rich Kristie is a licensed professional engineer and structural engineer with over 46 years of experience, and is a Principal with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates in Northbrook, Illinois. Since joining WJE in 1985, Rich has conducted investigations of damaged structures, evaluated existing structures, performed laboratory testing, and prepared repair plans and specifications. He specializes in investigations involving wood structures, wood truss roof systems, hardwood floors and millwork, steel plate shell structures and steel frame structures with corrosion and welding problems, steel pole structures, and fire-damaged structures.
Mr. Kristie has authored several papers and articles related to the investigation and repair of wood structures, including “Inspection and Repair of Plate-Connected Wood Trusses,” which was presented at an International Conference on Timber Engineering. He was lead author of a paper titled “Investigating and Repairing Wood Bowstring Trusses,” published in the ASCE’s Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, and coauthored a paper titled “Failure Investigation of 100-Year-Old Timber Roof Truss,” presented at the Third Forensic Engineering Congress. He will share his experience in several case studies involving repair of mass timber buildings.
This meeting will take place at:
Waterview
350 W Wolff Point Plaza
15th Floor,
Chicago, IL 60654
The committee meeting will start at the usual time 5:00 pm in the LaSalle Room with drinks and appetizers. At 6:00 pm we will adjourn for our business meeting and technical presentation.
Do you have a program you would like to share with the committee, please feel free to reach out to our program coordinator at jose.estrada@clarkdietrich.com
