Investigating Ways to Mitigate the Effects of Wildfires on Structures

Wildfires are increasingly becoming a cause of concern with rising global temperatures. Understanding ways to mitigate wildfire impact on structures is vital for future development to reduce the risk of fire spread and destruction. Through my involvement with Dr. Mark Green’s research group, I gained a novel understanding of the importance of this global issue while also gaining insight into possible solutions. Doctoral student Tadele Getu writes about the factors influencing housing resiliency and mitigation measures elaborating on ways to reduce fire risk in homes. During my assistance with this paper, emphasis on the types of materials and housing building strategies were highlighted in the screening and data extraction process. Moreover, PhD student Branna MacDougal focuses her thesis on the impact of fire on insulated concrete panels. Using furnaces at the National Research Council, I witnessed the specimens’ performance under high temperatures. Assisting in the lab with MacDougal’s project, I helped test key factors that affected the panels' performance under high temperatures, such as the concrete’s strength. I also looked at the impacts of adhesives on wood specimens in collaboration with Joshua Woods and Post Doctoral student Bronwyn Chorlton under high heat by testing wood and rebar samples. Given Dr. Chorlton’s background in timber structures, I helped collect preliminary material for her future paper about mass timber by looking into encapsulated timber structures through standards and codes. Assisting Chorlton with this research has offered insight into the tools that are used for fire research such as the Satec Instron, for which I developed an instructional manual. Getting involved with these projects has provided me with insight into how engineering can be used to innovate against a big problem in our society that is the rising concern of wildfire occurrence.