The emerging proliferation of structural fire engineering in the U.S. will disrupt the century-long norms in structural fire protection. Traditionally, fire protection is prescribed for structures after they have been optimized for ambient design loads (i.e., gravity, wind, seismic, and others), with no explicit consideration of structural fire performance. Accordingly, the vulnerability of buildings to structural failure from uncontrolled fire is presumably variable across different jurisdictions, which have varying structural design requirements for ambient loads. Structural fire protection is often viewed by structural engineers as a nuisance; however, this area represents one of the most promising opportunities for structural engineers to provide value-added services moving forward. More importantly, building officials should feel empowered to question and challenge structural fire protection variances that are not conducted in accordance with new industry standards (e.g., the removal of fire protection from steel structures based solely on fire and thermal modeling results).

• Course will award 1.5 hours of continuing education
• Diamond Review approved in all 50 states
• This webinar will not be available as a recording