Mass Timber Projects from a Fire Engineering Perspective

A Living Labs Lecture

BCIT’s Tall Timber Student Housing building makes use of innovative mass timber technology. The explosion of interest in mass timber construction has led to a rapid evolution in the Building Code to allow the construction of larger and taller buildings. These changes are underpinned by improved fire engineering knowledge base.

In this Living Labs lecture, GHL, who are the Fire Engineers and Code Consultants for the Tall Timber Student Housing project, will discuss their work on the project and the overall fire engineering principles and construction solutions the relate to mass timber buildings.

• Fire engineering principles and fire testing of mass timber
• TTSH mass timber design, challenges and lessons learned
• New BC Building Code 2024 code changes affecting mass timber design, including new provisions for exposed timber and construction fire safety
• Role of a fire engineer and code consultant in the design and construction process.
• Regulatory process in relation to mass timber construction
• Other mass timber projects GHL is involved with.

GHL Consultants is a consulting firm specializing in fire engineering and Building Code consulting. With over 30 years of experience, our team is renowned for professional advice and innovative solutions in fire safety and building codes. We address complex fire engineering challenges in projects from small buildings to large mixed-use developments throughout Canada. Our strength lies in our diversified background and experience, enabling us to provide a wide range of services, including Building and Fire Code consulting, Certified Professional services, advanced CFD modeling, fire risk analysis, structural fire engineering, legal opinion, and forensic investigation. Our expertise extends to objective-based Codes, performance based design, and developing alternative solutions to meet regulatory compliance.

Presenters

Naki Ocran, MASc, P Eng, CP: Principal:  GHL Consultants

Naki Ocran is a Professional Engineer and Certified Professional with 10 years of experience as a Building Code consultant. Naki holds a Master of Applied Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Carleton University, specializing in Fire Safety Engineering, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Naki is a Principal at GHL with expertise in Building Code requirements and the application of the Fire Science and Engineering, with a special emphasis on mass timber buildings, evacuation modeling, and heat transfer analysis.  Naki is a registered member of Engineers and Geoscientists BC.

Darrell LI, P Eng, CP: Associate: GHL Consultants

Darrell Li is a Professional Engineer registered with Engineers and Geoscientists BC and is a Certified Professional. He is a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Technology program and holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. An Associate of GHL Consultants Ltd, Darrell has 7 years’ experience in Fire Science and Building Code consulting. Darrell has specialized expertise in not only the written Building Code requirements, but also in the application of the Fire Science and Engineering of Building Code requirements. Darrell focuses on the implementation of performance-based fire engineering design, Building Code Compliance, and the development of alternative solutions.