After a massive five-alarm fire destroyed a partially constructed five-story, 241-unit, $51 million apartment building in Raleigh, the safety of wood-frame construction came under scrutiny.
The blaze also caused minor damage of a neighboring wood-framed, multi-family building and forced the evacuation of its residents. The Raleigh News & Observer subsequently published an extensive report on the pros and cons of wood-framed structures, interviewing professionals in the design and construction industry and developers.
The building, a pedestal structure with a poured-concrete first level and four stories of wood-frame construction above, was about 40% complete—making it vulnerable to fire. The president of Raleigh’s firefighter union told the newspaper that wood-frame buildings are safe once finished and after sprinklers installed. Before then, the structures are like a four-story lumber yard, the firefighter told the News & Observer.
North Carolina adopted a change to the national building code in 2009 that increased the number of wood-frame stories that can be built on a pedestal or slab from four to five.
Related Stories
AEC Tech | Jun 17, 2016
Driverless cars could soon start impacting commercial, retail project design
Offsite parking and more space for valet parking lines are among the foreseeable changes.
Codes and Standards | Jun 17, 2016
Bay State moves toward single BIM protocol on state projects
Massport’s guidelines a step forward for integrated BIM initiative.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 14, 2016
San Francisco voters approve tougher affordability requirement on new housing development
Critics charge that the measure may backfire and actually reduce new affordable units.
Concrete | Jun 13, 2016
American Concrete Institute releases new Guide to Shotcrete
Includes information on application procedures, testing.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 10, 2016
Top 10 health technology hazards include some influenced by space design
ECRI Institute’s annual list includes operational and workflow issues.
Codes and Standards | Jun 9, 2016
Supreme Court ruling could aid developers on properties containing wetlands
Unanimous decision allows landowners to take regulatory decisions straight to court.
Green | Jun 8, 2016
TD Bank Group's renovated Toronto office is first WELL-Certified project under WELL v1
The newly renovated 25,000-sf space achieved gold-level status.
Concrete | Jun 7, 2016
Concrete Institute publishes document providing concrete curing guidance
New curing monitoring techniques included.
Energy | Jun 7, 2016
Energy modeling payback typically as short as one to two months
Energy modeling is a ‘no-brainer—like checking MPG on a car’
Green | Jun 2, 2016
USGBC offers new LEED pilot credit: Building Material Human Hazard and Exposure Assessment
For assessing human health-related exposure scenarios for construction products.