| Location | 11 East Madison, Suite 300, Chicago, IL (Gensler) |
AIA CREDIT: Yes
ABSTRACT:
In recent years we have all watched as a series of fires around the globe propagated, in part, by a combination of exterior wall components and materials with properties that, in certain circumstances, can facilitate combustion. Concerns in this area and the corresponding evolution of building codes and test standards to address these concerns date back - long before the Torch Tower and Address Hotel fires in Dubai and the tragedy we witnessed at Grenfell Tower in London. This presentation will begin with a brief overview of this history, then pivot to an update of the current situation relative to risk assessment of their existing building stock and finish with a discussion focused on why appropriately developed fire protection strategies are not simply skin-deep. Topics will include the regulatory response to exterior cladding fires, the industry response, and an exchange of ideas about where we go from here and the steps that we can take as design and construction professionals to further mitigate this risk while maintaining energy efficiency standards.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Summarize current industry and regulatory response to the tragedy that occurred at Grenfell Tower in London and exterior wall assembly fires.
2. Summarize fire history and the influence of those events on standards development and changes in national and international building codes.
3. Understand the basics of product vs. assembly testing and global standards for resistance-to-fire testing of full-scale exterior wall assemblies.
4. Describe the mechanisms for fire spread in exterior wall assemblies and understand the basics of developing a systems approach fire protection strategies for buildings and structures..
PRESENTER BIO:
Nicholas Ozog joined WJE in 2016 with more than ten years of fire protection engineering experience. Mr. Ozog has a wide range of experience in building and fire code analysis; property conditions and statement of conditions (SOC) assessments, performance-based design; fire protection system design and criteria development; fire modeling; risk management assessment; and loss control investigations. He has also worked extensively on performance-based design and code analyses for a wide range of clients, projects, and occupancies nationwide, including some of the largest healthcare networks in the country. During his career, Mr. Ozog has also provided field inspections and construction administration services and has presented at several fire protection conferences and events.
Prior to joining WJE, Mr. Ozog was a loss control consultant for Starr Technical Risks Agency, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois, where he provided risk assessments and construction administration services, developed fire protection system criteria, applied NFPA and FM standards to a variety of highly protected risks, and developed loss control programs. He also began working as an underwriter and understands risk management principles. Mr. Ozog was also a fire protection consultant at Rolf Jensen & Associates in Chicago, where he developed code analyses and fire protection programs for a wide variety of commercial, institutional, industrial, healthcare, and governmental facilities.
RSVP:
For BEC Chicago members, an RSVP invite will be sent out approximately 7 to 10 days in advance of event. For non-BEC Chicago members interested in attending, you may contact Jeff Diqui at jdiqui@imiweb.org to request an invite. The inviation will include a link to a mandatory RSVP.
