| Abstract | The Canadian Wood Council partnered with key stakeholders to conduct five full-scale fire tests under the Mass Timber Demonstration Fire Test Program (MTDFTP) aimed toward advancing current understanding of compartment fire dynamics, fire safety during construction, and impact of exposed mass timber surfaces on fire severity and duration. The fire tests featured varying degrees of encapsulation, ventilation conditions, and fuel loads, and were performed in a two-storey structure constructed of cross-, dowel- and glued-laminated mass timber elements. The test structure’s configuration and content intended to represent a mass timber building undergoing construction and areas with residential and open-plan office uses in a finished building. All fire tests were conducted without sprinkler protection or firefighter intervention, illustrating rare scenarios wherein suppression operations would be ineffective in controlling the size and spread of a fire. While the results specific for each test are discussed in greater detail, some key observations common to all tests included the following findings: the mass timber test structure remained stable after five full-scale tests, enduring a total of 19 hours of severe fire exposure; the average char depths in the exposed mass timber members were within the CSA O86:19 design allowance; and despite some exposed cross-laminated timber ceiling panels experiencing localized delamination during the cooling phase of the fire, this phenomenon did not result in re-ignition or fire regrowth. |
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