Performance-Based Structural Fire Design—to date the most in-depth guidance in the U.S. for the “proper execution and potential benefits of structural fire protection”—is available free-of-charge for download.

JF Ahern is a mechanical and fire protection contractor that's lasted 140 years in Fond Du Lac, Wis. The company was named ENR Midwest Specialty Contractor of they Year, in part, because it worked on projects in 10 of ENR Midwest’s 11 states last year.

JF Ahern, a mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection engineer with a strong array of prefabrication capabilities, is ENR Midwest Specialty Contractor of the Year.

There is good news for boosters of a modular system of tied dual-plate walls field-filled with concrete—dubbed SpeedCore for its potential to slash superstructure construction time compared to steel frames with reinforced concrete cores.

Predicting wildfires and combating them, smart building sensors, 3D-printed building materials, building integrated fire safety systems that go beyond sprinklers and clean-room protection were among the topics discussed Oct. 13-15 at the Society of Fire Protection Engineers’ annual conference and exposition at the Sheraton Grand Resort at Wild Horse Pass near Phoenix.

On Jan. 9, the American Society of Civil Engineers approved for publication its first manual of practice for performance-based structural fire engineering.