Structure Fire Interaction

Holmes collaboration allows access to a specialist team of structural-fire engineers with technical expertise and collective experience of more than thirty years in the field of structural fire engineering and structural engineers pioneering developments in mass timber and performance based engineering. The Holmes team is capable of analyzing the response of timber, steel and concrete structures in fire within both new and existing buildings.

Modern building codes of construction have prescriptive requirements for achieving fire resistance of structures. Historically, a building was designed and then additional fire protection materials were applied to meet code. Some of these fire rating requirements can be highly onerous and can result in costly structural fire protection, increased structural weight and impede on the aesthetics and architectural aspirations of modern building design. These requirements do not consider project specific requirements and can lead to a simplistic and inefficient designs. Holmes has found that using technology and a performance based engineering approach increases the performance of a structure in a fire and often provides a holistic improvement in the overall design.

Structural Fire Engineering

Holmes understands how structures behave in real fires and can provide innovative solutions to safely eliminate unnecessary structural fire protection and to optimize fire resistance. We employ a wide range of analysis methods, including advanced finite element analysis that can detect failure mechanisms in structures, resulting in more robust structural design. Our long track record in performance-based structural fire engineering analyses for new and existing conventional, modular and pre-fabricated structures is helpful in working with any Authority Having Jurisdiction.

Click to learn more about the international business of Holmes Fire with additional offices in Australia and New Zealand