Fire Impacts on Buildings, Infrastructure and Environment
The author of numerous texts and an internationally recognized expert on risk-informed, performance-based design and regulation, this aspect of Professor Meacham’s research focuses on the identification and assessment of the unwanted impacts of fire on buildings, infrastructure and the built environment, and the development of hazard and risk assessment and mitigation strategies to address the fire challenges.
Unwanted fire can result in significant losses to people, property, business operations, heritage and the environment. Understanding how fire can impact buildings, transportation systems and the environment – on its own or coupled with other hazard events – gives us the foundation we need to develop technologies and design solutions for mitigating the risks to societally tolerable levels.
Brian Meacham
Associate Professor
2016 POST-EARTHQUAKE FIRE PERFORMANCE OF A 6-STORY COLD-FORMED STEEL BUILDING
The goals of this project were to assess the performance of a 6-story cold-formed steel building in fire following earthquakes.
FIRE PERFORMANCE OF GREEN BUILDINGS
The goals of this study are to begin quantifying and addressing fire performance challenges of green or sustainable buildings as they impact firefighter safety.
2012 RESEARCH ON EARTHQUAKE FIRE PERFORMANCE
The goal of the building nonstructural components and systems (BNCS) project was to investigate earthquake performance of nonstructural building systems and post-earthquake fire performance.
RAIL TRANSPORTATION
Fire in a passenger rail vehicle is largely a function of the initiation fire, vehicle interior materials (interior lining / components and contents), vehicle configuration and ventilation.
THE ENVIRONMENT
The impact of fire on the natural environment is significant, yet has not been on the radar screen of many people.