AIAO Fire Resilience Series
Wildfire has long been endemic to our wild lands, especially in western states. Climate change, development patterns and other factors are increasing the threats from wildfire and wildfire smoke to our health, safety, and lives, and to our buildings and communities. This series will provide architects and other building professionals with a comprehensive overview of wildfire risks to our built environment and the design solutions to make our communities, neighborhoods, and buildings more fire resilient.
Cost:
AIA Members/Allied Members/NOMA: $15 per session or all 5 for $60
Non-Members: $40 per session or all 5 for $160
Each session will have AIA CE - Pending
Session 1: Fire Resilience Challenges – Wildfires present a growing threat to buildings and communities across the country, with impacts that extend from individual structures to regional infrastructure and ecosystems. This opening session will provide an introduction to wildfire risk and set the context for the entire series. Participants will gain an understanding of the drivers of wildfire hazards, the challenges posed by policy, planning, design, and construction, and the critical role of ongoing management in maintaining resilience. The session will also review methodologies for fire resilience planning and implementation, establishing a foundation for the strategies and case studies explored in subsequent sessions.
Learning objectives:
Participants will be able to understand the risks of wildfire for buildings, communities, and infrastructure.
Participants will be able to identify strategies for mitigating wildfire risk and increasing resilience in the built environment.
Participants will be able to describe the methodology of fire resilience planning, from hazard assessment through design response.
Participants will be able to identify successful implementation measures and recognize the challenges to advancing fire-resilient practices.
Speaker:
Nate Wittasek, P.E., CFEI, LEED AP, CASp
Principal, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Nate Wittasek’s career in resilience began on the front lines—as a researcher and firefighter—before earning his professional engineering license in 2001. Today, as Partner and Vice President at SGH, he leads within the Engineering Mechanics and Infrastructure Group, bringing a practical, science-based approach to fire protection engineering, wildfire mitigation, failure analysis, and code consulting across a wide spectrum of projects in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.