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Public perception of fire safety and risk of timber buildings

Menzemer, Leo Willem LU orcid ; Vad Karsten, Mette Marie ; Gwynne, Steve LU ; Dragsted, Anders and Ronchi, Enrico LU orcid (2025) In Wood Material Science & Engineering p.1-14
Abstract
As a dominant representative of biobased construction materials, an increased use of timber bears potential to contribute to climate change mitigation. This work investigated public attitudes towards timber as a building material, particularly focussing on the perception of fire safety properties and associated risks. In past studies timber’s susceptibility to fire was often acknowledged by stakeholders and thus interpreted as a potential market barrier. An international online survey (n = 323) was carried out and complemented with data from 28 semi-structured interviews in Denmark and Sweden. The study reports empirical evidence that timber buildings are attributed a higher risk than their non-combustible counterparts. The public’s... (More)
As a dominant representative of biobased construction materials, an increased use of timber bears potential to contribute to climate change mitigation. This work investigated public attitudes towards timber as a building material, particularly focussing on the perception of fire safety properties and associated risks. In past studies timber’s susceptibility to fire was often acknowledged by stakeholders and thus interpreted as a potential market barrier. An international online survey (n = 323) was carried out and complemented with data from 28 semi-structured interviews in Denmark and Sweden. The study reports empirical evidence that timber buildings are attributed a higher risk than their non-combustible counterparts. The public’s underlying assumptions on timber’s fire behaviour in buildings seem greatly varied and interview data suggest the importance of demonstrating building safety on a system level. Interviewees from the two Nordic countries expressed strong societal trust towards professionals and authorities to competently address any risks during building design and approval processes, thus feeling safe towards timber buildings despite recognising timber’s combustibility. This refutes the general idea of timber’s perceived combustibility as a market barrier. Lastly, the importance of context (e.g. cultural) for risk appraisal is acknowledged. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Fire Safety, Risk Perception, Timber buildings, Wood buildings, Biobased
in
Wood Material Science & Engineering
pages
1 - 14
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85218211564
ISSN
1748-0272
DOI
10.1080/17480272.2025.2459350
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
70914445-bad7-47fb-a748-2e5b0ba87577
date added to LUP
2025-02-21 11:58:03
date last changed
2025-04-30 04:01:50
@article{70914445-bad7-47fb-a748-2e5b0ba87577,
  abstract     = {{As a dominant representative of biobased construction materials, an increased use of timber bears potential to contribute to climate change mitigation. This work investigated public attitudes towards timber as a building material, particularly focussing on the perception of fire safety properties and associated risks. In past studies timber’s susceptibility to fire was often acknowledged by stakeholders and thus interpreted as a potential market barrier. An international online survey (n = 323) was carried out and complemented with data from 28 semi-structured interviews in Denmark and Sweden. The study reports empirical evidence that timber buildings are attributed a higher risk than their non-combustible counterparts. The public’s underlying assumptions on timber’s fire behaviour in buildings seem greatly varied and interview data suggest the importance of demonstrating building safety on a system level. Interviewees from the two Nordic countries expressed strong societal trust towards professionals and authorities to competently address any risks during building design and approval processes, thus feeling safe towards timber buildings despite recognising timber’s combustibility. This refutes the general idea of timber’s perceived combustibility as a market barrier. Lastly, the importance of context (e.g. cultural) for risk appraisal is acknowledged.}},
  author       = {{Menzemer, Leo Willem and Vad Karsten, Mette Marie and Gwynne, Steve and Dragsted, Anders and Ronchi, Enrico}},
  issn         = {{1748-0272}},
  keywords     = {{Fire Safety; Risk Perception; Timber buildings; Wood buildings; Biobased}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  pages        = {{1--14}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Wood Material Science & Engineering}},
  title        = {{Public perception of fire safety and risk of timber buildings}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2025.2459350}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/17480272.2025.2459350}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}