This past year marked the start of the International Code Council’s (ICC) new, more extensive code development process. AWC has risen to the challenge, having reviewed over 1,400 code change proposals and comments related to the fire safety and egress provision in the 2027 InternationalBuilding Code (IBC), International Fire Code, and International Wildland Urban Interface Code (IWUIC). Staff also submitted two sets of written comments and twice testified at in-person hearings under the new I-Code development format.

AWC’s highest priority in this code cycle was to incorporate the 2024 Fire Design Specification for Wood Construction (FDS). We successfully gained approval through the first two hearings for the use of the FDS as an acceptable method for

fire protection of wood connections. This is a critical win for the w

ood products industry, as all future fire-related technical changes to the building code would be channeled into one place and managed through AWC’s ANSI standards update process instead of the more challenging code development process.

Another AWC proposal was approved that removed the requirement for sealants and adhesives in joints and intersections of mass timber construction (Type IV-A, IV-B, and IV-C) where they are unnecessary for fire performance, allowing reduced construction costs. This issue was brought to AWC by mass timber design professionals and a member company that realized this issue in the 2024 IBC. The most direct result of this proposal is the reduction in construction costs estimated to amount to $360,000 for a Type IV-A building.

AWC also successfully testified in support of disapproval of a proposal to consolidate wildland urban interface (WUI) construction classes from three classes to one, maintaining more material choice depending on the extent of defensible space and severity of WUI fire hazard.

Overall, AWC led the industry to success, with over 78% of our proposals recommended for approval and 93% of threats being either modified or favorably withdrawn. However, there are challenges that still lie ahead. Most notably, AWC will have to continue its efforts to modify an unfavorable proposal to the IWUIC that could potentially limit construction material options for lower-severity WUI hazard areas.