Fire Testing Supports Wood Performance in Wildfire Standards

AWC continued our leadership in wildfire-resilient construction standards through active participation in the International Code Council’s (ICC) Multi-Hazard Resiliency for Residential Construction Standards Committee (MHRRC). The Committee was developing the ICC 605 Standard for Residential Construction in Regions with Wildfire Hazard, which would have been a new standard aimed at strengthening wildfire resilience of residential structures through site and area requirements, and design strategies that can both reduce structural loss and facilitate post-wildfire recovery. However, in December 2025, the ICC Board of Directors ruled that the ICC 605 standard will not proceed in development, but instead, the work done to date will be handed over to the ICC Fire Code Action Committee (FCAC) for consideration of potential changes to the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC).

AWC had been involved throughout the development of the ICC 605 standard and had raised early questions about its scope and intent, specifically whether it would replace or supplement IWUIC. When the Board ruled late last year, its response was consistent with the same concerns AWC had raised two years earlier.

Despite more than two years of work and the initial intent that the standard would be independent of the IWUIC, the new effort under FCAC will consider provisions in the current draft standard for inclusion in the 2030 IWUIC. AWC is a member of FCAC and will continue to stay engaged throughout the development of 2030 IWUIC. Specifically, there are potential conflicting provisions between the ICC 605 draft and the IWUIC that FCAC will begin working through this year.

Even though the ICC 605 standard is no longer in development, WUI and fire safety issues remain top priorities in codes. To further support the industry’s ability to demonstrate the performance of wood products with data, AWC ran exterior wall fire propagation tests using the provisions of a new ASTM standard proposed by Underwriters Laboratories. Early results from the tests show promising performance for both beveled wood siding and T1-11 plywood siding, demonstrating their ability to meet the proposed criteria. These findings will help inform standard development processes and support the continued inclusion of wood products as safe, resilient options in wildfire-prone regions.

AWC will build on these test results in 2026 as the ICC 605 draft is folded into the 2030 IWUIC, ensuring wildfire-related provisions are grounded in robust fire test data and performance based evaluation.