LEESBURG, VA. – In advance of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) National Fire Prevention Week October 8-14, leading fire prevention and code organizations announce the formation of a Construction Fire Safety Coalition dedicated to reducing the occurrence of fires in buildings under construction, alteration, or demolition. The Coalition has been created in collaboration with the American Wood Council (AWC); Davidson Code Concepts, LLC; FireForceOne; International Code Council (ICC); National Association of Home Builders; National Association of State Fire Marshals; National Fire Sprinkler Association; and a representative of the Cambridge, Mass. Fire Department, in response to recent fires in Massachusetts, California and New Jersey.

LEESBURG, VA. – The American Wood Council (AWC) and WoodWorks have released the public beta version of an updated app to calculate maximum allowable heights and areas for buildings of various occupancy classifications and types of construction. The Heights & Areas Calculator is based on the provisions in the 2015 and earlier editions of the International Building Code (IBC).

WASHINGTON – As Congress begins writing the next iteration of the Farm Bill, the Forests in the Farm Bill (FIFB) Coalition, a group of 92 forest organizations, released a set of forest-related recommendations that would improve the bill’s ability to support private and family-owned forests and the benefits they provide.

WASHINGTON – American Wood Council (AWC) President and CEO Robert Glowinski and American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statements following United States House of Representatives passage of the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 (H.R. 806). The legislation, which now moves to the United States Senate for consideration, prevents a rushed implementation of the 2015 ozone Nation Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

Five full-scale mass timber fire tests in a multi-story apartment building have been completed with promising results.

WASHINGTON – American Wood Council (AWC) President and CEO Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding today's mark-up of the Regulatory Accountability Act (S. 951) by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill aims to modernize the process federal agencies use when they write the regulations that most significantly affect the lives of all Americans. It was introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (OH) and Heidi Heitkamp (ND).

WASHINGTON – American Wood Council (AWC) Vice President, Government Affairs Andrew Dodson issued the following statement regarding the introduction of H.R. 2361 by Reps. Marsha Blackburn (TN) and Kurt Schrader (OR). The bill encourages product neutrality in building energy codes and defines the role of the Department of Energy (DOE) as a technical advisor in the development of model energy codes and subsequent state adoption.

WASHINGTON – American Wood Council (AWC) President and CEO Robert Glowinski issued the following statement in support the fiscal 2017 omnibus package passing both houses of Congress. The package included language requiring the federal government to treat emissions from forest biomass as carbon neutral.