Protecting Commercial Building Occupants from Smoke during Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events

ASHRAE Guideline 44 is providing HVAC and building measures to minimize occupant health impacts during wildfire and prescribed burn smoke events. This article summarizes a Planning Framework for Protecting Commercial Building Occupants from Smoke during Wildfire Events developed by the guideline committee to provide immediate information on this pressing issue, while it continues to work on the complete guideline.

Impact/Purpose

Smoke from wildfires and poor ambient air quality around the world contribute to substantial clinical, public health, and economic societal burdens. In 2020, over 58,000 wildfires occurred in the U.S. alone, burning more than 10 million acres. With the increasing number of fires and the large numbers of people living at wildland-urban interfaces, protecting building occupants from smoke has become critically important. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is participating in a American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers Guideline Committee (GPC 44). This committee is developing a guideline on Protecting Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfires and Prescribed Burn Events to assist building owners in taking HVAC and other building measures to mitigate the impacts of wildfire smoke. The existence of an ASHRAE guideline would facilitate adoption of these mitigative measures, improving air quality indoors during wildland fire or prescribed burn events.

Citation

Robarge, G., T. Javins, E. Snyder, G. Nilsson, AND S. Emmerich. Protecting Commercial Building Occupants from Smoke during Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events. In: ASHRAE Journal Newsletter,American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc, Atlanta, GA1-17, (2021).

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