Incorporating Risk Concepts Into Performance-Based Building and Fire Regulation Development

As the United States transitions to performance-based building and fire regulations, it will become increasingly important to incorporate risk concepts into the regulations. However, there is a general lack of acceptance of the concepts of risk and risk analysis by the building and fire communities. There are many reasons for this, including a lack of consensus on risk characterization and quantification, inadequate expressions of acceptable risk limits, a lack of risk analysis tools and methods tailored to building and fire safety, and a lack of guidance for addressing uncertainty. As a means to begin addressing these issues, a research project is underway with the aim of outlining a process for identifying, characterizing, and incorporating risk concepts and analysis methods into building and fire regulation development. This paper presents outcomes of the research project that are being evaluated and incorporated into the development of the International Code Council’s Performance Building Code.