Design Intervention: Fireproofing Churches

Northern California wildfires killed at least 88 people, incinerated thousands of homes, and devastated the town of Paradise during fall 2018. The aftermath of the Camp Fire, California’s worst on record, has people wondering whether the state faces a so-called new normal in which fires occur with greater intensity and frequency that make the term “fire season” a thing of the past.

In Paradise alone, more than a dozen places of worship were destroyed.

In Paradise alone, more than a dozen places of worship were destroyed. Such numbers generate questions for practitioners of faith-based architecture and what steps they might take to help their structures withstand flame—or, in the worst circumstances, to limit the damage fire can inflict.

James Theimer, principal and founder of Redding, Calif.-based Trilogy Architecture, notes challenges brought by this new reality to his workplace and his profession’s key response to this burgeoning situation: “We were basically evacuated due to the [summer 2018] Carr Fire …. It came within about a mile of downtown Redding. It was a sleepless night, waiting to find out if we were going to have to leave…. [The American Institute of Architects] has embraced resilience. Resilient architecture is, technically, design of buildings to protect against natural disaster.”

"[The American Institute of Architects] has embraced resilience. Resilient architecture is, technically, design of buildings to protect against natural disaster.” James Theimer, Principal and Founder, Trilogy Architecture, Redding, CA

Resilience

In the case of fire, resilience consists of defensible space (clear of vegetation or anything else combustible), a tight envelope (well-sealed doors and windows, no vents where possible, no overhangs unless made of noncombustible material/s), no attachments (avoidance of exposed wooden staircases and the like, or replacing them with steel or other fire-resistant material). Of course, various sets of rules govern these matters, whether ICC’s International Building Code at the macroscopic level or (for example), more microscopically, California’s Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) code.

For Abeer Sweis, a design partner at the Santa Monica-based firm SweisKloss, California fires were nearly personal long before they became a key part of her business. From the age of 11 or so onward, she says, “Where I lived … in California there were fires that got a little close … every five or six years.”

Sweis knew early along that she wanted to be an architect. Nowadays her specialties include sustainability and resilience. “California is prone to fire .... Seeing [wildfires] on television … you’re thinking … ‘What else can I do without going overboard? I’m not going to build a series of concrete bunkers for people.’”

[Sweis's] approach typically entails materials that have aesthetic appeal yet are also more renewable and less flammable.

Her approach typically entails materials that have aesthetic appeal yet are also more renewable and less flammable. They include such woods as black locust and ipe. The former refers to a tree that is considered an invasive species in California and that has a Class-A rating, which means one-hour fire resistance, comparable to stucco. The latter labels multiple native Central and South American species; Sweis characterized them, collectively, as “incredibly strong and [fire-]resistant, but … not as sustainable [as black locust. Ipe] takes a while to grow.”

Glass

Although Sweis’s repertoire has not yet included any faith-based architecture, she has some experience with one of the most visible features common to many places of worship: “We’ve worked with quite a few historic structures that have stained glass.” Coincidentally, a neighbor to SweisKloss, Adamm’s Stained Glass Studio & Art Gallery, specializes in restoring the stuff.

That studio’s proprietor, Adamm Gritlefeld, collaborated on several SweisKloss restoration projects. He identified buckling of leaded-glass windows, whether from normal wear or extreme temperature (which can stem from weather or fire), as “the primary reason [churches] call us in.” Leading oxidizes over time, Gritlefeld says, and the putty used to attach the metal to the stained glass dries out.

Apart from the late-19th-century introduction of sturdier zinc and copper cames—interstitial pieces of metal, all of them called leading—in making some stained-glass works, the largely traditional creation of such windows underwent little salutary innovation during the 20th century. Gritlefeld noted that older forms of cast lead were stronger than the extruded lead commonly used until alloys were added to the lead mix. In terms of fire resistance, though, lead itself has a melting point lower than does more costly copper or zinc.

Architectural glass artist Elizabeth Devereaux has incorporated zinc into her windows “for reinforcement,” works further reinforced by steel rebar. Her being based in Chico, Calif., brought some unsettling visuals, she says, ones that amounted to material lessons: “You’re calling a person who just witnessed a horrendous fire. What remains of the buildings that were burned is usually stone or brick. The glass in the buildings is usually completely shattered or melted.”

Beyond the long-standing barriers of known and popular materials and their relative resistance to burning (or lack thereof), Theimer identifies another limitation to the pursuit of resilience: price.

The future

Beyond the long-standing barriers of known and popular materials and their relative resistance to burning (or lack thereof), Theimer identifies another limitation to the pursuit of resilience: price. He points out, though, that clients now differ from ones before 2018’s fires. “We call everything that we do … ‘before’ and ‘after’: ‘before’ clients’ paying attention to the problem and ‘after'…. As architects, we tell people things we think they should do … above and beyond the building code. When you’re talking to a client, normally resilient design does not give … any aesthetic benefit. It doesn’t make the building look prettier; the church doesn’t look more elegant or more attractive … but it does cost more money.”

He adds that such a preamble used to have a predictable outcome: “The ‘before’ client would say, ‘Well, we’d love to do it … but we just don’t have the money.’ The ‘after’ client … we’re waiting to find out.”

Additional resources:

USA Today, 29 November 2018: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/11/28/camp-fire-death-toll-holds-steady-88-california/2146081002

Christianity Today, 16 November 2018: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/november/paradise-california-churches-camp-fire-revival.html

USA Today, 29 November 2018: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/11/28/camp-fire-death-toll-holds-steady-88-california/2146081002

Christianity Today, 16 November 2018: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/november/paradise-california-churches-camp-fire-revival.html