{"id":491,"date":"2026-07-09T04:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubcbim.com\/insights\/?p=491"},"modified":"2026-07-09T04:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:52:14","slug":"steel-framing-vs-wood-framing-after-a-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubcbim.com\/insights\/steel-framing-vs-wood-framing-after-a-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Steel Framing vs. Wood Framing After a Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of these materials feeds the fire. The other doesn’t. Here’s the honest comparison \u2014 including where steel isn’t the magic answer.<\/h3>\n

After a wildfire moves through a neighbourhood, the difference between what’s standing and what’s ash often comes down to one decision made months earlier: what the walls were framed with.<\/p>\n

The reason is simple. Wood is fuel. Cold-formed steel isn’t.<\/p>\n

What actually happens to each material<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wood framing is combustible. It ignites at relatively low temperatures, adds fuel to the fire, and accelerates how fast flames spread through a structure. In documented wildfire cases in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, fire consumed the plywood and wood components of homes while non-combustible framing nearby fared very differently.<\/p>\n

Cold-formed steel (CFS) framing is non-combustible per ASTM E136. It doesn’t ignite, doesn’t feed the fire, and doesn’t produce smoke or toxic combustion products as it heats. It provides no means for a fire to start and nothing for a fire to spread through.<\/p>\n

The honest part: steel isn’t “fireproof”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Here’s what steel salespeople don’t always tell you. Steel doesn’t burn, but it does lose strength at very high temperatures. Cold-formed steel is thinner than structural steel, which makes it more sensitive to heat, which is exactly why fire-rated assemblies (the right sheathing, gypsum layers, and detailing) matter.<\/p>\n

But the degradation is favourable and predictable. According to the Steel Construction Institute, cold-formed steel retains 100% of its strength at 200\u00b0C and 95% at 300\u00b0C. It weakens gradually under extreme heat rather than adding to the fire. Wood, by contrast, is gone.<\/p>\n

Why does this show up in your insurance bill?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Fire performance isn’t just a safety story \u2014 it’s a financial one. Insurance underwriters classify buildings by construction type, and non-combustible construction consistently earns better rates. Per Steel Framing Industry Association data, builder’s risk premiums for CFS projects can run 25\u201375% lower than comparable wood-framed projects. Over a 30-year lifecycle, cumulative insurance savings on a mid-size multi-family building can exceed $600,000.<\/p>\n

Building codes recognise this too. The International Building Code classifies CFS as non-combustible, unlocking greater allowable height and area than wood-framed Type III or Type V construction \u2014 and letting mid-rise projects skip the concrete podium that wood over four stories typically requires.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a world of worsening wildfire seasons, tightening insurance markets, and stricter codes, the framing decision carries more weight than it used to. Wood framing can be hardened. Steel framing starts non-combustible \u2014 no treatment, no extra layers to achieve the classification.<\/p>\n

After the fire, that difference is the one you can see from the street.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of these materials feeds the fire. The other doesn’t. Here’s the honest comparison \u2014 including where steel isn’t the magic answer. After a wildfire…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nSteel Framing vs. Wood Framing After a Fire - UBC Insights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ubcbim.com\/insights\/steel-framing-vs-wood-framing-after-a-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Steel Framing vs. Wood Framing After a Fire - UBC Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of these materials feeds the fire. The other doesn’t. 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