Building Fire Safety

Building Science Digest

How can builders enhance fire safety and lower a building’s environmental footprint? In the latest episode of Building Science Digest, we sit down with Remi Goulet—a specialist in heat transfer with over 12 years at Saint-Gobain—to explore more sustainable, science-backed approaches to fire safety.

Remi highlights how a systems-thinking approach—evaluating entire assemblies rather than isolated products—can reduce embodied carbon while still meeting fire resistance and code requirements, including growing concerns like the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Code.

From the role of compartmentalization in passive fire protection to innovations like lightweight fire-rated gypsum boards and gypsum-based spray for structural steel, this conversation dives into real strategies that may change how you think about fire-rated assemblies.