{
  "id": 19539663,
  "title": "Setting timber ceilings on fire in the name safety and research",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/setting-timber-ceilings-on-fire-in-the-name-safety-and-research",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-11T19:39:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-11-12/qld-researchers-fire-safety-timber-houses/107373396"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Queensland researchers are conducting controlled fires to study ways to build safer timber structures. Under the watchful eyes of firefighters, temperatures reached around 1,000 degrees Celsius. Fire engineer Mick Conway emphasized the importance of understanding new materials and innovative design in creating safer timber buildings.\n\nResearchers at the University of Queensland, led by PhD candidate Josh Madden, monitored fires within 12-meter-long cross-laminated timber ceiling compartments, which are approximately 2.5 meters wide. The fire was ignited at one end, and researchers watched how the fire spread underneath the ceiling. Heat-and pressure-sensing instruments and live streaming cameras recorded the experiment.\n\nMadden, who has experience as a fire safety engineer, noted that mass timber is becoming increasingly popular in the building sector. Unlike traditional concrete buildings, which require months for concrete to cure, timber buildings can be constructed rapidly, like \"Lego bricks.\"\n\nTimber loses strength at approximately 60 degrees Celsius and has no strength at around 300 degrees Celsius. During the tests, temperature readings reached up to about 1,000 degrees Celsius. UQ and the Queensland Fire Department have been collaborating since 2014 to enhance public safety by sharing knowledge.\n\nConway, the QFD fire engineer, stressed that understanding new materials and innovative design is critical for constructing safer timber structures. The test results will be analyzed and presented in Madden's final thesis. The ultimate goal is to develop a design methodology or framework for fire safety engineers, enabling them to confidently build these structures and potentially see more of them in the future.",
  "summary": "Queensland researchers are observing how fire spreads through ceiling compartments to aid the development of safer timber buildings.",
  "key_points": [
    "Queensland researchers conduct controlled fires to study safer timber structures",
    "Temperatures reached up to 1,000 degrees Celsius during experiments",
    "Mass timber buildings can be constructed rapidly, like Lego bricks"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}