EPA Research Partner Support Story: Planning framework for protecting commercial building occupants from smoke during wildfire events
Partners: Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD, MT) and Hoopa Valley Tribe (CA)
Challenge: Reducing indoor air exposures to wildfire smoke
Resource: Protecting Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events: First Public Review Draft, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and ASHRAE (formerly the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers)
Project Period: 2019 – Present
EPA ORD is working with local and tribal partners on a solutions-driven research effort to address reducing indoor air exposures to wildfire smoke. One of the concerns raised by partners in Missoula, Montana, was that they had no guidance to use when they talked with building owners about how to improve indoor air quality during wildfire smoke events.
“I’m SUPER excited for the ASHRAE document! Locally, we’ve found large, commercial spaces to be generally underprepared for wildfire smoke; the ASHRAE framework provides the foundation and expertise we need to address this gap in smoke-readiness. We are currently plotting how we can locally encourage HVAC technicians and building operators to engage with the material to help our community become better prepared for smoke events. It felt like Christmas when it came out!” – Missoula-City County Health Department, Air Quality Specialist Sarah Coefield
ASHRAE is the organization that develops standards and guidance for the built environment, including ventilation and other practices affecting indoor air quality. Inspired by the need identified by Missoula partners, EPA ORD scientists began conversations with NIST about working with ASHRAE to address wildfire smoke in the indoor environment. Early in 2020, a proposal developed jointly by EPA and NIST was approved. By summer 2020, ASHRAE formed a committee to develop a guideline, Protecting Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events. Several scientists from EPA and NIST are participating on the committee, along with representatives from industry and other government agencies in the U.S. and Canada.
Given the urgency of providing initial guidance, ASHRAE asked the new committee to work quickly to develop an interim document. The result was the publication of the short ASHRAE document―Planning Framework for Protecting Commercial Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire Events―in February 2021. This interim guidance was the first document to provide information to help owners and managers of commercial buildings, including schools, prepare for smoke related to wildfires or prescribed burning so that they can protect the health of people in their buildings.
ASHRAE released a draft of the full Guideline 44P titled “Protecting Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events: First Public Review Draft”, for public comment in August of 2023. The ASHRAE committee is currently reviewing and addressing the public comments and anticipates the full guideline to be available in 2024. Additional information is available on EPA’s Wildfires and Indoor Air Quality in Schools and Commercial Buildings webpage. EPA is conducting additional research activities to advance our understanding of indoor air quality during wildfire smoke events. Learn more.