Executive Order 13728 · 2016-05-20

Wildland-Urban Interface Federal Risk Mitigation

Federal Buildings Required to Meet Wildfire-Resistant Construction Codes

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Signed by Barack Obama
Published 2016-05-20

What it does

Agencies must ensure new or altered large federal buildings in the wildland-urban interface comply with the 2015 IWUIC or an equivalent code.

Real-world impact

  • Changes design requirements for new federal buildings in wildfire-risk areas.
  • Creates mandatory wildfire risk assessments for large federal buildings in the interface.
  • May alter financing and leasing for federally supported construction to promote wildfire resistance.

Topics

wildfire safetyfederal buildingsbuilding codesdisaster resiliencegovernment construction

Summary

This order requires federal agencies to make federal buildings in wildfire-prone areas more resistant to fire. New and altered federal buildings over 5,000 gross square feet on Federal land within the wildland-urban interface at moderate or greater wildfire risk must follow the 2015 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code or an equivalent standard.

The order also encourages upgrades to existing large buildings, asks agencies to assess wildfire risk and create defensible space, directs a mitigation group to issue guidance within 240 days, and requires agencies to report progress every two years.

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