Multi-Hazard Resiliency for Residential Construction Committee
(IS-MHRRC)

ICC 605, Standard for Residential Construction in Regions with Wildfire Hazard

As an ANSI accredited standards developing organization, ICC is collaborating with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) in the development of a portfolio of individual hazard mitigation standards.

Resiliency is an important factor relative to a building’s response to extreme events; hence, the fundamental goal of this committee is the development of a portfolio of Consensus Standards relevant to a wide range of hazards affecting modern residential construction three stories and less. Hazards to be considered include, but not limited to, high winds (hurricanes/typhoons, tornados, and thunderstorms), seismic, tsunami, and wildfires.

The current order of committee business is the development of a new standard:  ICC 605, Standard for Residential Construction in Regions with Wildfire Hazard. The fundamental goal is to develop a Standard relevant to a wildfire hazard affecting modern residential construction three stories and less increasing the likelihood that the structure can continue to be useable and reduce rebuilding time.  The ICC Board of Directors appointed additional committee members at their March 2022 meeting in preparation for the development cycle to begin.

The ICC 605 standard will specify enhanced prescriptive methodologies of wildfire resistant design and construction details for new and existing buildings and other structures of wood framed, steel framed, concrete, or masonry construction sited in wildfire hazard areas. The standard will provide prescriptive details for walls, floors, roofs, foundations, windows, doors, and other applicable components of construction. The Standard will provide a methodology for the identification, assessment, and retrofit of existing residential dwellings to protect homes in wildfire hazard areas.

The first in-person public meeting of the committee to develop the new ICC 605 standard was held October 6 and 7, 2022 at the IBHS facility in Richburg, SC. This meeting was open to the public and interested parties participated in the task groups created by the committee at the meeting. 

The task groups are:

1. Administrative Requirements
2. Site and Area Requirements
3. Building Design Requirements 

The ICC adheres to openness and transparency in our Standards development process. All ICC Standards committee meetings are open to the public. Any interested party can participate in committee meetings and can be considered by the committee for membership on any work-group that the committee creates. Interested parties will be notified by email of standards activities related to IS-MHRRC, including committee meetings, sub-group meetings and the availability of standard development documentation. If you wish to be placed on the “interested parties” list for the development of these standards, please email the IS-MHRRC Secretariat Keith Enstrom, P.E. at kenstrom@iccsafe.org.