Expected but unexpected on February 19, 2026, the decree modifying that of June 25, 1980 largely reflects the “doctrine” of the firefighters of the Paris police headquarters for biosourced constructions in ERP.
We were starting to get used to these “Fire workshops” in the middle of an edition of the International Wood Construction Forumwithout equivalent for attracting people to conferences. It also seems that the publication of the amending decree will not change the situation in the future, at least by 2027, because it applies in principle in June 2027. As the firefighters have the hand to refuse the opening of ERP as a last resort, it is possible that they impose the decree now in the preliminary discussions and that this text becomes a de facto reference thus eliminating the doctrine of July 2021. Except that there remain gray areas, that two test cycles are currently underway to amend the text and that the latter must go through Brussels to verify that it does not hinder the free movement of construction products within the EU.
The Pan’auditorium (Karawitz design) saturated by the crowds to attend the A6 workshop Facing the fire. © David Boureau Urbamutability
New situation
If we leave aside these small details, it seems that fundamentally the negotiations are now closed, and that the demands formulated by Clément Quineau during the A6 workshop of the Forum Bois Construction, representing the group of experts who defended the cause of wood in negotiations lasting several years with the firefightersare only a rearguard battle. Which means that very broadly, the world of wood construction will have to become familiar with the new concepts which will undoubtedly spread to other categories of Building to completely overhaul the fire regulations for wooden construction.
The impact of the amending decree of February 19, 2026 on the Forum as of February 26, 2026 is real. © David Boureau urbamutability
A vital need for collaboration
Until now, despite the Forum fire workshopsproject management had remained largely aside from the concepts that IBC had been warning about for three years. The rule of confidentiality prevailed and the annual overviews of the Forum did not allow us to get a precise idea of the constraints and solutions. In 2026, this completely changes, everything is public. It’s a bit crash test project management and biogeosourced project management.
There will undoubtedly be agencies which will throw in the towel and fall back towards low-carbon masonry, others which will grumpily begin the slow work of adaptation, and even those which will take advantage of it to experiment first and acquire expertise which will be particularly prized at the next Forum. Ultimately, everything depends on the willingness of local authorities to play the game with the commitments of the Paris Agreement, by creating experimental projects everywhere.
Antoine Baugé (Sylva Conseil) quickly analyzes the impact of the amending order on exposed wooden structures. © David Boureau Urbamutability
Practice above all
As it stands, theamending order is insoluble in current wooden architectureotherwise by sweeping judgments according to which nothing would be possible anymore, everything would become too expensive, thatwooden architecture would no longer show the wood. The Workshop draws attention to the need to specify as soon as the building permit is filed, for each volume and precisely, the share of exposed wood, which disrupts architectural practices.
Furthermore, inspections must take place regularly in ERP to ensure that the protections are still in good condition. And for structures of a certain height, the speakers believe that the regulations are multiplied in the “belt and suspenders” mode and that we will have to pay for it twice. Quid the price of the enclosures provided for in the order, what of the price of the new “indissociable passive protection”? It is still vague and evolving, because THE French biosourced ERP market is one of the largest in the world and the latter will be served by competing industrial solutions.
Project owners do not abstain
The digestion of the new situation takes place in several stages:
– publication on February 22, 2026 in the OJ;
– Then Atelier A6 on February 26, 2026 at the Grand Palais;
– Afterwards, provision of Atelier A6 on Viméo since last week;
– Finally, the complementary webinar on April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – broadcast on March 19.
Finally, in preparation for Forum 16, which will take place just before the official entry into force of the decree, it will be necessary to carry out case studies with project owners and volunteer project managers.
Valuable human relays
As specified in the speakers from Atelier A6 at the Grand Palaisthe work of the group of experts to try to contain the excesses of the firefighters was very absorbing for many years. The month preceding the Workshop was just as much, in particular because of the publication of the decree on Sunday February 22 when Workshop A6 was completely finalized. This group immediately announced a webinar now scheduled and whose speakers are essentially those who contributed, during Workshop A6, to the specific forty minutes relating to the decree, the moderator of Workshop A6, Stéphane Hameury from CSTB, taking over the moderation.
It should be remembered that Stéphane Hameury, from a wood engineering background, worked for a long time at CSTB in the field of fire protection, then made a career and basically left this subject aside. But in the current situation, it becomes a pole of competent neutrality which makes it possible to unite the components of the group of experts, knowing that the FCBA with Grégoire Pianet is also precisely aware of the consequences of this decree and its links with Eurocode 5, for which he has hosted the dedicated session to start the Forum several times.
The group of experts becomes the group of smugglers
The association of wood engineers IBC is, for its part, well present with Yves-Marie Ligot, Antoine Baugé (Sylva Conseil) and Pierre Brégeon (Arborescence), without forgetting Olivier Gaujard now invested more in the France Bois 2030 mission for the 2030 JOP. This expertise consolidates the new ABCi association which brings together IBC the UMB-FFB and the UNA Charpente-Joinery-Agencement de la CAPEB, without forgetting the presence of Rodolphe Maufront (UMB-FFB) within the group of experts who negotiated with the firefighters.
→ To go further, the link to register for the webinar: CLICK HERE
