A 10-story cold-formed steel (CFS) building, the tallest of its kind to undergo earthquake simulation, successfully endured 18 seismic tests on UC San Diego’s outdoor shake table. Now, the CFS10 building is facing a new challenge: a series of controlled fire tests designed to study fire behavior and recovery in mid-rise CFS construction.
This photo story, with images captured by SFIA executive director Don Allen, documents Fire Test #1 from July 17, 2025. Follow the sequence of images, from the pre-ignition setup to the post-burn walk-through, to see how this beyond-code structure—already proven under seismic load—performed under live fire conditions.
Fire Test #2 took place on July 29, 2025. Learn more about the seismic phase of this project and its importance for future cold-formed steel construction.