Fire damage to dimensional lumber MPC trusses

[PostFrameSE]

In the very near future I'm going to be called to go out to a fire-damaged building to assess the trusses. The building had a metal ceiling, and I don't believe that the fire got through the ceiling into the trusses. It was a car fire that really smoked everything up.

What do I need to look out for when I investigate these trusses? If they're charred, then I'm concerned. If they're not, and maybe just sooty, do I need to be concerned about the fact that the lumber may have been exposed to very high temperatures? If the plates are all still embedded as they were when the truss was made, are we ok? Other concerns?

I'd appreciate some thoughts on this topic.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

See Chapter 17 of "Wood as an Engineering Material" (free .pdf download) for general information on how wood performs during fire:

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/products/publications/several_pubs.php?grouping_id=100&header_id=p

NDS also addresses fire design, it is Part 16 of NDS-2001.

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