Where do we

start?
Fire matters because…
 Hawaii, July Dublin, March
23rd 2018 Peru, July 20th
Façade fires 15th 2017 2017

Istanbul, April 6th

2018

Jecheon,
December 22nd
2017

Rostov-on-Dom,
September 29th Dubai, August
4th 2017
2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hyQQ5UhUuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2adVW6bTkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWWWppJrcY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymuOKfo4ph8
Fire safety engineering is an enabling
discipline…
A deliberative approach
Fire safety engineering when exercised to it’s full potential is an enabling discipline
Fire safety engineering when exercised to it’s full potential is an enabling discipline
A deliberative approach
Fire safety engineering when exercised to it’s full potential is an enabling discipline
We need fire safety engineers because…
Drastic changes in
urban complexity
• Building contents
• Architecture
• Building envelopes
• Construction materials
• Urban densification
• Financing
• … etc.
The ‘wake effect’

… or the unintended
consequences of our
actions
We are building
the tallest ever…

Australia 108, Melbourne, Australia

We are building
the tallest ever…

Queen’s Wharf, Brisbane, Australia

We transformed the
building envelope

… without fully
understanding the
consequences!
… we want 400 m
tall timber buildings

… and we can’t wait!

Exercise
The fire of the week (#1)
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2018/jun/04/new-video-timeline-shows-
how-the-grenfell-tower-fire-unfolded
The fire of the
week (#1)
What was in your opinion the first
thing that overcame this concept of
the fire safety strategy?

In what other ways did the fire

safety strategy fail?

What do you think are the

implications of having combustible
claddings in buildings?

And, what can engineers do about

it?
Grenfell Tower
14 June 2017