Fire Research Division

International FORUM on Fire Research

---

The FORUM is ...

The FORUM is an informal group of the Directors of fire research organizations throughout the world. Its aim is to reduce the burden of fire (including the loss of life and property, and effects of fire on the environment and heritage) through international cooperation on fire research.  

FORUM focus is identifying strategic partnerships to advance Fire Safety Engineering, FSE, through scientifically-based knowledge of fire; recognized calculational tools; sound and reliable supporting data; and recognized professional status for the discipline of FSE with appropriate training and education. The research of FORUM members supports advances in all aspects of FSE with the intent of improving society's ability to reduce and manage the risks of fire and the costs of fire safety.  

FORUM role includes identification of strategies for advancing fire research; networking and sharing of information among FORUM members to achieve common objectives and reduce duplication; discussion of strategies for fire research and fire safety engineering including coordination of fire research, joint programs, exchanges of staff, shared use of facilities. In the foregoing the FORUM maintains close contact with related organizations - e.g.

• International Council for Building Research Studies (CIB),
• International Standards Organization (ISO),
• International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS),
• International Technical Committee for the Prevention and Extinction of Fire (CTIF),
• and other international fire safety organizations.

FORUM members and their staff are active participants in these organizations' activities.

Activities and Products

The FORUM regularly discusses priority fire research needs and important issues within the member's countries.  It periodically publishes and makes available on its website position papers on issues of international interest, and a compendium of information on available fire models.

FORUM research is accessible directly from member laboratories or through inFIRE, an international network of libraries devoted to fire safety. Several international databases of fire research information and results are maintained by FORUM members.

The FORUM meets annually at the facilities of one of its members. In conjunction with these meetings, it may co-sponsor an open symposium or conference, arranged by the host member, to examine progress of fire safety engineering in the host's country in the context of international developments in this field.

The FORUM sponsors an international award, the Sjölin Award which recognizes an outstanding contribution to the science of fire safety or an advance in the state of the art in fire safety engineering practice of extraordinary significance. It is presented to the individual or group whose efforts are primarily responsible for or traceable to the specified advance. The Prize consists of a plaque and an honorarium. The FORUM Prize is awarded at the tri-annual symposia of the International Association for Fire Safety Science.

The FORUM undertook the translation of a landmark document published in 1988 in Japan. In that year the Building Standard Law of Japan (the Japanese national building code) was revised to add an equivalency clause (Article 38) similar to those found in western codes. This equivalency was to be established by conducting a detailed fire safety engineering analysis. The methods to be used for this analysis were documented in a four-volume handbook that represented the first published fire engineering code of practice. Since many countries are now developing similar engineering guidelines documents in support of performance based codes, FORUM wanted to ensure that the Japanese work was available to the English speaking world. This document is the translation of the first volume, that presents an overview of the equivalency method. FORUM hopes to complete the publication of the remaining volumes in the future. This translation was undertaken with the written permission of the copyright holder, the Architectural Center of Japan.  The document is available here and a printed copy can be ordered for a nominal charge to cover printing and mailing from:

Society of Fire Protection Engineers
Suite 1225W
7315 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814

Membership

Membership of the FORUM is held on a personal basis and is available to Directors of fire research organizations (principally those holding national status) which are undertaking major research in support of fire safety.

Specifically, FORUM members are expected to:

1. be prominent figures in the strategic direction and management of fire safety research;
2. be personally responsible for setting research priorities and allocating significant resources for fire safety research;
3. lead organizations with broad charters for fire safety research;
4. be prepared and willing for their organizations to commit resources to international programs of research, and to make input to international bodies concerned with international developments in fire safety (e.g., ISO, CIB, etc.);
5. participate personally in the meetings and activities of the FORUM (or when unable to attend, send on your behalf, a suitable representative).

The FORUM welcomes applications from Directors of fire research organizations for membership providing that the criteria above can be supported fully. However, applicants should note that any membership appointment granted by the FORUM will be made on a personal basis and cannot be delegated to other staff of their respective organization for attendance at meetings.

Additionally, the FORUM welcomes contact with Heads of all organizations involved in fire safety research for correspondent status where the criteria above may not be fully met. For further information on FORUM membership and an application, contact:

Mr. Richard Bukowski
NIST Building and Fire Research Laboratory
Mail Stop 8664, Building 224, Room A249
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 USA
Tel: +1 301 975 6853
Fax: +1 301 975 4052
e-mail: richard.bukowski@nist.gov

FORUM survey

The FORUM is updating the survey of fire models conducted on their behalf by Dr. Raymond Friedman and last published in 1991. The information will be collected by inviting all fire model developers to complete the survey form found at http://ciks.cbt.nist.gov/cgi-bin/fbin/fireform/survey.cgi .

The data requested has been chosen to be helpful to fire safety engineers and regulators in the selection of models that are appropriate to specific problems, and in identifying sources for the models and for obtaining assistance in their use. The resulting database can be accessed at http://www.firemodelsurvey.com.

  

Current members of FORUM:

Name	Location	Organization
Dr. Paul Croce	USA	FMG
Dr. William Grosshandler	USA	NIST/BFRL
Dr. Giovanni Gallina	Italy	ICITE-CNR
Esko Mikkola	Finland	VTT
Mr. Hsiao Chiang-Pi	Chinese Taipei	ABRI,
Dr. Kjell Schmidt Pedersen	Norway	SINTEF-NBL
Mr. J. Russell Thomas	Canada	NRC
Dr. Toshisuke Hirano	Japan	NRIFD (formerly FRI)
Prof. Fan Weicheng	China	SKLFS
Prof. Ulf Wickstrom	Sweden	SP
Farshad Alamdari	United Kingdom	FRS
Mr. Jing Jiansheng	China	Tianjin Fire Research Institute
Marc Janssens	USA	SwRI
Dr. Hiroyuki Yamanouchi	Japan	BRI
Prof. Reinhard Grabski	Germany	Institut der Feuerwehr
Greg Baker	New Zealand	BRANZ
David Yung	Australia	CSIRO
Louis Gritzo	USA	Sandia Labs

Privacy Policy/Security Notice  |  Disclaimer  |  FOIA NIST is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration.

For more information, contact: bfrlwebmaster@nist.gov

Date created: 6/26/2001
Last updated: 10/24/2003