Society of Fire Safety

For engineers committed to advancing fire safety in Australia.

Fire Safety Practice Guides

The Society has been established to foster excellence in fire safety in Australia.

As a learned Society, the aims are to draw together individuals who are actively engaged in fire safety, to provide a national focus and leadership for the development, understanding, practice and application of fire safety engineering to achieve reductions of risk for life, property and environmental damage and the implementation of cost-effective fire safety codes and regulations.

The Society is National with Regional Chapters throughout Australia. The Society is a technical Society of Engineers Australia.

View Society fo Fire Safety Constitution (May 2017)

View Society of Fire Safety Practice Guide Façade/External Wall Fire Safety Design 2019

 

The inaugural meeting of the National Board was held on 22 August 1994 and formation of the Society of Fire Safety (SFS) was approved by the Council of Engineers Australia at its meeting in July 1995.

The broad objectives of the Society are the professional development of its members and the dissemination of the Society’s ideals into the wider community. The specific objectives of the Society are to:

  • develop and extend the application of the science and technology of fire safety engineering
  • promote excellence in the practice of fire safety engineering
  • promote the use of the science and technology of fire safety engineering in the built environment
  • promote education, training, and research in all aspects of fire safety engineering
  • maintain and improve professional and educational standards for fire safety practitioners
  • influence community, corporate and regulatory attitudes and practices in relation to fire safety
  • communicate knowledge about fire safety engineering with, and to promote collaboration between members, organisations and other societies
  • provide expert advice for government, industry and the community.

Activities undertaken in support of the objectives may include:

- Communicating knowledge to members, organisations, and other societies by:

  • conducting technical meetings
  • organising special events, such as symposiums, conferences, seminars, courses
  • sponsoring eminent speakers
  • participating in conferences organised by others
  • encouraging production and publication of learned papers
  • promoting and supporting regional interest in fire safety and engineering activities
  • preparing and distributing a national newsletter
  • Initiating comment and promoting debate on selected issues.

- Providing a specialist resource by such means as:

  • participating in preparation of codes and standards
  • responding to requests for comment on issues
  • forming working parties for undertaking research into specific issues.

- Supporting education by:

  • encouraging the inclusion of fire safety engineering in undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education courses
  • advising and assisting with undergraduate and postgraduate courses
  • participating in course accreditation.

-Liaising and interacting with Australian and overseas societies and institutions with related interests

- Providing recognition of the contributions and achievements of members and other workforce practitioners to the advancement of fire safety engineering

- Where appropriate the National Board may also undertake activities in conjunction with the Regional Chapter(s).

 

In recognition of the need for fire safety engineers to stay current, we are starting a collection of resources that may be of value to practitioners. To add to the list, email [email protected] using the existing format.

  • 'Smart Smoke Control as an Efficient Solution for Smoke Ventilation in Converted Cellars of Historic Buildings'                                      

Authors: Wojciech Węgrzyński, Grzegorz Krajewski & Grzegorz KimbarPublication:                                                                                                                           

Fire Technology, vol 56, no. 6. 2020. Compared to traditional smoke exhaust system that is based on a fixed rate, this research proposes an alternative method, coined as SSC (Smart Smoke Control) whereby a variable exhaust rate is used based on the density of the removed air.  A CFD study is used to demonstrate the increased efficiency of coupling the exhaust rate to the smoke density, where the research has shown a potential increase of 25 to 41% in performance.  

Link Here

  • 'Fire safety in timber buildings – Knowledge overview and research needs'

Authors: Carl Petterson

Publication: Brandforsk 2020.

Timber is a building material that in recent decades has evolved into new engineered timber products. This has allowed building construction to embrace the use of timber to a greater extent with new architectural possibilities together with the environmental benefits of using a natural and renewable material. Timber is a combustible material which offers challenges relating to fire safety in buildings that are constructed using it. This is especially true for buildings with fire safety strategies that rely on limited fire growth, safeguarding fire separations and structural stability.  Link Here

  • 'Fire incident data for Australian road tunnels'

Authors: Nigel Casey

Publication: Fire Safety Journal Vol 111, 2020

This paper describes a dataset that includes all vehicle fire incidents in major Australian road tunnels. The major tunnels are defined by physical characteristics (i.e. unidirectional, length greater than 1 km), their high traffic volume, urban location, restrictions to dangerous goods vehicles, as well as their being monitored and controlled through a dedicated control centre that is continuously staffed.

The result is an dataset of 78 fire incidents. The period covered by the study is from the opening date of each of the tunnels, the Sydney Harbour Tunnel being the first opened in August 1992, up to and including June 2016. The work presents a hitherto unavailable dataset demonstrating the fire safety performance of these tunnels.

Of particular interest is data related to the use and performance of fixed fire-fighting systems (deluge) as these systems have been installed in all major road tunnels in Australia since 1992. Link Here

 

Other areas of interest

Society of Fire Safety Constitution

View Society fo Fire Safety Constitution (May 2017)

Society of Fire Safety Practice Guide Façade/External Wall Fire Safety Design

View Society of Fire Safety Practice Guide Façade/External Wall Fire Safety Design 2019

 

EA Books

View Review Fire Safty Publications & Resources through EA Books  

 

 

 

 

The Board is seeking members to nominate individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the theory or practice of Fire Safety Engineering in Australia.

The objectives of the Hall of Fame are to:

  • Honour individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the Fire Safety Engineering profession in Australia.
  • Document their legacy to develop a sense of tradition and appreciation of the history of Fire Safety Engineering profession in Australia.
  • Promote role models that will help attract young practitioners in Australia to careers in Fire Safety Engineering.

Areas of contributions

The honour is given to individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the theory or practice of Fire Safety Engineering in Australia in one or more of the following areas that:

  • develop or extend the application of the science and technology in Fire Safety Engineering
  • promote excellence in the practice of Fire Safety Engineering
  • enhance the use of the science and technology of Fire Safety Engineering in the built environment in Australia
  • promote education, training and research in Fire Safety Engineering
  • improve the professional and educational standards for fire safety practitioners
  • influence community, corporate and regulatory attitudes and practices in relation to Fire Safety Engineering.

Criteria for Induction

The nominee should possess, but is not limited to, the following criteria:

  • is or has been a member of the Society of Fire Safety
  • has worked in, or associated with, Fire Safety Engineering for at least 10 years
  • has made a notable contribution to the cause of Fire Safety Engineering in Australia
  • is reputable and enjoys the respect of the Fire Engineering Industry in Australia
  • may still be working or retired.

The nomination is judged by the incumbent SFS National Board.

Induction

The successful nominee(s) is formally inducted to the SFS Hall of Fame typically during the conference dinner of the subsequent SFS conference or joint conference.

Each inductee is presented with a SFS Hall of Fame trophy engraved with the inductee’s name and the year of induction.

Each inductee is also offered a life-time membership of SFS and a position as a Council to the SFS National Board.

Current Members - SFS Hall of Fame

Inducted in 2011

  • Prof Vaughan Beck
  • Dr Martin Cole
  • Mr Claude Eaton (late)
  • Dr Caird Ramsay

Inducted in 2014

  • Dr Ian Thomas
  • Mr Peter Johnson
  • Dr Ian Bennetts

Nomination process

Nomination for the SFS Hall of Fame can be made at any time. Nomination is also called from SFS members typically six months prior to an upcoming SFS conference or joint conference.

If you wish to nominate an individual to be considered for the SFS Hall of Fame please send the person’s details and a short biography/reason of why he/she should be considered to [email protected].

If you are a fire professional you need an avenue through which you can keep in touch with what is happening not only in your immediate sphere of interest, but also in related areas.

The Society will keep you in touch with what is happening in fire regulation reform, building controls, fire engineering developments, fire research and educational opportunities. Members will have an avenue for input into issues such as professional certification, standards and building regulation reform.

Other benefits:

  • Keep in touch with what is happening in the profession
  • Provide an avenue for representation for the profession
  • Have access to forums for input into changes which impact on our operating environment

Who can join?

Any practitioner who is actively engaged in fire safety may join. You do not need to be a member of Engineers Australia, or any other engineering body. You do not need to be an engineer. The Society is inclusive rather than exclusive.

How do I join?

To become a member of SFS you need to complete the online application via myPortal. If you are not a current member of Engineers Australia then you will first need to request an EA ID, once received you will be able to log in and complete the SFS Application Form. As noted above, you do not need to be an engineer or a member of Engineers Australia to join the SFS.

For enquiries regarding membership/ change of details please call Member Services on 1300 653 113

[email protected]

Engineers Australia
Engineering House
11 National Circuit
Barton, ACT 2600

The Society of Fire Safety LinkedIn Group has been created to encourage communication amongst Society members and all who are interested in fire safety.

All members are encouraged to join the group and contribute to the discussions on matters relating to the Society and to fire safety and fire engineering issues.

August  2019 - The Society of Fire Safety (SFS) is Celebrating Its 25th anniversary  

SFS 25th Anniversary Presentations By:

Andre Mierzwa -   Sprinkler System Design Performance Solutions – NIST FDS

                         -   Fire Testing Standards/NCC Applications

Cristian Maluk  -   Fire Safety Engineering Education in Australia Past, Present, and Future

Graham Timms -  Omnii Consulting Fire Engineers - Fire Safety Verification Method Reference Building

Jack Kilavuz     -   Fire safety engineering perspectives on combustible cladding fires 

                         -   Emerging Trends in Fire Safety Engineering in other countries

Jonathan Barnett - Lessons From NEO200 Facade Fire Spread

Martin Cole -        Aspirated Smoke Detection Part 1

                             Aspirated Smoke Detection Part 2

                             Happy Anniversary

MC Hui -              Single Point of Failure Protection Systems & What Can We Do About It?

Paul England -     Evolution of Fire Safety Engineering in Australia

Peter Johnson -   The Role, Competencies and Accreditation of Fire Safety Engineers – How Has It Changed Over 25 Years??

Stephen Burton - SOCIETY OF FIRE SAFETY 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

                          - Panel Session

Ulf Johansson -   Fire safety issues in modern sustainable designs associated with more air-tight building envelopes

Vince Dowling -   Fire testing of materials Things are getting better

 

Other 2019 Presentations 

June 2019 - Performance Based Design of Exposed Mass Timber - Items to Consider By Robert Dixon 

June 2019 - Northrop Timber Presentation 

June 2019 - Fire Safety Design for Timber Buildings seminar - flyer

Regional Branches
Society of Fire Safety ACT
Society of Fire Safety New South Wales
Society of Fire Safety Queensland
Society of Fire Safety South Australia
Society of Fire Safety Western Australia
Society of Fire Safety Victoria