History
The FORUM is a group of leaders of fire research organizations from around the world that meet on an annual basis to discuss emerging fire related research topics. It has been active since 1991. 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. An important membership requirement is that the applicant be responsible for establishing research priorities and allocating resources for fire safety research in their parent organization.
FORUM focus is identifying strategic partnerships to advance Fire Safety Engineering, FSE, through scientifically-based knowledge of fire; recognized computational tools; sound and reliable supporting data; and recognized professional status for the discipline of FSE with appropriate training and education. FORUM supported research fosters 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, such as:
Members and Leadership
FORUM members and their staff are active participants in these organizations' activities. Current membership includes:
Current Members of FORUM
Dr. Amanda B. Dodd, Sandia National Laboratories, USA
Dr. Sergey Dorofeev, FM Global, USA
Dr. Eric Guillaume, Efectis, France
Dr. Valérie Gourvès, CSTB, France
Dr. Tuula Hakkarainen, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Finland
Dr. Matthew Hoehler, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA
Dr. Marc Janssens, Southwest Research Institute, USA
Dr. Ahmed Kashef, National Research Council Canada, Canada
Dr. Steve Kerber, UL Research Institutes: Fire Safety Research Institute, USA
Prof. Naian Liu, State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, China
Ms. Birgitte Messerschmidt, National Fire Protection Association, USA
Dr. Tomohiro Naruse, Building Research Institute, Japan
Dr. Haruki Nishi, National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster, Japan
Dr. David Sheppard, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, USA
Mr. Bo Song, Tianjin Fire Research Institute (TFRI), China
Dr. Anne Steen-Hansen, Fire Research and Innovation Centre (FRIC), Norway
Current Leadership
The following members current provide leadership and coordination:
SeCRETARY
Dr. Franco Tamanini
Senior Research Fellow, Research Management - Engineering and Research
FM Global