History

The FORUM is a group of the Directors of fire research organizations throughout the world. 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:

• International Council for Building Research Studies (CIB),

• International Standards Organization (ISO),

• International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS),

• North American Fire Testing Laboratories (NAFTL)

• European Group of Organizations for Fire Testing, Inspection and Certification (EGOLF)

• and other international fire safety organizations.

Members and Leadership

FORUM members and their staff are active participants in these organizations' activities. Current membership includes:

Current Members of FORUM

Organization

IRSN
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Sandia National Laboratories
FM Global
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
Efectis 
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB)
Building Research Institute
Southwest Research Institute
National Research Council Canada 
State Key Laboratory of Fire Science
National Fire Protection Association
National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives
Korea Institute of Construction Technology (KICT)
BRE
Tianjin Fire Research Institute (TFRI)

Location

France
USA
USA
USA
USA
France
Finland
France
Japan
USA
Canada
China
USA
Japan
USA
Republic of Korea
United Kingdom
China

Chair

Dr. Tuula Hakkarainen

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd
Risk and Asset Management – Fire Research
Linked in: tuula-hakkarainen

Term: 2017-2020