089 - Designing law by disasters (or not?) with Birgitte Messerschmidt

There is no universal answer to the question of how law and testing regimes should be set up. Sometimes, we build up our law after a huge tragedy, making sure that the same cause will not be of harm in the future. Sometimes, we act proactively, trying to build robust solutions so that all foreseen threats are minimized... But it is never without a flaw. And even if the system is flawless, one can hardly expect today's solutions to answer the problems of the future world.  But we need those laws, tests and methods in place, so how to create them in the best way? This is the theme of today's episode with Birgitte Messerschmidt. We venture through the creation and emergence of the Single Burning Item method (read more in this report) and reaction to fire Euro-classes. The challenges they were supposed to solve (and largely solved), as well as aspects that went out of the scope of this new ladder. It is an amazingly rich case study, filled with a bit of out-of-science issues like fighting for power, maintaining the status quo within some nations or maybe even simple lobbying (which you can read more about in this amazing paper).

What we hope to achieve with this talk is to make engineers reflect a bit more on the applicability of the test methods used every day to ran products. From understanding differences between material, assembly and product tests to questioning if a method is truly representative of the end use of the tested product, and is the threat is representative of the conditions the product will be exposed to. It is not about a revolution and tearing down existing codes and rules, but curiosity and a science-driven quest to ensure, that what we know is the fire characteristics of products installed in our buildings.

This is not the first Fire Science Show episode with doubts about the system. These talks are difficult, and I would also like to highlight:

• 029 Busses, flammability and an unknown force holding good solutions back... with Anja Hofmann-Böllinghaus
• 038 Fire resistance is not always enough for timber with Daniel Brandon
• 070 Fire resistance is whatever you want it to be with Piotr Turkowski

and for the very end, one recent episode with Ruben van Coile, where a decent pathway forward is presented. Btw. Ruben is currently recruiting for this project. Lemme know if you are interested and I can connect you!

Fire Science Show is sponsored by OFR Consultants.

OFR Consultants is a multi-award-winning independent consultancy dedicated to addressing fire safety challenges. OFR is the UK’s leading fire risk consultancy. Its globally established team has developed a reputation for pre-eminent fire engineering expertise, with colleagues working across the world to help protect people, property, and the planet. 

 Established in the UK in 2016 as a start-up business of two highly experienced fire engineering consultants, the business has grown phenomenally in just six years with offices across the country in seven locations – from Edinburgh to Bath. Colleagues are

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The Fire Science Show is produced by the Fire Science Media in collaboration with OFR Consultants. Thank you to the podcast sponsor for their continuous support towards our mission.