Institution of Fire Engineers (SA) AGM/Seminar & Workshops Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley 19 th & 20 th March 2020 Fire Behaviour ... can we manage it? Fire behaviour is commonly defined as the manner in which fuel ignites, flame develops, and fire spreads and exhibits other related phenomena as determined by the interaction of fuels, weather, and topography. It is difficult to predict what a fire may do next, because fires often behave erratically and sometimes dangerously. Research suggests that the cause of extreme behaviour is an interaction of the fire with its atmospheric environment. Understanding how fire behaves is the key to controlling it. Fire simulation systems have been developed as part of management support systems and are vital to assessing fire risk to people and property. Dr Richard Walls from Stellenbosch University and his team are developing models to predict fire spread through areas to highlight potential risks and look at which solutions are most suitable and will present papers to this effect. Dr Walls presents a paper which gives an overview of the basis of structural fire design, such that fire engineers can learn what services structural engineers may be able to offer, and how architectural freedom can be provided without breaking the project budget. This research methodology and data analysis, common to many other professional disciplines, is largely ignored in fire education and training and for this reason the national fire statistics in South Africa are questionable. IFE SA President Mike Webber presents a paper on exploring different forms of research available to fire services and the fire protection industry. At their worst, fires at the wildland–urban interface cause tragic loss of human lives, homes and environment. Many towns in South Africa are expanding and are incorporating areas that contain environments with which city fire department personnel are inexperienced. Expanding cities typically incorporate urban and rural areas, and many firefighters, while experienced in responding to urban emergencies, are unfamiliar with the alternate firefighting tactics that suburban and rural environmental hazards require. Bruce Varner, International IGA President and ex fire chief from the US will present a paper addressing the latest ideas. Target Audience: This seminar & workshop will appeal to Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers, Services Engineers, Facilities Managers, Procurement Officers, Project Managers, Construction Managers, Insurers, Architects, Developers, Fire Officers and Fire Fighters who are dealing with fire protection and firefighting. The papers presented at this seminar aim to assist us in having a better understanding of the behaviour of not only fire but also human behaviour, which both affects and is affected by the fire. 2 ECSA and 8.5 IFE CPD Points
Transcript
Institution of Fire Engineers (SA)AGM/Seminar & Workshops
Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley
19th & 20th March 2020Fire Behaviour ... can we manage it?
Fire behaviour is commonly defined as the manner in which fuel ignites, flame develops, and fire spreads and
exhibits other related phenomena as determined by the interaction of fuels, weather, and topography. It is difficult
to predict what a fire may do next, because fires often behave erratically and sometimes dangerously. Research
suggests that the cause of extreme behaviour is an interaction of the fire with its atmospheric environment.
Understanding how fire behaves is the key to controlling it. Fire simulation systems have been developed as part
of management support systems and are vital to assessing fire risk to people and property. Dr Richard Walls from
Stellenbosch University and his team are developing models to predict fire spread through areas to highlight
potential risks and look at which solutions are most suitable and will present papers to this effect. Dr Walls
presents a paper which gives an overview of the basis of structural fire design, such that fire engineers can learn
what services structural engineers may be able to offer, and how architectural freedom can be provided without
breaking the project budget.
This research methodology and data analysis, common to many other professional disciplines, is largely ignored
in fire education and training and for this reason the national fire statistics in South Africa are questionable. IFE
SA President Mike Webber presents a paper on exploring different forms of research available to fire services
and the fire protection industry.
At their worst, fires at the wildland–urban interface cause tragic loss of human lives, homes and environment.Many towns in South Africa are expanding and are incorporating areas that contain environments with which cityfire department personnel are inexperienced. Expanding cities typically incorporate urban and rural areas, andmany firefighters, while experienced in responding to urban emergencies, are unfamiliar with the alternatefirefighting tactics that suburban and rural environmental hazards require. Bruce Varner, International IGAPresident and ex fire chief from the US will present a paper addressing the latest ideas.
Target Audience: This seminar & workshop will appeal to Civil Engineers, Structural Engineers, ServicesEngineers, Facilities Managers, Procurement Officers, Project Managers, Construction Managers, Insurers,Architects, Developers, Fire Officers and Fire Fighters who are dealing with fire protection and firefighting.
The papers presented at this seminar aim to assist us in having a better understanding of the behaviour of not
only fire but also human behaviour, which both affects and is affected by the fire.
2 ECSA and 8.5 IFE CPD Points
PRESENTER PROFILES
Dr Antonio Cicione PhD, BEng | Stellenbosch UniversityDr Antonio Cicione completed his PhD focussing on full-scale testing and CFD modelling of informalsettlement dwellings in fire. He is currently working as a postdoctoral research associate in structure fireand fire safety engineering at Stellenbosch University, and has published various technical papers onfire engineering topics. He spent 6 month at the University of Edinburgh’s BRE Centre for Fire SafetyEngineering as a research associate, which included large-scale testing at the UL testing facility inChicago. The majority of his current research is focused on the behaviour of 3D printed concrete in fire, fire dynamics,FDS modelling and informal settlement fires.
Vignesh Narayanan MSc(Fire), BEng (Mechanical) | Stellenbosch UniversityVignesh Narayanan is a mechanical engineer from India whose experience includes working for a fire en-gineering company in India where he was involved with the supply and installation of various fire protec-tion systems. He also worked as a research engineer for the UL-Jain fire Laboratory. He completed hismasters in fire safety engineering at Ghent University. He is currently undertaking a PhD in fire engineer-ing, focussing on the behaviour of products in informal settlements, and how to make settlements safer.
Natalia Flores Quiroz MSc(Fire), BScEng(Electrical) | Stellenbosch UniversityNatalia Flores Quiroz is an electrical engineer from Chile who has worked on various fire safety projects,including significant mining work. She completed her masters in fire safety engineering at GhentUniversity, and is currently undertaking a PhD in forensic fire investigations. Her masters thesis wasconducted under Prof Ed Galea, a world expert in human behaviour, where she investigated the famousKiss Nightclub disaster.
Dr Richard Walls PhD MSc G.D.E. BSc.Eng Pr. Eng BTh | Senior lecturer in structural engineering –Stellenbosch UniversityDr Walls is lead researcher in Fire Engineering Research Unit at Stellenbosch University, especially interms of structural fire design. Various fire related topics are currently being investigated, such as thedesign of steel structures in fire, analysis of structures in fire, forensic fire investigations, and informalsettlement fire behaviour. Full-scale fire tests on shacks have been conducted in conjunction with theWestern Cape Local Government Disaster Management, Fire & Rescue Services and the Breede Valley Fire TrainingCentre. The behaviour of different smoke and fire alarms in informal settlements has been carried out. Consultingwork has been done for companies developing rational structural fire design systems, and ascertaining the fireresistance of products. Dr Walls served as a reviewer of the fire design annex of the soon to be released SANS 10162-1 steel design code.Previous research has focussed on structural optimisation, demolition engineering and steelwork design. During aresearch project at Wits University a method of optimising structures was developed, called the Virtual WorkOptimisation (VWO) method. Methods for automated design, optimisation, member grouping, and optimal bracingwere developed.He has obtained extensive skills in fire design, computational analysis, programming, design, international designcodes, optimisation, computer modelling and practical design.Software systems used include C++, Matlab, Octave,Prokon, advanced Excel, various fire design software packages and more.
Mike Webber MIFireE M.Soc.Sci (Psych) Cum Laude, BA Hons (Psych) Cum LaudeMike served as a fireman and officer in the various Fire Department from 1979 to 2001. He left the fireservices in 2001 as the Deputy Chief Fire Officer. Between 1980 and 1983 he completed all of the thenSouth African Fire Services Institute qualifications. He also served as a SAESI branch representative,regional chairperson, council member and executive committee member, and was a member of theSAESI Accreditation Committee that accredited regional fire service training centres to present theFirefighter I & II training courses. He was elected as a Fellow of the South African Emergency Services in1998. He continued to work in the field of fire and chemical risk management and safety as a consultant to severalnational and multi-national companies in the warehousing, logistics, retail and manufacturing industries whilst hepursued his studies in psychology. He has also served and still serves on several Hazardous Chemical Substancesand Dangerous Goods and SABS committees. Michael has obtained a BA degree, BA Hons (Psychology) degreeCum Laude and a Master of Social Science (Psychology) degree Cum Laude. Michael has been a member of the IFE(SA) for over 25 years, has served on the Branch Council for 6 years and is the outgoing President of IFE (SA) afterhaving served in this capacity for four years.
Bruce Varner Fire Chief (retired),CFIFireE, CFO | International President IFEChief Varner was appointed Fire Chief of Santa Rosa, California in May 2004. He previously served as theFire Chief in Carrollton from 1992 to 2004. Having begun his fire service career with the Phoenix (AZ) FireDepartment in 1967, promoting to Deputy Chief in 1985. His fire service experience includesadministration, operations, communications, safety, airport operations, training, fire prevention and fireinvestigations. He has taught numerous fire service training classes throughout the United States and isrecognised for his expertise in fire fighter protective clothing and safety issues. He holds an Associate ofArts Degree in Fire Science and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is the business manager for theIFE-USA branch and is a Companion Fellow CFIFireE in the Institution of Fire Engineers. He remains an activemember of the IAFC Safety and Health Section. In 2001 he was Fire Chief Magazine’s Career Fire Chief of the year.Bruce Varner is the principal member of BH Varner & Associates, a training, education and consulting company.
Institution of Fire Engineers (SA)AGM/Seminar & Workshops
Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley
19th & 20th March 2020Fire Behaviour ... can we manage it?
PROGRAMME
Times Thursday 19th March 2020
10:30 - 11:00 AGM Registration & Tea/Coffee
11:00 - 13:00 68th Annual General Meeting IFE Members only1. Apologies 5. General Assembly Representative Report 2. Minutes of the previous AGM 6. President's Address3. Matters arising from the Minutes 7. General / Discussion & Close4. Secretary/Treasurer Report
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 14:30 Presentation of Certificates and Awards
14:30 – 15:30 Wildland / Urban Fire Interface presented by Bruce Varner - Fire Chief (retired), CFIFireE, CFO International President IFERecent disasters around the world have revealed that traditional fire protection and emergencyservices responses have been overwhelmed. Losses have been tragic and historically costly. Abetter approach is needed. This paper will present some new case studies, the lessons learned andsuggestion for improved proactive efforts – a fire engineering approach. Delegates will gain anexcellent update and insight from a senior USA-based presenter, who will also lead and interact indiscussions relating to problems with historical approaches and the benefits of new approaches.
15:30 – 16:00 Interactive discussions on Urban / Wildland Fires - Bruce Varner
16:00 – 17:00 Research – the Orphan of Fire Services Education and Training presented by Mike Webber -MIFireE M.Soc.Sci (Psych) Cum Laude, BA Hons (Psych) Cum LaudeThe field of fire research is often seen as the preserve of fire test laboratories and the application ofthe scientific experiment as high level research in which independent variables are defined andmanipulated to observe the outcome on the dependent variable. This may be one of the reasonswhy research methodology and data analysis, common to many other professional disciplines, islargely ignored in fire education and training.The national fire statistics in South Africa arequestionable, there is no data on firefighter injuries and deaths and there is no idea of how well thefire protection industry is doing in their clients’ opinions. This is largely because of the lack oftraining and knowledge about the value of data, and how to properly collect and analyse it due to alack of training. This paper explores different forms of research available to fire services and the fireprotection industry, and ways in which it can bring value to the industry and potential solutions tothis current deficit.
17:00 – 19:00 Cocktails and Refreshments
Friday 20th March 2020
08:15 - 09:00 Seminar Registration & Tea/Coffee
09:00 – 09:45 Understanding and Modelling Human Behaviour in Fire presented by Natalia Flores Quiroz MSc(Fire), BScEng(Electrical) As our buildings get larger and larger we need to make sure people can escape in time. To this endvarious computer models have been developed to try predict how long it would take people to leavethe building, stadium or high-rise apartment block when a fire breaks out. This presentation givesan overview of human behaviour including: (a) how to model human behaviour, (b) how do peoplebehave in fire, (c) factors that influence behaviour, and (d) evacuation models that can be used.
09:45 – 10:00 Interactive discussion on understanding and modelling human behaviour in fire. Natalia Flores Quiroz
10:00 – 10:15 Tea/Coffee
PROGRAMME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Institution of Fire Engineers (SA)AGM/Seminar & Workshops
Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley
19th & 20th March 2020Fire Behaviour ... can we manage it?
PROGRAMME
Times Friday 20th March 2020 Continued
10:15 – 11:00 Using Scale Models for Understanding Fire Behaviour presented by Vignesh Narayanan MSc(Fire), BEng (Mechanical)Full-scale fire tests are very expensive and difficult to carry out, meaning that researchers,investigators and product developers may wish to try and conduct scaled-down experiments. However,fire behaviour does not scale down easily, and attention has to be paid regarding what aspect you aretrying to scale (heat release rate, ventilation, flame length, etc.) such that the experiments can giveinsight into what you are seeking to understand. This presentation gives an overview of the modellingof fire using reduced scale experiments, including some recent tests conducted
11:00 – 11:15 Interactive discussions on using scale models for understanding fire behaviour. Vignesh Narayanan
11:15 – 12:00 Fire Modelling – Friend or Foe? presented by Dr Antonio Cicione PhD, BEng Advances in computer power and software have given engineers the tools needed to model fire andsmoke behaviour in complex buildings. This can assist in making buildings safer, and highlight whatmight happen during a fire incident. However, engineers need to be careful with the “black boxes” thatcomputational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools often are. This talk gives an overview of CFD modelling, howit works, assumptions required and where care should be taken.
12:00 – 12:15 Interactive discussions on Fire modelling – Friend or foe? Dr Antonio Cicione
12:15 – 13:15 Lunch
13:15 – 14:00 Can Structural Engineers Learn to Speak Fire? presented by Dr Richard Walls PhD MSc G.D.E. BSc.Eng Pr.Eng BTh
Structural engineers need to be involved with the fire safety engineering process. The final line ofdefence in fire safety is to ensure that a building remains standing after all other systems have failedor are no longer effective. Unfortunately most South African structural engineers know very little aboutfire design. This paper gives an overview of the basis of structural fire design, such that fire engineerscan learn what services structural engineers may be able to offer, and how architectural freedom canbe provided without breaking the project budget.
14:00 - 14:30 Interactive discussions on Structural Engineers Learn to Speak Fire? Dr Richard Walls
14:30 – 14:45 Tea/Coffee
14:45 – 15:30 Ethics – a Core Competency in the Technical and Engineering Sciences presented by Mike Webber MIFireE M.Soc.Sci (Psych) Cum Laude, BA Hons (Psych) Cum Laude, BAThe technical and engineering fields are defined not only by technology and science, but by humanprocesses of value judgements and ethical decision-making. Professional development begins withtechnical competence, but which must then be informed by ethical decision-making. As such, theability to engage in ethical decision-making is core to the application of technical and engineeringprocesses. Engineers are frequently faced with competing demands of technical excellence,adherence to “Best Practice”, innovative thinking, cost containment and client pressures anddemands. This paper explores the various ethical systems, the nature of a Fiduciary Duty, the “PublicGood” and the seven principles underlying ethical decision-making.
15:30 – 16:15 Firefighter Safety presented by Bruce Varner - Fire Chief (retired), CFIFireE, CFO International President IFEFrom intelligent aggressive firefighting operations to command, control and accountability, to firefightersurvival, to tactical fire scene leadership and building construction as well as SCBA and relatedtechnological development and standard establishment, Bruce has been there from day one. He isalso well known in the USA from his countless hours of teaching around the country and his tirelesswork with NFPA committees. This paper will highlight some main points from these experiences withregard to recent firefighter deaths in South Africa, thus providing delegates with key points forpreventing future tragedies.
16:15 Closure by Incoming IFE Branch President
PROGRAMME SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Institution of Fire Engineers (SA)Seminar & Workshops
Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley19th & 20th March 2020
Fire Behaviour ... can we manage it?REGISTRATION FORM
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AGM (IFE members only) Thursday 19th March 2020 10:30 - 13:00 No Charge
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Seminar Friday 20th March 2020 9:00 - 16:30
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ACCOMMODATIONAccommodation booking and expenses are the responsibility of the delegate. The Protea Hotel has arranged aspecial rate for delegates: Bed and breakfast R1,480.00 per night single / R1,760.00 per night sharing.Alternatively see suggestions below for accommodation in the nearby vicinity:
• Loevenstay Self-catering Apartment • 35 on Washington Bed and Breakfast • Cape Grandeur - Island Letting• Keret Accomodation • Maroela House Guest Accommodation
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