Global organisations unite to solve fire safety in buildings through industry standards

Geneva, Switzerland – RICS has joined more than 30 organisations from around the world to develop landmark industry standards to address fire safety in buildings. The group, known as the International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition, was launched at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland this week.

The coalition consists of local and international professional bodies and standard-setting organisations committed to developing and supporting a shared set of standards for fire safety in buildings. The standards aim to set and reinforce the minimum requirements professionals should adhere to ensure building safety in the event of a fire.

As the property market has become increasingly international with investments flowing across national borders, the sector still lacks a consistent set of high level global standards that will inform the design, construction, and management of buildings to address the risks associated with fire safety.

Differences in materials testing and certification, national building regulations or codes, and standards on how to manage buildings in use, particularly higher risk buildings, means there is confusion, uncertainty and risk to the public.

Gary Strong, the RICS Global Building Standards Director cites the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 as a recent example which demonstrates the need for a coherent global approach to fire safety. As the RICS representative to, and Chair of, the IFSS Coalition, he says that the Grenfell fire – the worst in the UK for almost a century that claimed 72 lives - not only focused attention on building and fire safety in the United Kingdom but also exposed global inadequacies in how fire safety standards are set.

“The Grenfell Tower fire focused the world’s attention on how many buildings are threatened with the prospect of failing fire safety standards. All over the world we see the need for more high-rise structures, some residential, some commercial and some mixed-use buildings, particularly in cities. Our concern is not with the height of these buildings but with the risks they pose in the absence of a coherent and harmonised approach to setting global standards in fire safety. The effort by the IFSS Coalition aims to address this concern and bring together the design, construction and management aspects of ensuring fire safety of building assets.”  

• Gary Strong, RICS Global Building Standards Director and Chair of the IFSS Coalition Once the high-level standards are developed, the IFSS Coalition will work with professionals around the world to deliver the standards locally. The standards will be owned by the IFSS Coalition and not by any one organisation. As it’s first order of business the IFSS Coalition will set up a Standards Setting Committee that will draw on a group of international technical fire experts to develop and write the high-level standards to ensure they are fit for purpose across global markets.

For more information, please contact:

RICS in Middle East: Lynne Davidson, Marketing & Communications Manager on ldavidson@rics.org or Tel: +971 (0) 4 391 3675

Members of the Coalition so far;

ACAI – Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors http://www.approvedinspectors.org.uk/

AEEBC – The Association of European Experts in Building and Construction http://aeebc.org/

API – Australian Property Institute https://www.api.org.au/

BCA – Building Control Alliance http://buildingcontrolalliance.org/

BIFM – British Institute of Facilities Management https://www.bifm.org.uk/bifm/home

CABE – Chartered Association of Building Engineers https://www.cbuilde.com/the-cabe/

CASLE – Commonwealth Association of Surveying & Land Economy http://www.casle.org/

CEBC - Consortium of European Building Control bodies http://www.cebc.eu/

CIAT – Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists http://www.ciat.org/

CIBSE – Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers https://www.cibse.org/

CIOB – Chartered Institute of Building https://www.ciob.org/

CTBUH – Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat http://www.ctbuh.org/

Engineers Australia – https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/

FIG – Federation International de Geometre, an international umbrella body of surveying professional bodies globally http://www.fig.net/

ICC – International Code Council https://www.iccsafe.org/

IFE – Institution of Fire Engineers https://www.ife.org

LABC – Local Authority Building Control https://www.labc.co.uk/

NHBC – National House Building Council http://www.nhbc.co.uk/

RIBA – Royal Institute of British Architects https://www.architecture.com/

RICS - Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors https://www.rics.org/uk/

SFPE – Society of Fire Protection Engineers http://www.sfpe.org/

SGSA – Sports Ground Safety Authority http://www.safetyatsportsgrounds.org.uk/

SIBL – Singapore Institute of Building Ltd http://www.sibl.com.sg/

The World Bank - http://www.worldbank.org/

United Nations ECE - https://www.unece.org/info/ece-homepage.html

About RICS

RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the valuation, development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards - bringing confidence to markets and effecting positive change in the built and natural environments.

© Press Release 2018