- Author
-
Lucht, D. A.
- Title
- Strategies for Shaping the Future: A Report on the Conference on Firesafety Design in the 21st Century, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, May 8-10, 1991.
- Coporate
- Worcester Polytechnic Inst., MA
- Report
-
Report
October 1991
26 p.
- Keywords
-
fire safety
|
fire protection
- Abstract
- Fires cost the U.S. economy on the order of $128 billion per year, according to a report recently issued by the United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Over the past few decades, the United States has led all major industrialized nations in per capita fire losses. For well over a quarter century, scientists have been developing improved methods for achieving firesafety. New firesafety design tools are emerging, but are not finding their way to routine application. The Conference on Firesafety Design in the 21st Century focused on the question of why, and sought strategies to expedite the use of innovations in day-to-day design and regulatory practice. The 2 1/2 day conference was the culmination of more than two years of planning, research and documentation. Each of the 29 conference papers presented a thoughtful treatment of its author's point of view on relevant issues. The 112 conference participants shared a commitment to improve firesafety design. Attendees represented perspectives ranging from practicing engineers, architects, members of the fire service and building officials to insurance engineers, attorneys, researchers and academicians. They worked through the highly interactive conference format of plenary sessions, panel sessions and breakout groups to focus on barriers to the adoption of firesafety design innovations, and on strategies for speeding the application of new technologies in day-to-day practice. Given the diversity of conference attendees, remarkable consensus emerged.