Kate Grange KC
Reflections on Grenfell and the role of evidence in shaping UK fire safety
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Overview
The Science Behind the Guidance
The chapter's flagship two-day event — a full programme of technical papers and panels. Sessions cover fire safety engineering practice under the Building Safety Act, performance-based design, smoke control, and the future of UK regulation.
The conference is open to members, prospective members, and partner organisations across the UK fire engineering community.
Speakers
A programme led by practice.
Keynotes and panel chairs across both days.
Dr. Barbara Lane
Dr. Michael Spearpoint
OFR Consultants
Prof. Jose Torero
University College London
Prof. Luke Bisby
University of Edinburgh
Dr. Vasilis Koutsomarkos
Building Safety Regulator
Charles-Elie Romeyer
Head of Fire and Structural Safety Standards at the BSR
Approved Document B: Updates and Next Steps
Aman Sharma MBE
Chair of FSH/0
How are fire safety standards developed?
Wojciech Węgrzyński
SFPE Europe
To see beyond 10 metres: a new perspective on visibility in smoke
Rory Hadden
University of Edinburgh
Panel: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives (Day 2)
Francesco Restuccia
King's College London
Panel: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives (Day 2)
Martina Manes
University of Liverpool
Panel: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives (Day 2)
Kathrene Cashell
UCL
Panel: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives (Day 2)
Yong Wang
University of Manchester
Panel: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives (Day 2)
Eleni Asimakopoulou
UCLan
Panel: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives (Day 2)
Programme
The full agenda.
Day 1 · Wednesday 14 October
Understanding Today’s Guidance
Theme: the science behind current UK fire safety guidance
08:30 – 09:00
Registration, coffee & networking
09:00 – 09:15
Welcome & SFPE UK activities
Simón Santamaria, President of SFPE UK
09:15 – 09:50
Keynote 1: Reflections on Grenfell and the role of evidence in shaping UK fire safety
Kate Grange KC · Moderator: Simón Santamaria
10:00 – 11:10
Panel discussion: Fire Engineering in the UK — During and After Grenfell
Barbara Lane, José Torero, Luke Bisby, Michael Spearpoint, Vasilis Koutsomarkos · Moderator: Simón Santamaria
11:10 – 11:40
Coffee break & poster session
11:40 – 12:00
Top abstract presentation
Moderator: Jonathon Beardmore
- Fire induced deflections of steel beams passing through compartment wallsPanagiotis Kotsovinos
12:00 – 13:00
Session 1: Structural Fire Engineering & Reliability
Moderator: Jonathon Beardmore
- Quantitative risk assessment of high-rise buildings with different fire resistance periodsQingfeng Xu, Charlie Hopkin, Yong Wang
- A reliability-based, consequence-differentiated framework for structural fire engineeringEdwin Alejandro Ayala Tovar, Krishna Bommanaboyina, Waqas Haider, Iolanda Del Prete, Florian Block
- Beyond the Curve: the limitations of time equivalence in structural fire engineeringRyan Collins
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 15:20
Session 2: Regulation and Proportionality
Moderator: Gabriel Risco
- Gap analysis on egressibility of the disabled in the UK building regulatory regimeNadia Mofidi, Denver Gill
- Reconsidering the 4.5 m void-edge rule in BS 9999: origin, intent and a tenability-based perspectiveAndrew Nicholson
- Revisiting the stair sizing formula in Approved Document BStephen Welch
- From prescriptive standards to proportional risk: a critical analysis of English fire safety regulationRichard Clark, Martina Manes
15:20 – 15:50
Coffee break & poster session
15:50 – 17:10
Session 3: Façade Fire & External Fire Spread
Moderator: Karl Wallasch
- Open-state cavity barriers in ventilated façades: re-evaluating their performance beyond conventional fire-resistance testingKonstantinos Chotzoglou, Alan Robb
- Towards understanding of the failure mechanisms of EPS-based ETICS façade systems through multiscale testingGrunde Jomaas, V. Kudryashov, Martin Košiček, Ulises Rojas-Alva, Aleš Jug, Andrea Lucherini
- Performance of cavity barriers in ventilated rainscreen façades under increased heat flux using an intermediate-scale test methodSoukayna Azdad, Talal Fateh
- Open-state cavity barriers in ventilated façades: aligning product testing, fire dynamics and regulatory intentChris Mort
17:10 – 17:25
Invited presentation: How are fire safety standards developed?
Aman Sharma MBE, Chair of FSH/0
17:25 – 17:45
SFPE UK Awards 2026 winners announcement & close of Day 1
Moderator: Karl Wallasch
- Fire Engineering Strategy
- Fire Research Project
- ‘Up and Coming’ Fire Engineer
18:00 – 20:00
Networking drinks
Location to be confirmed
Day 2 · Thursday 15 October
Shaping Tomorrow’s Guidance
Theme: developing science to underpin future UK guidance
08:30 – 09:00
Coffee & networking
09:00 – 09:10
Welcome
Gabriel Risco, Vice-President of SFPE UK Chapter
09:10 – 09:45
Keynote 2: Approved Document B — Updates and Next Steps
Charles-Elie Romeyer · Moderator: Gabriel Risco
09:55 – 11:15
Session 4: Emerging Risks and Technologies
Moderator: Harry Mitchell
- Hybrid Zonal Extraction Approach (HyZEX), beyond prescriptive codes: a novel ventilation approach for managing EV fire smokeDr Mohammad Zandie, Farrokh Azad, Mehdi Jangi
- Grid-scale battery energy storage systems in the UK: fire safety and regulatory gapsMichal Krajcovic
- The need for structured guidance on the use of AI in fire safety engineeringAmina Labhiri, Simón Santamaria
- KAN-Attention-LSTM ensemble with physics-informed constraints for BS 8414 façade fire surrogate modellingSai Pavan Kumar Balabomma, Bogdan Matuszewski, Eleni Asimakopoulou
11:15 – 11:45
Coffee break & poster session
11:45 – 13:00
Panel discussion: Shaping the Future of Fire Safety in the UK — Academic Perspectives
Rory Hadden (University of Edinburgh), Francesco Restuccia (Kingu2019s College London), Martina Manes (University of Liverpool), Kathrene Cashell (UCL), Yong Wang (University of Manchester), Eleni Asimakopoulou (UCLan) u00b7 Moderator: Konstantinos Chotzoglou
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 14:15
SFPE Foundation presentation
Leslie Marshall, Executive Director, SFPE Foundation
14:15 – 14:35
SFPE Europe presentation
- To see beyond 10 metres: a new perspective on visibility in smokeWojciech Węgrzyński
14:35 – 15:35
Session 5: Fire Dynamics, Modelling & Methods
Moderator: Georgina Williams
- From variability to reliability: probabilistic fire resistance assessment of existing RC slabsIolanda Del Prete, Krishna Bommanaboyina, Florian M. Block, Adeyanju Oluwa, Faith Ojomo
- Engineering the stack effect for high-rise pressurisation systemsRadek Sikorski
- Thermo-mechanical response of steel–timber composite beams under design fire scenariosYining Guo, Luke Laripa, Cristian Maluk, Kathrene Cashell
15:35 – 16:05
Coffee break & poster session
16:05 – 17:25
Session 6: Systems Performance & Real-World Function
Moderator: James Fraser
- Manchester Town Hall: performance-based design in a heritage contextSally Friswell, Reece Walker, Christon Liu
- King’s Theatre Edinburgh: fire safety of the redeveloped cultural heritage iconLorna Johnson, Hugh McNamara
- Are we over-relying on SCA guidance? A critical review of design assumptions in smoke control systems for residential applicationsJoe Kidd
- Pressure differential systems in the UK: a review of current challenges and their practical implications in fire safetySareh Akbarpoor
17:25
Close
Tickets
Pricing.
SFPE Member
£295
Current SFPE members
Sold out
Non-SFPE member
£325
Standard rate
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Student
£190
Full-time students
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Venue & travel
Getting there.
voco Manchester City Centre, 59 Portland St, Manchester M1 3HP
Accessibility
The venue is step-free and wheelchair accessible, with accessible facilities on site. If you have specific access requirements, let us know when you register and we'll make arrangements.
Travel
The venue is well served by public transport and within walking distance of major rail and underground connections. We recommend travelling by public transport where possible, as parking is limited.