WOBO supports professional activity and the promotion of global safety.
Currently responsible for developing international standards and guidance for RICS professionals globally, Gary Strong, Global Director of Building Standards at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), is also leading the International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition supported by the UN, and the RICS fire advisory group post-Grenfell. Among being involved in several other initiatives, Gary will also be chairing one of the days at the the 2022 Tall Building Safety Conference, taking place at FIREX International on 17-19 May.
Developing international standards – the International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) coalition has been formed to try and do something in the public interest on a global scale. It has the backing of the United Nations (UN), who hosted the launch of the coalition in July 2018, and it’s quadrupled in size since then. It now has over 80 professional bodies like the RICS and a large number of supporters around the world.
The purpose relates to the inconsistencies in avoiding and response to fires – we’re trying to support countries in particular who don’t have much fire safety regulation or set codes and standards, as well as supporting and sharing knowledge.
This has culminated in the International Fire Safety Standards Common Principles – published in October 2020 and which the UN has adopted. Though, of course, simply having good standards doesn’t necessarily mean they’re implemented, which is why education, training and resources are so important. We have since launched our UN-backed campaign, ‘Decade of Action for Fire Safety 2022 -2032’, to drive improvements in fire research, standards, guidance, education, training, awareness and competency.
Events like the Tall Buildings Conference, which has such an international audience, will be key in the development and promotion of the campaign. It’s also where supporters like the UN and the World Bank come to their fore – they can help us join dots we wouldn’t have had access to before and make necessary connections.