The thirteen years that have elapsed between the appearance of the first and second
editions of Introduction to Fire Dynamics have seen sweeping changes in the subject
and, more significantly, in its application. Fire Engineering - now more commonly
referred to as Fire Safety Engineering - was identified in the original preface as 'a
relatively new discipline', and of course it still is. However, it is beginning to grow
in stature as Fire Safety Engineers around the world begin to apply their skills to
complex issues that defy solution by the old 'prescriptive' approach to fire safety. This
has been reflected by the concurrent development in many countries of new Codes and
Regulations, written in such a way as to permit and promote engineered solutions to
fire safety problems. The multi-storey atrium and the modern airport terminal building
are but two examples where a modern approach to fire safety has been essential.
Preparing a second edition has been somewhat of a nightmare. I have often said
that if the first edition had not been completed in late 1984 it might never have been
finished. The increased pace of research in the early 1980s was paralleled by the
increasing availability of computers and associated peripherals. The first edition was
prepared on a typewriter-a device in which the keyboard is directly connected to the
printer. Graphs were plotted by hand. In 1984 I was rapidly being overtaken by the
wave of new information, so much so that the first edition was out of date by the time
it appeared.
In 1984, the International Association for Fire Safety Science-an organisation which
has now held five highly successful international symposia-was still to be launched,
and the 'Interflam' series of conferences was just beginning to make an impression
on the international scene. The vigour of fire research in the decade after 1985 can be
judged by examining the contents of the meetings that took place during this period.
The scene has been transformed: the resulting exchange of ideas and information
has established fire science as the foundation of the new engineering discipline. This
has been largely due to the efforts of the luminaries of the fire research community,
including in particular Dr Philip Thomas, the late Prof. Kunio Kawagoe, Prof. T. Akita,
Prof. Jim Quintiere and my own mentor, the late Prof. David Rasbash. They perceived
the need for organisations such as the IAFSS, and created the circumstances in which
they could grow and flourish.