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 WHEN I became international president last year, I was mindful of the expectations of being an international ambassador of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE). With this in mind, I was thrilled recently to have the opportunity to accompany a joint delegation from the Hong Kong Branch to attend a seminar with our colleagues in Shanghai on mainland China.
I spoke at the event about the visions of the Institution, global learning and the future of fire engineering. As my presidential term progresses into its later phase, I felt that delivering this presentation in Putonghua (the official dialect in the mainland) to representatives of the Shanghai Fire Department and Shanghai Fire Protection Association was fulfilling one of my major roles as president.
I was also most pleased to receive two personal enquiries about how to become a member of IFE. I will certainly follow up these enquiries and supply more information on our work and the benefits of Institution membership.
Inter-branch activities
Even more noteworthy was that the joint delegation from Hong Kong also comprised senior members of the Malaysian Branch – and my fellow IFE Board member H G Tay, who was also present, should be credited for making this happen.
Following the trip to Shanghai, the Malaysian Branch members of the delegation spent some time in Hong Kong, learning about the fire department’s mobilising and communications system and visiting its new rescue training centre. The delegation also met with the organisers of the fire engineering degree courses at the City University of Hong Kong, since the Malaysian Branch is actively considering introducing fire engineering higher education for the benefit of its members.
I would strongly recommend that such inter-branch activities are repeated by other Institution branches around the world.
Fire engineering in Shanghai
Shanghai has always been a city of remarkable potential. It is one of the main financial centres of China, and is constantly seeking to break new ground in economical, financial, trading and shipping enterprises.
On its visit there, the joint delegation witnessed a city that is extremely busy building up its stock of modern structures to cope with growing business demands. According to Shen Youdi, chief engineer and senior colonel of the Shanghai Fire Department, the rate of high-rise construction in metropolitan Shanghai has grown hugely – from 2 per year in the period 1951-1970, to 600 per year in the period 1998-2007.
The Shanghai World Exhibition, taking place in 2010, has added much impetus to the city’s development engine, with a whole range of new structures being built for the event – including futuristic exhibition pavilions and transport infrastructure.
Most of the high-rise structures boast vast atriums, spatial compartments and opulent décor. These, together with the mixed occupancies and high occupancy rate, present an obvious demand for performance-based fire engineering designs.
Another challenge that chief engineer Shen talked about in the joint seminar was the mass evacuation from super-high-rise towers. He quoted figures which show that it could take 130 minutes to evacuate a 50-storey building. This was echoed by Dr H U Chuanping, the commissioner of the Third Research Institute of Ministry of Public Security in a subsequent encounter. He argued that disallowing the use of lifts as a means of escape was an outdated concept.
Much debate and research has taken place between fire researchers on this issue and, as discussions in Shanghai made clear, there appears to be a general feeling that, with suitable modifications to hardware, conspicuous identification and appropriate public education, lifts may be regarded as a means of escape for high-rise buildings in the future.
I am aware that similar debates have taken place around the world, especially after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, though no widely-agreed conclusions have been arrived at as yet. As a global fire safety organisation, IFE has a key role in facilitating a thorough debate on this issue.
Consultation paper
While on this subject, members will recall that the Board has announced it will be conducting a review of its role and strategic contribution towards the international development of fire engineering and, to this end, circulate a questionnaire seeking the views of members and other stakeholders. The consultation paper is close to being finalised. Your response may serve to steer the future direction of the Institution – so I urge all members to participate when it is circulated in the near future.
Charles Chu
FSDSM, CPM, BEng (Hons), CEng, FIFireE, FHKIE
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