By Janelle Foskett
COLUMBIA, Md. — The UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) today announced that the organization is expanding its focus to address fire safety more broadly. The organization will extend its collaborative model beyond the fire service to actively engage fire investigators, fire safety engineers, academia, government, industry, safety educators and the general public. Part of this shift includes a name change to UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute and a new website at https://fsri.org.
“While fire has not changed, the environment in which we live and fire occurs has,” said Steve Kerber, FSRI vice president of research and director. “FSRI has been working to keep pace with that change, evolving our capabilities, research scope, and the stakeholder groups we engage to address fire safety more broadly. Our expanded focus extends to our team, our capabilities, our physical and digital footprints, and the topics we address. We’ve already begun expanding in all these areas and will continue as fire hazards continue to emerge.”
FSRI has historically focused on fire dynamics, fire service tactics and strategies in residential, commercial and industrial buildings through full-scale testing, field testing, modeling, and sharing information through online and classroom education. “That work continues to be an important part of FSRI’s research and mission,” an organization press release states. “The organization has begun extending beyond fire dynamics to examine factors affecting firefighter health and safety, to work with the fire investigation community, and to help fire and life safety educators share data-driven public fire safety education with their communities.” The organization is also delving into expanded research topics, such as wildland-urban interface and materials decomposition.
“Everything we have done and will do continues to serve the pursuit of improving fire safety, advancing fire research knowledge, and educating stakeholders to more effectively protect people and property,” Kerber added.
To learn more about FSRI’s expanded scope, research efforts, growing team and collaboration opportunities, please visit https://fsri.org.
The new FSRI social media handles are as follows: