Fire & Historic Buildings

The Course

An informative day considering the issues relating to fire and historic buildings, including the spread and growth of fire and how it affects traditional building materials.

Session 1

Overview of fires in historic buildings – threats to heritage buildings, fires in heritage buildings and rebuilding, weaknesses and fire spread, historic fire testing and solutions.

Session 2

Legislation and guides – heritage background, heritage legislation, codes of practice, fire safety order, fire risk assessments, suppression systems

Session 3

Cathedrals, churches, roofs and fire fighting – statistics, collapse of stone vaulting, compressive strength of limestone, timber trusses, fire fighting in cathedrals

Session 4

Fire Doors – types of historic doors, fire testing of doors, typical failures of doors, building a new copy of a medieval door.

Q&A

The Tutor

Steve Emery, CMIfireE, Heritage Fire Consultancy Limited

Steve Emery formed Heritage Fire Consultancy Limited last year after retiring from Oxford University, where he had been the Fire Officer since 2016. Clients include the National Trust, the Landmark Trust, the Royal Holloway University, Norwich Castle and numerous churches. He was National Fire Adviser for English Heritage and Historic England from 2001-2016. Prior to this he had a 30-year career with Avon Fire and Rescue Service, his final post being 12 years as the fire officer for the City of Bath.

He chairs the Institution of Fire Engineers Special Interest Group for Heritage Buildings, and has written fire safety guidance documents for churches, historic town centres, thatched buildings and a guide to upgrading historic doors.

Participant Information

You may wish to bring paper and pen. It is advisable to wear weather appropriate clothing and footwear.

Fee & Refreshments

£120 per person, including tuition, teas and coffees and a light lunch. If you have any other dietary requirements please let us know in advance.