International collaboration results in fire engineering guidelines

Fire engineering professionals will gain an international perspective with a new technical guide. International Fire Engineering Guidelines incorporates viewpoints on the application of fire safety engineering and the role it plays in the regulatory systems of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

From a country-specific perspective, International Fire Engineering Guidelines focuses on fire engineering practices, referenced codes, standards, and legal and regulatory systems.

Developing the guide was an international group effort. Experts in the fire engineering field consulted on the project, reviewing the fire engineering processes, methodologies and data resources. The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), the Canadian Codes Centre of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), New Zealand's Department of Building and Housing (DBH), and the International Code Council (ICC) collaborated on the project. The new international guidelines are based on similar national guidelines for Australia, published by the ABCB.

The concept for the international collaboration grew from the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee (IRCC). In 2003, the IRCC hosted a Global Summit on Performance-based Building Codes in Washington, D.C. to discuss building regulations internationally. The unaffiliated committee is composed of leading building regulatory agencies including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Other countries are looking to join the IRCC this year.

To purchase International Fire Engineering Guidelines, visit the ICC Store, or call 1-800-786-4452. Price: $120 (ICC members), $134 (nonmembers). To learn about the latest activities of the IRCC, visit www.ircc.gov.au.

The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council.

EDITORS' NOTE: A graphic of the book cover is available here.