Tall buildings dominate the skyline of all the major cities in the world and present their own unique security risks. The world has drastically changed since 9/11 yet how do tall buildings balance the need for robust security against the highest level of fire safety?

The Tall Buildings Group will commence Wednesday 24 April with the session “Designing fire safety into Tall Buildings whilst considering security” led by Prof.Ed Galea, Jim Golt Chartered fire engineer, and Jim Creak Editor – Means of Escape. This session will cover the current best practice for conducting risk assessments and design research for the fire and evacuation/invacuation orientated aspects of Tall Building configuration.

Speakers will cover topics including: computer modelling of evacuations, fire protection of structural elements, and development of tall building fire strategies.

After lunch the group will discuss “Managing fire safety vs security in Tall Buildings” led by Russ Timpson Chartered fire engineer, Paul Coster, Canary Wharf and Mike Wagland, Credit Suisse. Managing fire safety in tall buildings will always lead to a conflict between security and fire evacuation. This session will explore the current best practice for getting the balance right. Speakers will cover topics including: evacuation management, use of lifts, access systems and fire evacuation, and CCTV.

To conclude the event on Thursday 25 April the group will explore the learning’s from recent Tall Building fire and explosions in the session “Firefighting in Tall Buildings in the event of another '9/11'.

The group will discuss how vital it is to ensure the fire services respond and interact with building managers and their staff for successful fire fighting outcomes. Case studies will be examined as will important issues such as wind driven fires and rescue techniques.