MAJOR BUILDING failures rarely result from a single mistake, writes CROSS-UK. More often, they arise from a chain of assumptions, omissions and misunderstandings that accumulate over time. One professional assumes another has addressed an issue, responsibilities become blurred and critical information fails to reach the right people.

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WITH THE summer term drawing to a close, fire safety might not be front of mind in the school domain, observes Tom Roche, yet a run of recent incidents is a reminder that risk doesn’t take a holiday simply because the academic year is winding down.

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TWO DECADES ago, writes Tom Roche, a piece of regulatory guidance quietly set a ceiling – quite literally – on what a warehouse could be without sprinklers. That 18-metre height limit in Approved Document B was, at the time, an outer boundary to signal a building that was going taller than perhaps the norm. Now, warehouses look very different. Has our thinking about protecting them from fire kept pace?

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FIRE SAFETY in Scotland marked a defining moment on 6 April with the introduction of new regulations requiring sprinkler systems to be installed in historic building conversions used as hotels. For many commentators and practitioners, this represents a necessary step forward, writes Iain Cox.

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SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING across major infrastructure has become increasingly sophisticated, writes Tom Roche. Airports and transport hubs now measure greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3, publish reduction targets and track year-on-year progress. That progress matters, while the discipline behind it represents a significant shift in terms of how infrastructure organisations approach environmental responsibility.

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‘WHY SPRINKLER Water – Not Fire – is Mass Timber’s Greatest Threat’ was the original headline of a recent research-based article, writes Tom Roche. Take a moment with that headline. A system that keeps fires at bay is being positioned as a greater danger than the fire itself. The claim attracted enough concern that the article was subsequently revised, but the framing had landed and deserves a direct response.

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IN FEBRUARY 1877, notes Tom Roche, a fire broke out in a Massachusetts mill. It was, by most accounts, an unremarkable fire and the kind of incident that, at any other time, would have gutted a building, destroyed livelihoods and perhaps cost lives. On this occasion, though, something different happened.

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ONE TRUISM that catches the attention at the moment is the sheer scale of logistics buildings, writes Tom Roche. In particular, there’s renewed momentum behind designs of sheds that exceed 18 metres in height. Storage arrays on this scale are truly challenging, but do we all understand what those challenges are?

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S Day 2026, which is observed on 8 March, is a moment to recognise and celebrate the achievements of women, while reflecting on the progress still to be made. In the fire and life safety domain, writes the Fire Industry Association (FIA), that reflection carries particular significance.

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THE FIRE industry here in the UK has always defined itself by responsibility, writes Simon Lyons. Responsibility to protect life. Responsibility to safeguard property. Responsibility to uphold compliance. Today, that responsibility has expanded and, as such, leadership must expand with it.

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THE STORY that caught my attention recently, notes Tom Roche, wasn’t about fire growth or building loss. It was about confusion. Specifically, the confusion faced by the Fire and Rescue Service when arriving at buildings equipped with a range of fire protection systems.

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AS 2025 draws to a close, the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) can reflect on a remarkable 12 months, writes Steve Hamm. The organisation has worked tirelessly to support and shape the evolving fire safety landscape through key initiatives, strategic partnerships and the continued dedication of its members and volunteers worldwide.

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2025 HAS been a transformative year for the Fire Industry Association (FIA), writes Helen Whittington, marked by a strengthened international footprint and a renewed commitment to sharing UK expertise across the global fire safety community.

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ODDLY, THE image you see below isn’t the burned out hulk of an industrial or commercial building such as the Cannock warehouse that caught fire in May 2024, writes Tom Roche. It’s a photo from Stockholm showing a low-rise residential building left largely uninhabitable after a fire spread across the structure. It catches the attention not because it’s unique, but rather because its familiar. Too familiar, in fact.

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WITH ANOTHER school year about to begin, once again we find ourselves having the same discussion about fire safety guidance, writes Thomas Roche. The last attempt to revise Building Bulletin 100 was back in 2021, but nothing came of it, with Government sliding aspects into the generic design brief for schools. This leaves us with a gap to the guidance written in 2007. In the meantime, schools have continued to face serious fires, leaving communities to deal with avoidable consequences.

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THERE IS something quietly encouraging about the story of St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Derby, notes Iain Cox. Following its destruction by fire in 2020, the school has been rebuilt, not simply with an eye on sustainability, but with resilience very much front and centre.

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WHEN A devastating fire destroyed a once grand and historic hotel (specifically The Claremont Hotel on Eastbourne’s seafront), writes Iain Cox, one could have expected an effort to rebuild and replace it pretty quickly. However, in this particular case it has become a symbol of disruption ever since.

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FIRE SAFETY in hotels has garnered increased attention on recent times following a series of high-profile incidents, writes Thomas Roche. In January this year, for example, the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort of the Bolu Province in Turkey killed 78 people. That was global news.

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LAST OCTOBER, the Government announced its continued commitment to the future of education, writes Thomas Roche, by unveiling plans to rebuild another 114 schools across the country. That investment presents an invaluable opportunity to ensure that our school buildings are not just fit for purpose, but also resilient for decades to come. Are we really thinking long-term about fire protection in these rebuilds?

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AS WE continue to step into the New Year, and reflect on fire incidents from 2024, one key question immediately springs to mind: ‘How long does it truly take to recover from and then rebuild after a devastating fire? The lingering scars of fire disasters across the UK remind us all of the enduring challenges involved in recovery and reconstruction, writes Tom Roche.

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