Delivery of fire safety to one billion inhabitants of informal settlements cannot be done through a single solution. No magical extinguishing ball nor hyper-sensitive sensor can solve this issue. As it is not a single issue - it is dozens of overlapping problems spanning from the availability of materials, how structures are built and how the urban landscape can be planned and managed. It is related to how society is managed, what role models are presented to them and what resources they have to fight fires... in fact, it is much much more. This is what we have discussed with prof. Richard Walls of Stallenbosch University in South Africa. Richard's group is leading in efforts to understand the science behind the informal settlement fires (and participated in the notable IRIS project by the University of Edinburgh, which is something you should also check here).

As discussed in the episode, Richard's group has prepared Fire Safety Engineering Guidelines, which can be accessed here for free! Please check it out and share it with those who may benefit from it.

If you have missed the episode with Danielle Antonellis, please check it in here.

Check out the free training series and documentaries on battling fires in informal settlements at Stallenbosch University Fire Group (FireSun) youtube (preview for the guests of Fire Science Show, soon to be released to the public!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi21ZyVLOWI

Picture credit: https://www.sun.ac.za/english/Lists/news/DispForm.aspx?ID=7730

Thank you to the SFPE for recognizing me with the 2025 SFPE Fire Safety Engineering Award! Huge thanks to YOU for being a part of this, and big thanks to the OFR for supporting me over the years.

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