What happens to controlled doors when a fire is detected in the building? They unlock. Elevators? They go down. People are guided somewhere, and the fire strategy is executed. As it should.

But what if the real threat is not the fire itself? What if the real threat is using the fire as a decoy or, worse, as a tool? What if the threat has intelligence, motives and the ability to adapt to the actions of our systems?

Now, this is a frightening scenario. A scenario in which the security objectives could be much more important than fire ones. But we do not design our fire safety systems for such a possibility. Likewise, the security layer affects 'our' design by interfering with evacuation pathways or locking parts of the facility that we would like to keep open.

In this episode, Steve Gwynne and Aoife Hunt from Movement Strategies take me on a journey of integrating fire safety and security objectives in the building design. Learn how ingress, circulation, and egress must align with safety and operational procedures, and discover the potentially catastrophic outcomes when fire safety engineers overlook security aspects.

As we rethink traditional fire safety strategies in the face of modern threats, this episode explores the intersection of fire safety and security like never before. We discuss increasing fire recognition as a weapon and the necessity for integrating advanced detection systems and human behaviour training. Together with Steve and Aoife, we strongly advocate for a unified approach to building safety that leverages the strengths of both disciplines, making our environments safer and more resilient. 

Here, I would like to direct you towards two resources of my own:

• Fire Fundamentals, episode 6, covers how the building responds to a fire. Please listen to this episode but with your new 'security' view in mind. It will give you a new sense of what we do in our buildings for fire.
• The entire Uncovered Witness - Fire Science Revelations podcast that I am producing. In the eight episodes, we go very deep into human evacuation in a building, from regulations through building systems and management to human behaviour and decision-making. 

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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The Fire Science Show is produced by the Fire Science Media in collaboration with OFR Consultants. Thank you to the podcast sponsor for their continuous support towards our mission.