Morgan J. Hurley, P.E.
Technical Director
Society of Fire Protection Engineers

Beginning with the publication of the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering and continuing with the publication of performance-based codes and several engineering design guides, the fire protection engineering profession has matured tremendously over the past decade-and-a-half. Underpinning this advancement is a foundation of fire research. However, a great deal of this research was conducted in the 1950s through the mid-1980s. While quality research continues, significantly less funding is available to support this research, and hence, much less is being conducted now than before.

Before proceeding further, it is useful to define the term "research" as used here. "Research" refers to a scientific investigation which has results that can be broadly applied in engineering practice. This differs from "testing," which is frequently applied to solve specific problems and which is typically not readily applied in a general sense.

Underlying the decline in research productivity has been a decline in funding of national government laboratories. Several governmental fire laboratories have been privatized, with the result that funding for research must be sought from the private marketplace, where interest tends to favor testing over fundamental research. Public fire laboratories that were not privatized have suffered a diminishing level of funding from their national governments. For example, government-appropriated fire funding at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) rose from approximately four million dollars in 1974 to about seven million dollars in 1999. While this may seem like an increase, it actually represents a decrease in purchasing power of approximately 50% due to a decline in the value of the dollar. While NIST has received additional funding to analyze the building failures that occurred on September 11, 2001, this funding increase may be only temporary.

Fire protection engineering is the bridge between fire research and the built environment. A fundamental tenet of engineering is to do the best job possible with the information that is available, and despite declining research productivity, fire protection engineers will continue to apply the knowledge available to protect people and property from fire. When faced with a less-thantotal understanding in an area of practice, engineers typically compensate by building in conservatism. This excess conservatism translates into higher design costs, which are ultimately passed on to the public through higher overall costs of products and services. With an improved understanding of the science of fire, engineers could safely reduce excess conservatism while still providing an appropriate level of safety.

Additionally, continued research would expand the types of problems that fire protection engineers could solve.

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers has focused some efforts in countering this trend. SFPE held a workshop in 1999 to develop a research agenda for the fire protection engineering profession (available from www.sfpe.org/ sfpe30/pdfsanddocs/pbdfr.pdf). While broad in scope, this research agenda indicates the types of research that engineers could use to benefit society.

One of the conclusions reached during the development of the research agenda was that the public sector alone will likely not return to the state of research funding during the mid-to late 20th century. Public/private partnerships will be necessary to increase the amount of research funding that is available. While not identified in the research agenda, the first step is the development of a sound business plan to attract funding to support fire research.

SFPE has also directly supported research through its Educational and Scientific Foundation. The Educational and Scientific Foundation has historically supported a number of fire research projects, typically conducted at academic institutions. Funding for this support has come from contributions from SFPE members and chapters. Additionally, the Foundation is currently exploring mechanisms to expand its support.

While relatively modest in magnitude, the Educational and Scientific Foundation made valuable contributions since its 1979 inception, and this support has the potential to grow. A sound foundation of fire research allows fire protection engineers to provide the best possible service to the public, clients, and employers.