In the third part of FIRE’s award-winning series, Editor Andrew Lynch and Security Correspondent Dr Dave Sloggett identify crucial components of their Charter for Resilience.

For those of an anxious disposition regarding apocalyptic scenarios, the Coronavirus crisis has been something of a watershed. Having prepared all their lives for chaos, they have found themselves strangely well prepared for the restrictions of lockdown – previous foreboding replaced by calmness and appreciation that the worst has happened, so let’s get on with it.

Governments the world over, meanwhile, are in the maelstrom of frantic decision making fuelled by a history of ignoring past precedents and as a result are in constant action-reaction mode, which must be most stressful.

FIRE’s new architecture for society and model of a Charter for Resilience offer a beacon of hope for future preparation and response to major disasters. It comes from a long history of witnessing major disasters, envisaging apocalyptic scenarios and contemplating how to avoid or mitigate their impact in future.