The Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) wishes to send its condolences to all of those who have been affected in this week’s Grenfell Tower tragedy. We extend our thoughts to the emergency services who showed extreme courage and professionalism whilst tackling the incident, putting their lives at risk in doing so.

The unprecedented fire at Grenfell Tower and its tragic human impacts on those directly involved serve as a sobering reminder that the threat to society from fire is ever present.

As the process of determining the circumstances of the fire begins amidst the understandable public and political scrutiny, it is important to also strive to understand the technical and scientific aspects that underpin such tragedies. The IFE is an international organisation whose members aim to further that understanding, and bring that expertise to bear on the range of controls that surround formulation of regulatory frameworks across the globe. Within the United Kingdom the IFE is involved in a range of standards development activity, and has strong links with the whole fire sector, including the academic and research community.

As the circumstances around these terrible events become clear the IFE will play a full and active part in the activities necessary to ensure that the relevant learning is identified and understood, so that technical solutions to fire safety in the future are as comprehensive and robust as possible.