Organised with support of the EU FLARETEX COST Action MP 1105, and the University of Central Lancashire – Conference summary below prepared by Anna Stec and Richard Hull.
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/news/international-conference-fire-toxicity.php
The organisers opened the conference by underlining that the inhalation of toxic smoke is the biggest killer and the largest cause of injury in fires, but is a neglected area of fire science and fire safety engineering. This conference highlighted the health concerns in a multidisciplinary way: on the first day scientists described the evolution and measurement of toxic products from fires, while medical practitioners described dealing with the short and long-term care of fire victims; the second day was devoted to the issues of fire fighter safety and the abnormally high rates of cancers amongst them; the third day focused on the regulatory framework that currently fails to protect fire victims from smoke inhalation, and how this problem may be addressed.