February 3rd, 2020
by Beth Tubbs

In the wake of the tragic 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, the London-based Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has taken the lead on gathering a coalition of fire prevention and safety experts from around the world to develop a document that outlines best practices for a fire safety infrastructure with global applicability. The international fire safety standards are not meant to replace the codes and standards used in jurisdictions throughout the world, but are rather meant as a tool for regulators and fire safety experts to use to evaluate their own systems compared to global best practices.

International Code Council Senior Staff Engineer Beth Tubbs, P.E., FSFPE, served on the Standards Setting Committee with approximately 25 other experts on fire safety from around the globe. Several other U.S. leaders in the fire prevention and suppression industry participated as well, including representatives from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

The draft of the International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition document has been made available for public comment through March 23, 2020. Interested Code Council members are encouraged to review the draft document and participate independently in the public comment process. Please contact Beth Tubbs with any questions about the document itself, the process undertaken to date, or the IFSS Coalition in general.

About the Author
Beth Tubbs
Beth Tubbs serves as the Vice President of Codes for the International Code Council, working within the Codes and Standards Development department. In her role, she oversees the the Code Council's Code Development Process. Since joining the Code Council in 1995, Beth has been actively involved in a wide range of initiatives, including code development, technical support, and representing the Code Council on national and international committees. She has led several key Code Council committees, including those for the International Existing Building Code, International Fire Code, International Building Code (General Committee), ICC Performance Code, and the ICC Fire Code Action Committee. Beth also plays a crucial role in the ongoing reimagining of the ICC Performance Code (ICCPC). A Fellow and Past President of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), she holds professional fire protection engineering licenses in both Massachusetts and California.