Only delegates attending in-person need to pre-book to help us manage capacity at the venue. Bookings close at 14:00 on Monday 27th July.
Members attending online do not need to pre-book.
We are delighted to announce this year’s 103rd AGM will take place as a hybrid event on 30th July 2026 hosted in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Once again, IFE members have the opportunity to attend this event in-person or online for free.
Formal notice of the meeting will be sent to members in June 2026.
Programme
- 15:15-16:30 | IFE AGM (IFE members only)
- 16:30-17:30 | Rasbash Lecture
- 17:30-19:00 | Drinks reception
Rasbash Lecture 2026
The Rasbash Lecture will also be held as part of this event and welcomes members and non-members, the lecture has been certified for
one hour of CPD. This event honours the legacy of Professor David Rasbash, a trailblazer in fire safety engineering. This esteemed event features the presentation of the Rasbash Award, given to an individual recognised for their outstanding contributions to fire safety engineering education, research and practice on a global scale.
About this year's Rasbash Lecture
This year's lecture is presented by Dr Karen Boyce, Senior Lecturer in the School of Built Environment at the University of Ulster. Karen's presentation is titled:
Safe Evacuation for All - How Far Have We Come and How Far Are We Prepared To Go?
Karen’s presentation will examine current design guidance and engineering approaches to means of escape, set against the realities of accessible building design and changing demographics.
Drawing on evidence from real-world incidents and research undertaken at Ulster University and beyond, the presentation explores our evolving understanding of the behavioural characteristics and evacuation dynamics within today’s increasingly diverse building populations—and the significant management challenges this presents.
The session will provide a candid and thought-provoking reflection on the appropriateness of the assumptions which underpin current design guidance, the choice of evacuation scenarios in an engineering design context, and the attainability of expectations regarding how evacuation will be managed.
Ultimately, the presentation will explore the adequacy of current means-of-escape provision, asking how far the profession has progressed - and how far it is willing to go - to provide an accessible means of escape that optimises safety for all.
About the speaker
Dr. Karen Boyce is a Senior Lecturer at Ulster University and a key member of the Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology (FireSERT) centre. Over her 38-year career, her research has specialised in human behaviour and movement during evacuations. Her particular interests lie in understanding the capabilities and requirements of disabled individuals and she has contributed to UK government-funded research related to inclusive evacuation needs. High profile research investigations have included research into the evacuee behaviour following the World Trade Centre attacks on 9/11.
She has served as member and Chair of the international Human Behaviour in Fire Symposium series (1999–2015) and is a member of the Advisory Board for Fire and Materials. From 2000 until recently she directed the MSc Fire Safety Engineering program at Ulster. She has authored over 80 research publications and co-authored the "Engineering Data" chapter in the 5th Edition of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers Handbook.