Dr. Brian Meacham’s career in fire safety research started from a young age when he joined his local volunteer fire department. He learned of the challenges that rural communities face from both a public safety and fire service perspective. “The lack of smoke alarms in homes, and the lack of firefighting equipment, water supply networks, and other resources, made it extremely difficult to provide the level of fire response that the community deserved,” said Dr. Meacham. This prompted him to pursue an educational path that continued his interests in understanding and reducing the unwanted impacts of fire, earning a B.S. in electrical engineering, an M.S. in fire protection engineering, and a Ph.D. in risk and public policy.
Dr. Meacham has spent the entirety of his career working to reduce the risks and impacts of unwanted fire. As a new member of the Advisory Board at UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), his drive for this mission, along with his expertise in fire safety engineering, risk and building regulatory policy, is bringing forward momentum to the Advisory Board. He is currently Managing Principal of Meacham Associates, where he develops risk-informed performance-based solutions to complex building and infrastructure challenges, provides peer-review services, and conducts building and fire regulatory system studies. He also undertakes research in these and other fire safety areas.
Dr. Meacham’s current focus is on three main areas: fire resilience in the face of evolving sustainable building technologies and climate risks; reducing fire risks associated with rapid urbanization and expansion of the wildland urban interface; and fire safety challenges of vulnerable populations, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Across these areas, he recognizes the sometimes-competing objectives of sustainability, affordability, and fire resilience. To address these concerns, he focuses on advancing the concept of a sustainable and fire resilient built environment and supports new, holistic, and integrated frameworks for design and regulation.
As an Advisory Board member, Dr. Meacham understands both the challenges and opportunities in the field of fire safety. He is excited about FSRI’s work and commends the organization for sharing their research to address the world’s unresolved fire safety risks and emerging dangers, which is a much-needed service for the global community.
It is an honor to be invited to join the FSRI Advisory Board. The work that FSRI undertakes is critical to understanding an reducing fire risk across a broad spectrum of areas to the benefit of society. I look forward to providing whatever insights and contributions I can to this incredibly important mission."
- Brian Meacham, Managing Principal of Meacham Associates
