SFPE Lund Award presented to David Grossmann
The international Society of Fire Protection Engineering SFPE presents David Grossmann, Head of Construction and Real Estate Consulting and member of the Executive Board of Basler & Hofmann, with this year's SFPE Lund Award. The award goes to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the profession.
David Grossmann was one of the initiators of the founding of the Swiss Chapter of the global Society of Fire Protection Engineering in 2018 and will remain President of the Swiss Chapter until the end of 2024. An important milestone in his commitment to the cause of fire protection engineering was the founding of SFPE Europe in 2020 as an umbrella organization for all European chapters. As a registered European non-profit organization, SFPE Europe is now able to get involved in European working groups and standards commissions. "We want to get involved where the essential course is set for the work of fire protection engineers," says David Grossmann. His core concern is to ensure that engineering solutions are more widely recognized by all stakeholders. He emphasizes: "For many buildings, prescriptive fire engineering is an efficient approach. But for some buildings, real engineering is needed to meet the protection goals in an efficient way. We are committed to creating this freedom for specialists as well as for authorities and building owners."
For David Grossmann, the Lund Award is a nice recognition of his commitment and motivates him for his further tasks in the organization. in 2024, he was appointed to the SFPE Ethics Committee, which is responsible for promoting professional ethics and standards of conduct in professional practice. He is also involved in setting up the chapters in Austria and Germany.
What is meant by “engineering-based” fire engineering?
Engineering-based fire engineering is geared towards the protection goals for the respective building and develops tailor-made solutions for this. This distinguishes it from prescriptive fire engineering, which is based on the standard requirements of fire protection standards. Engineering-based fire engineering is particularly suitable for buildings with unusual architecture or special usage requirements that could only be realized with disproportionate effort or with restrictions using the standard specifications.
