GREG BAKER
Director
PhD (Fire Engineering) ME BE MSFPE
Greg Baker has worked for over 35 years in the New Zealand building and construction industry.
Greg’s working life started in structural engineering consultancy, followed by working for multi-national building products manufacturer James Hardie. In 2002 Greg joined BRANZ (an independent building research institute in Wellington, New Zealand) were he was manager of fire and structural engineering for 13 years. After a period as Chief Scientist at SP Fire Research in Norway from 2015 to 2016, Greg re-joined BRANZ in 2016 as a Senior Fire Research Engineer. In 2018 Greg joined the boutique fire engineering consultancy, Olsson Fire and Risk, which subsequently merged with multi-national consultancy GHD.
At the start of 2020 Greg left GHD to form Fire Research Group Ltd, a specialist consultancy offering research-based expert advice in the field of applied fire engineering. Greg is actively involved in the US-based Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) where he is chair of the society’s Standing Committee on Research, Tools and Methods. Greg has extensive experience in building code compliance and product development and testing of building products. Greg’s main areas of research speciality are structures in fire, fire performance of external claddings and fire dynamics. Greg has a BE (Civil Honours) from the University of Auckland, and an ME (Fire Engineering) and PhD (Fire Engineering) from the University of Canterbury.
Link to Greg Baker Publications
DANIEL NILSSON
Director
Docent (Fire Safety Engineering) PhD BSc MSFPE
Daniel Nilsson has worked in academia at two of the world’s leading fire engineering universities.
From 2002 to 2018 he was an academic staff member at Lund University in Sweden, and in 2018 he took up the position of Professor of Fire Engineering at the University of Canterbury. In 2020, Daniel also became a co-director of Fire Research Group Limited, alongside his continuing academic duties at the University of Canterbury.
Daniel is a world-renown expert in the field of human behaviour in fire and has an extensive body of published research on this and associated topics. Recent projects include the use of Virtual Reality, which is a powerful tool for forensic investigation of human behaviour in fire. Daniel also has many years for teaching experience in the area of fire safety systems from Lund University and the University of Canterbury.
Daniel has been involved in ISO standards development activities for many years, since 2014 as Chair of Subcommittee 4 (SC4 – Fire Safety Engineering) within Technical Committee 92 (TC 92 – Fire Safety). Apart from being SC4 chair, Daniel also regularly coordinates Task Groups (TGs) developing standards, such as the TG developing ISO 23932-1:2018 on general principles for Fire Safety Engineering.
Daniel has a BSc (Fire Protection Engineering), PhD (Fire Safety Engineering) and is Docent (Fire Safety Engineering) all from Lund University.
Link to Daniel Nilsson Publications
COLLEEN WADE
Director
PhD (Fire Engineering) MS BBSc FSFPE
Colleen Wade is an experienced fire researcher with expertise in fire modelling, reaction to fire and fire resistance.
Colleen has worked in fire research for over 30 years, most of that time with the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ). Colleen was heavily involved in the fire technical input required for the introduction of a performance-based building code in New Zealand in 1992, and in the development of the New Zealand Verification Method C/VM2 for Protection from Fire in 2012. She has done research and consultancy for MBIE (previously Department of Building and Housing, New Zealand) and the Australian Building Codes Board - Fire Code Reform Centre. Colleen is also heavily involved in ISO and SFPE activities internationally. At BRANZ, Colleen was the organisation’s leading expert on matters related to fire science and fire safety engineering research in her role as Principal Fire Research Scientist.
Colleen’s areas of research expertise includes compartment fire modelling, flame spread over interior surfaces and external cladding, post flashover fires and fire dynamics in mass timber buildings. She is best known internationally as the developer of the BRANZFIRE/B-RISK fire model. Colleen has a BBSc (Building Science Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington, an MS (Fire Protection Engineering) from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA and a PhD (Fire Engineering) from the University of Canterbury. In 2020, Colleen became a director of Fire Research Group Limited.
Link to Colleen Wade Publications
PER OLSSON
Director
MSc (Fire Engineering)
Per Olsson is an experienced fire engineer having been involved as an expert witness in many legal cases over the last 20 years including arbitration, civil and criminal court, and various tribunals in Sweden, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia.
He has a thorough knowledge and extensive experience in the preparation and presentation of independent expert evidence for clients who anticipate legal action and provides services related to expert witness litigation including advisory consulting, expert testimony, and peer review.
Per’s previous expert witness cases have included computer-based modelling techniques, experimental full-scale tests, full site invasive testing, forensic site investigations, mediation and court work including cross-examination. This variety of work has ensured a broad background and experience level to tackle the most complicated expert witness cases. He has been trained by the engineers’ institutes in Australia and New Zealand, who deliver courses for Engineering Expert Witnesses. Per is a sought-after expert witness in the field of fire safety engineering and is regularly retained by the most prominent legal firms internationally for small and major cases. He is currently Expert Witness (Fire Safety Engineering) in several major litigation cases in New Zealand and Australia, in the High Court, District Court and Supreme Court. Per has a BSc (Fire Protection Engineering) from Lund University, and a MSc (Fire Engineering) from the University of Canterbury.