Russ is the founder and organiser of the Tall Building Fire Safety Network (TBFSN), established in 2009 to improve fire safety within the tall building environment.
A former Royal Navy submariner and firefighter, he is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IFE. After his fire service career, Russ became Head of Safety at Virgin Atlantic Airways, leading a multidisciplinary team of safety, health, and environmental specialists and contributing to the response to the 1999 Heathrow crash-landing incident.
In 2000, he was recruited to lead the Heathrow Terminal 1 fire response and went on to play a key in major airport infrastructure projects, including Gatwick’s skyway and Heathrow Terminal 5.
Russ has received multiple industry awards and was named among the UK’s top 10 fire safety influencers in 2020. He now works as a consulting resilience engineer and expert witness, is a member of the CONIAC Group on Construction Fire Safety and created the internationally adopted Crisisboardroom™ concept.
In his role as International President Elect, Russ will support the International President to promote the IFE globally and further our mission to illuminate a fire safe future.
Interested in inviting the International President-Elect to attend your event?
Contact us to explore how we can support your initiative and promote fire safety on a global scale.