The Vinyl Council of Australia successfully held its 4-day Hazards from Fire: Quantification of Fire Behaviour Fire Retardancy and Fire Toxicity course in Melbourne last month, with world-renowned fire expert Prof. Richard Hull leading the intensive course which was attended by industry leaders from across the PVC and manufacturing sectors.

Prof. Hull, Professor of Chemistry and Fire Science from the School of Natural Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, is a leading expert in the behaviour of unwanted fire with over 100 published papers on the assessment and influence of fire retardants on flammability, toxicity of fire smoke and effects of fire retardants on the smoke toxicity.

The carefully designed course covered the fundamentals of fire behaviour and provided a highly-valuable opportunity for those in attendance to further their knowledge regarding the fire behaviour of modern materials. Feedback from attendees found the course to be well-structured and Prof. Hull a particularly engaging presenter.

Over the 4 days, the course covered a wide range of focus areas including an introduction to fires and fire science, polymer decomposition mechanisms and how it’s studied, interpretation of thermal analysis and cone calorimetry data, measurement of flammability and interpretation of results, fire retardants and hazards and lessons from real fires, particularly the rapidity of fire spread and how quickly the primary toxic products in smoke – Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen Cyanide - can debilitate and kill in a developed fire. Delegates also enjoyed an engaging networking dinner with Prof. Hull after the penultimate day.

The course materials, including a full copy of Professor Hull’s lecture notes and slides across the 4 days, are available for purchase from the VCA. To find out more, please contact the VCA Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..