News and Events

Albert Simeoni, professor and head of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, provided analysis to the fact-checking website Full Fact for an article addressing online claims about the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. In the article, Simeoni explains how wildfires can cause uneven damage to objects that are in proximity.

“Since lithium-ion batteries are a high energy density fuel, there is a possibility of an explosion hazard,” Ali Rangwala, a professor of fire protection engineering and director of WPI’s first-in-the-nation explosion protection engineering master’s program, provided analysis for a Wall Street Journal article on the risks associated with a fire at one of the world’s largest battery storage facilities. Lithium-ion battery fire and explosion dangers are among the topics being studied by WPI students in the explosion protection engineering program. 

For its coverage of the Los Angeles area wildfires, The New York Times interviewed Albert Simeoni, professor and head of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, about how the wildland fires in Southern California transformed into urban fires, leading to extensive loss of life and destruction of property. The department of fire protection engineering conducts extensive research on wildfires aimed at improving the prevention of and response to fires in the future.

The Department of Fire Protection Engineering conducts research on many aspects of wildfires with a goal of improved prevention and public safety. James Urban, assistant professor of fire protection engineering, helped answer some frequently asked questions about the tragic Los Angeles wildfires during an interview on WPTF news radio in Raleigh, North Carolina.