My father, Philip Thomas, who has died aged 87, was a pioneer in the world of fire safety science and engineering. He was also a proud Welshman with a love of jazz, malt whisky and his signature bow ties.
Philip's work shaped the design of commercial buildings throughout the world, from shopping centres to airport terminals. His most significant contributions relate to the behaviour of fire; he developed analytical models of the behaviour of flames and "fire plumes" that became the basis for designing roof-venting systems for removing smoke and hot gases from single-storey buildings.
Philip, an only child, was born in London. His father died when he was seven, and he was raised by his mother, Dilys. He won scholarships to Haberdashers' Aske's school and, aged 16, to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was awarded a double first in mechanical engineering in 1945 and a PhD in 1950. In 1951, he joined the government's Fire Research Station. During his career there, he published much of the research that has framed current scientific understanding of fire. More than 100 papers bear his name.
At the root of Philip's success was a love of numbers, but his work was also crucially grounded in the practical realities of a complex subject. His publications would often baffle those who had little mathematical appreciation but their content almost always yielded profound advances in scientific understanding.
Philip was the co-ordinator of the Fire Commission of the Conseil International du Bâtiment from 1974 to 1994 and chairman of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Fire Safety Committee from 1976 to 1995. In these capacities he put the new discipline of fire safety engineering on the map. He recognised that there was no single international institution that covered the full range of fire safety science, and led the foundation of the International Association for Fire Safety Science in 1985. He was elected its first chair, serving until 1991. He received many awards and prizes.
A stroke in his later years inhibited Philip's physical mobility but his mental agility was undimmed, and vigorous discussion remained a staple of his life. Throughout his adult life he was absent-minded, nonconformist and unconventional, with stubborn principles and little interest in the opinion of the rest of the world, but he also had an easy chuckle and a strong love of friends and family. He enjoyed traditional jazz and musicals. If he hadn't been a scientist, he would have wanted to follow in the footsteps of Fred Astaire.
His first wife, Sybil, died in 1997. He is survived by their two children – my brother, Rod, and me; by grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and by his second wife, Joanna.
