Roger Estall, my dear friend, mentor, collaborator and co-author, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, while visiting Christchurch, New Zealand.
His sudden death leaves a big hole in the world.
Roger saved more lives in New Zealand than anyone else, through his advocacy for smoke alarms and fire sprinkler systems. He chaired the New Zealand Fire Service Commission. He led comprehensive reforms that resulted in significant annual reductions in fire fatalities. He was a founding chairman of the NZ Society for Risk Management. He delivered the prestigious annual Hopkins Lecture. He was a member or chair of 25 national and international standards committees.
He taught me never to compromise on logic and to challenge anything that, quite simply, did not make sense. This mentoring extended to many others whom Roger helped develop critical thinking skills.
Roger and I wrote Deciding together. The book was his final published work. The method it describes is the product of decades of shared work, shared frustration with the risk-management orthodoxy, and shared conviction that people deserve a plainer way to think about their decisions.
We can only aspire to make the positive impact on mankind that Roger achieved.
Rest in peace, my dear friend. You will be missed for ever.
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