From Ian Moore, CEO of the Fire Industry Association (FIA)
The last two years have been both extremely interesting and certainly challenging for the fire industry. Despite the ever-changing face of the pandemic, and the uncertainties that this fluctuation presents, we at the Fire Industry Association (FIA) are proud to have played our role in assisting the fire industry in not only surviving the pandemic but thriving throughout its duration. It is without question that this period has been a successful one for the FIA as we played a pivotal role in keeping our industry moving and growing by, for example, securing key worker status for industry practitioners and transitioning to online training.
We’re excited to announce that the FIA now has over 1,000, member companies. These are not just any companies; all FIA members must prove that they hold relevant Third-Party Certification. Membership of the FIA thereby serves as a benchmark of competency and best practice within the industry. In addition to exceeding 1,000 members, we have also amassed over 30,000 followers on LinkedIn. This is great news for our members as the larger the FIA becomes, the greater is our collective voice and the more influence we all have to effect change in the fire industry for the benefit of everyone.
Despite the pandemic, key issues such as the response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and Brexit remained of paramount importance to the industry. As in previous years, we have continued to prioritise these developments to ensure that we as an industry are able to put our best foot forward.
The FIA has been in constant and pro-active communication with government to voice the concerns of the fire safety industry on the impact of implementing the new UKCA mark. Throughout 2021, we sent several letters to Government departments, raised our concerns at numerous meetings with Government and collaborated with the Approved Bodies to provide valuable guidance and advice to our industry. This culminated in us securing a one-year extension to the implementation of the UKCA mark. On our website, we have created a hub with all the latest news and resources on this important issue.
2021 was also a year of change to fire safety legislation, with the government continuing to implement the recommendations of the Phase One Grenfell Tower report. The Fire Safety Act received royal assent on 29th April 2021, although it still requires a statutory instrument to enact its requirements, while the devolved Welsh government have already implemented the Fire Safety Act by issuing its own regulations. As the Act extends the Fire Safety Order to include the external walls of residential buildings (excluding houses), a Fire Risk Assessment now must include the external wall and associated structures of the building.
The FIA acted on this and achieved great success in the creation and application of the Building Safety Information Portal (BSIP). This has enabled the FIA to effectively manage and verify those EWS assessors registering onto the Portal, as well as the validity of the EWS-1 forms placed on the site for public retrieval.
Just as 2021 saw numerous consultations from government on the proposed new legislative framework, this year will see yet more change, more regulations, and more guidance
With the Building Safety Bill still working its way through parliament, the government has already commissioned a revision of all the supporting guides to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The secondary legislation to support the Building Safety Bill is already in draft form and provides details including the definition of a high-risk building and industry competence.
Just as 2021 saw numerous consultations from government on the proposed new legislative framework, this year will see yet more change, more regulations, and more guidance both new and revised as well as a new regulator, the HSE, looking at high risk buildings.
Looking ahead to the future, the FIA has worked extensively with our members on the Internet of Things (IoT). After undertaking a pan-European survey nine months ago, we have created the industry’s first IoT Forum. The IoT Forum has cemented itself as the industry hub for IoT with 74 members and 5 industry organisations participating who take part in 4 different task groups. Additionally, we have given seven presentations accruing over 20,000+ social media engagements and started the process of bringing the forum to FIREX, the industry’s largest exhibition, for a headline spot which we are very much looking forward to participating in on 17-19 May.
What’s more, the IoT Forum has benefitted the FIA across the board as we have had eight new FIA members join to take part; we have also strengthened our relationship with the British Standards Institute and FIREX by working together on raising the profile of the IoT within the fire industry.
Our involvement in all of these developments is assured and we do so on behalf, not just of our members, but the wider fire safety community with the aim of further improving public fire safety.
The FIA IoT Forum discussed the impact IoT is having on fire safety, and what's ahead for the technology, at FIREX International 2022 between 17-19 May.
Join the discussion and join us next year at FIREX!
