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Adam Bannister is a contributor to IFSEC Global, having been in the role of Editor from 2014 through to November 2019. Adam also had stints as a journalist at cybersecurity publication, The Daily Swig, and as Managing Editor at Dynamis Online Media Group.
On every metric, the annual campaign to educate landlords, tenants and the wider public about the importance of fire doors has communicated its message far more widely than in previous years.
Organisers of Fire Door Safety Week are proclaiming the campaign’s biggest impact yet.
Fire Door Safety Week, which promotes the importance of correct specification, installation and maintenance of fire doors in saving lives and protecting property, is run annually by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), BWF-Certifire scheme and the Fire Door Inspection Scheme (FDIS), in partnership with the Government’s Fire Kills campaign.
Educating landlords on their legal responsibilities is a major focus of the campaign, as is winning support from the construction supply chain and raising awareness among HMO residents, students and other groups vulnerable to shoddy fire doors, as well as the general public.
“The noise around this year’s campaign has been resounding, beating all our previous records by a considerable margin.” Hannah Mansell, BWF technical manager and Fire Door Safety Week spokesperson
The campaign was backed by 273 organisations – 54% more than last year – from the social housing, private rented housing sector, construction supply chain, fire and building consultancies and local fire and rescue services.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton and Bill Grant, former firefighter and MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, also lent their support.
The campaign ran between 25 September and 1 October this year.
Fire Door Safety Week in numbers
350 pieces of media coverage, including in the Daily Telegraph and the Mirror newspapers, and 16 broadcast items including on Radio 5 Live, LBC, BBC Radio Leeds and talkRADIO
Written media read by 2.7 million people
4 million tuned into broadcast items
6 million reached through social media campaign
Total reach of 17.7 million is almost double that of last year
‘Thunderclap’ campaign alone achieved 159 supporters, reaching 483,467 people across Twitter and Facebook
More than 8,000 engagements on Twitter (likes, replies, retweets, clicks and profile visits), almost 2,000 tweets that mentioned @FDSafetyWeek, and more than 3,800 tweets using campaign hashtag #FireDoorSafetyWeek during the week itself
“The noise around this year’s campaign has been resounding, beating all our previous records by a considerable margin,” said Hannah Mansell, BWF technical manager and Fire Door Safety Week spokesperson. “We saw great engagement from supporters and across social media in the run up, during and in the aftermath of the campaign.
“But the work carries on, and we still need to keep up that momentum. Following on from the Grenfell Tower tragedy our main focus was on high-rise tower blocks and other forms of shared accommodation. We wanted to raise awareness among tenants and landlords about the vital importance of fire safety in flats and apartments. Nobody can claim that job is yet done.
“The campaign does not just take place one week a year and then nothing happens until the following autumn; Fire Door Safety Week is a year-round campaign. The BWF and its members are involved still in running awareness events, in training fire and rescue personnel, and in supporting councils, housing associations and tenants all across the country.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to raise awareness about the importance of fire doors and to get out there to improve the safety standards of buildings as we look ahead to Fire Door Safety Week 2018.”
Fire Door Safety Week 2018 will take place between 25 September and 1 October 2018.
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Fire Door Safety Week organisers hail most effective campaign yetOn every metric, the annual campaign to educate landlords, tenants and the wider public about the importance of fire doors has communicated its message far more widely than in previous years.
Adam Bannister
IFSEC Insider | Security and Fire News and Resources
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