5 Stories From the Fire Industry Last Week

1. “Next Step Forward for Pension Negotiations Is ‘Simple and Achievable,’ States FBU“

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Monday, November 4, saw firefighters strike for a third time as a two-hour walkout took place across England and Wales between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.

The FBU’s General Secretary, Matt Wrack, said:

The next step forward for pension negotiations is simple and achievable. If, as it claims to be, the Government is serious about protecting firefighters from being sacked without access to their pensions, why will it not draft the pension regulations accordingly?

The FBU and the national fire service employers have received independent legal advice showing that regulations governing firefighter retirement must be drafted to ensure that promises over job and pension protection can be kept.

2. “Fire Safety Standards at Risk in the North East“

Officials in the North East have warned of the potentially “devastating nature” of planned cuts to the fire service.

The service is facing up to GB pound 8 million of budget cuts across the Tyne and Wear region. Just over 130 firefighters could lose their jobs — around 20 percent of the total workforce. Chief Fire Officer, Tom Capeling:

I cannot hide from the fact that we will be slower [in responding to incidents]. You cannot remove a big load of resources like this and still be the same force. Our response service is among the best in the country, but we can no longer protect the response that we provide.

3. Blue Watch Scheme Offers Landlords Fire Advice

In 2012 no less than 9,000 people were injured as a result of fire incidents in the home, and 4,000 suffered from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

Clearly, the authorities wish to see a reduction in these numbers. To facilitate that scenario, a new register has been established by the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) and the UK’s Fire and Rescue Services.

The Blue Watch scheme encourages landlords to make their rental properties safer from fire and CO risks, in turn giving themselves — and both current and potential tenants — peace of mind.

The scheme will help ensure that the correct safety products and procedures are in place in rented properties (where the risk of fire and CO is far higher than in bought dwellings).

4. Is It Time for a National Fire Safe Register?

Does the UK need a Fire Safe Register? If the outcome of a workshop at the recent Fire Sector Summit is used as a yardstick, the answer is yes.

Chaired by Passive Fire Protection Federation chairperson Mike Wood, the BM TRADA-sponsored workshop heard from a range of experts at the ASFP, the FBU, and Warrington Certification.

The most likely form of a Fire Safe Register would be as an umbrella scheme representing the third-party certification schemes already established. Any UKAS-approved third-party accreditation scheme would be eligible for inclusion on the register. This would cover areas like fire door installation, fire risk assessment, and fire detection and alarm systems.

5. Asbestos Risk Facing Installers

Each year, over 4,000 people die prematurely as a result of exposure to asbestos.

Engineers installing security and fire alarm systems are particularly at risk.

According to Claire Rizos, compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is “patchy,” so it can be commonplace for fire system installers to find themselves in buildings old enough to include asbestos-containing materials about which there’s little or no information.

Drilling into ceilings, ‘chasing’ cables and working in roof voids are only some of the activities that might disturb asbestos. Installers should ask their clients for the asbestos register before starting work. This enables them to view the locations of any known asbestos.

That said, the register will only be as good as the survey. On that basis, engineers must try to establish the extent of any survey which contributed to the register.