EAPFP President Vicente Mans
At the meeting on 26-27 November a broad consensus was evident among delegates that voluntary certification marks must never conflict with the transnational EU standard, the CE mark.
Meanwhile, Chief Fire Officer Pat Fleming, chair of the Chief Fire Officers’ Association in Ireland, raised misgivings about the competency of many installers and fire-safety professionals in regard to the onerous building regulations introduced in the wake of the construction scandals that dogged the Celtic Tiger in the mid 2000s.
The Building Control Amendment Regulations (BCAR) place more responsibility on designers and specifiers to ensure that buildings are being constructed correctly.
With competency a recurring theme during the two-day meeting, many representatives declared their involvement in initiatives aimed at educating installers, specifiers, designers and enforcement authorities. Training courses for installers were being launched in Norway and the UK, for example, while seminars promoting the importance of third-party-certificated products were being held in many other countries.
Another major fear raised at the gathering was that building regulations in many countries were failing to keep abreast of changing technology and more widespread use of fire safety engineering. Combustible building materials were increasingly being deployed to meet more stringent standards surrounding energy efficiency and thermal insulation, delegates heard.
Large-scale testing was imperative, it was widely agreed among members of the EAPFP, which includes national associations representing manufacturers, contractors and other institutions involved in passive fire protection across Europe.
“The EAPFP aims to identify issues of interest and concern affecting its members throughout Europe,” said EAPFP President Vicente Mans.
“As a result of this meeting, we have identified a number of key areas where a European-wide campaign may be beneficial and where we can develop future initiatives to raise awareness of passive fire protection throughout Europe and improve the standard of installation.”
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