This year has been my first time at FIREX International, and the scale of the show has been overwhelming.
Trying to find a trend in an industry that is typically (and appropriately) cautious and slow to introduce products is a real challenge. The long approval cycles for fire safety products seem to ensure that the market grows steadily but never rapidly.
The big topic for the FIA and many of the manufacturers attending FIREX International seems to be the creeping remit of the fire services. Squeezed budgets have left UK fire services scratching their heads to try and find enough money to maintain service quality. Those making the cuts, of course, assure us that they won’t damage the effectiveness of firefighters in the communities they serve, and that response times will be maintained — while the average target seems to creep on from the often-quoted six minutes.
On Wednesday, I spoke to Graham Ellicott, CEO of the Fire Industry Association, about the unfair advantage that UK fire services trading arms are being given at the expense of the taxpayer. He is extremely concerned that taxpayer’s money is being used to set up commercial trading arms for fire services, which are then denting the businesses of smaller fire safety organisations. FIA members are among the many companies that could be said to be losing business because of this.
The private sector is having to pick up the slack in many public services from health to prisons, but the funding cuts to fire services are just leading them to set up their own commercial arms to restrict job losses. The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority announced plans to establish such a business in January to “help offset the effect of future budget cuts.”
That seems to make sense, right? It would take the burden away from the taxpayer completely. The fire authorities would use those skills and knowledge they are uniquely placed to have more wisely in order to develop safer communities with improved fire safety standards. The benefits for the economy could be significant. If those fire services can do a really good job, then we might be able to fund even more significant budget cuts in the future. If there are fewer fires, there’s less need for firefighting, right?
But is it wise, and is it fair? Ellicott made the point that a visitor to a show like FIREX sees a person in a fire service uniform on a stand and instantly attaches an increased amount of credibility to that business. The fire service-backed business will have that huge competitive advantage, and this could hurt the whole fire industry.
We must be careful when sanctioning fire service commercial arms. The UK is a world leader in fire safety, and our fire safety industry is quite possibly the strongest in the world. This all goes back to the Great Fire of London, of course, after which London basically invented the idea of a fire break. For centuries since, the UK has been at the forefront of the industry. The UK fire protection industry was estimated to be worth just less than GB pound 3 billion as of 2009.
Fire safety products are slow to develop, but so too is the move by fire services into providing commercial services. Is it right that they try to get their slice of the GB pound 3 billion on offer?
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