What’s the link between a cat in a box and the government’s report on the Fire Safety Order? Graham Ellicott delves into the realms of conflict and quantum theory for the answer.
I admit a liking for cats and this probably goes back to my education all those years ago, when I was fascinated to learn about Schrodinger’s Cat. You must know the beast in question?
Schrodinger’s cat illustrates the apparent conflict between what quantum theory tells us is true about the nature and behaviour of matter on the microscopic level, and what we observe to be true about the nature and behaviour of matter on the macroscopic level. As Schrodinger’s Cat is in a box, we cannot know whether it is alive or dead and thus – according to quantum law – the cat is both dead and alive in a superposition of states! There’s a bit more to it than that but given the space available here, I won’t go any further.
But while Schrodinger’s Cat is a complicated and sophisticated animal, Ellicott’s Cat is a battle-scarred old moggy Tomcat that has long rid our garden of birds and small mammals. At the moment, Ellicott’s Cat (EC) is walking with a cocky swagger that has been brought upon by my wife, who is normally a far more rational human being than I, celebrating his 15th birthday by giving him a pouch of food in jelly to augment his normal diet of dry biscuits that has fuelled him well over the last decade or more. This extra addition to his diet has meant that he now follows me around the house in search of the next pouch, and he has increased his weight by a good 20%. At first I tried to refuse him his new culinary delight, but having been ‘pawed’ a few times I gave in and gave him another one.
No going back
The moral of the story is that there is no going back to EC’s old diet, as his expectations have been raised and now he will accept nothing less. Similarly I believe that there is no going back to the regime before the Fire Safety Order. Indeed this was the conclusion from the recent FIA conference held in Stratford upon Avon; that there’s no return to the days of prescriptive legislation and fire certificates.
In CLG’s recent review Initial Evaluation of the Effectiveness of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 published in late March, some fire and rescue services suggested smaller businesses would welcome a more prescriptive approach. I see this as the thin end of the wedge to the start of going back to the old regime. It also begs the question as to how we define a small business. Similarly a return, however limited, to some prescription could divert fire and rescue resources away from enforcement – a vital area not only in raising awareness but in making people fully appreciate the consequences of not meeting their fire safety responsibilities.
The same review estimated an awareness level of the Fire Safety Order of some 60%, which I feel is probably an over estimate. One comment in the review from a fire risk assessment representative was: “It’s only anecdotal evidence, but the number of times that we have to advise people about risk assessments I would say it’s the minority of people who actually are aware of their responsibilities.” And who is to say that awareness equals compliance?
The review concludes that greater clarity is needed on the appropriate level of competency to assist with delivering compliance under the legislation, and advice on how to access it. The responsible persons interviewed as part of the review process commented on the variable quality and expertise of risk assessors and consultants. This is an issue which is being tackled head-on by the FIA through the recently established fire risk assessment council. Its chairman, Colin Todd, made the same point when the council was announced at the FIA’s AGM in November 2008: “There is a lot of uncertainty out there about what is a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment [and] who is competent to carry out a fire risk assessment. A lot of these things really go to the ultimate quality of the fire risk assessment. The fire risk assessment council can assist in trying to drill down and help with an understanding of what is a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and who is responsible to carry it out.”
Clear thinking
The review has undoubtedly been a very useful exercise in helping to identify what needs to be done, and in pinpointing those areas where a particular focus is required. At the FIA, we have also undertaken a strategic review of the market sectors that we need to address and it is interesting to see that many of those – such as houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), hotels, guest houses, hostels, take-away shops, hospitals, care homes and industrial plants – are highlighted by the review.
Clearly there is still much to be done to ensure that the requirements of the Fire Safety Order are not only more clearly communicated and understood, but that organisations comply with those requirements through fire safety measures that are based on comprehensive and robust risk assessments.
But what am I to do with Ellicott’s Cat? I was considering employing the Burmese Red cats across the street to consult upon his future diet but having seen him chase one of them up a tree and force the other to give up its catnip mouse, I wonder whether they will be impartial? And what of Schrodinger’s Cat? Well, I’m sure it will now be long dead as the great man postulated the illustration in 1935 – later in life he is rumoured to have said that he wished he had never met that cat!
What’s the link between a cat in a box and the government’s report on the Fire Safety Order? Graham Ellicott delves into the realms of conflict and quantum theory for the answer.
I admit a liking for cats and this probably goes back to my education all those years ago, when I was fascinated to learn about Schrodinger’s Cat. You must know the beast in question?
Schrodinger’s cat illustrates the apparent conflict between what quantum theory tells us is true about the nature and behaviour of matter on the microscopic level, and what we observe to be true about the nature and behaviour of matter on the macroscopic level. As Schrodinger’s Cat is in a box, we cannot know whether it is alive or dead and thus – according to quantum law – the cat is both dead and alive in a superposition of states! There’s a bit more to it than that but given the space available here, I won’t go any further.
But while Schrodinger’s Cat is a complicated and sophisticated animal, Ellicott’s Cat is a battle-scarred old moggy Tomcat that has long rid our garden of birds and small mammals. At the moment, Ellicott’s Cat (EC) is walking with a cocky swagger that has been brought upon by my wife, who is normally a far more rational human being than I, celebrating his 15th birthday by giving him a pouch of food in jelly to augment his normal diet of dry biscuits that has fuelled him well over the last decade or more. This extra addition to his diet has meant that he now follows me around the house in search of the next pouch, and he has increased his weight by a good 20%. At first I tried to refuse him his new culinary delight, but having been ‘pawed’ a few times I gave in and gave him another one.
No going back
The moral of the story is that there is no going back to EC’s old diet, as his expectations have been raised and now he will accept nothing less. Similarly I believe that there is no going back to the regime before the Fire Safety Order. Indeed this was the conclusion from the recent FIA conference held in Stratford upon Avon; that there’s no return to the days of prescriptive legislation and fire certificates.
In CLG’s recent review Initial Evaluation of the Effectiveness of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 published in late March, some fire and rescue services suggested smaller businesses would welcome a more prescriptive approach. I see this as the thin end of the wedge to the start of going back to the old regime. It also begs the question as to how we define a small business. Similarly a return, however limited, to some prescription could divert fire and rescue resources away from enforcement – a vital area not only in raising awareness but in making people fully appreciate the consequences of not meeting their fire safety responsibilities.
The same review estimated an awareness level of the Fire Safety Order of some 60%, which I feel is probably an over estimate. One comment in the review from a fire risk assessment representative was: "It’s only anecdotal evidence, but the number of times that we have to advise people about risk assessments I would say it’s the minority of people who actually are aware of their responsibilities." And who is to say that awareness equals compliance?
The review concludes that greater clarity is needed on the appropriate level of competency to assist with delivering compliance under the legislation, and advice on how to access it. The responsible persons interviewed as part of the review process commented on the variable quality and expertise of risk assessors and consultants. This is an issue which is being tackled head-on by the FIA through the recently established fire risk assessment council. Its chairman, Colin Todd, made the same point when the council was announced at the FIA’s AGM in November 2008: "There is a lot of uncertainty out there about what is a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment [and] who is competent to carry out a fire risk assessment. A lot of these things really go to the ultimate quality of the fire risk assessment. The fire risk assessment council can assist in trying to drill down and help with an understanding of what is a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, and who is responsible to carry it out."
Clear thinking
The review has undoubtedly been a very useful exercise in helping to identify what needs to be done, and in pinpointing those areas where a particular focus is required. At the FIA, we have also undertaken a strategic review of the market sectors that we need to address and it is interesting to see that many of those – such as houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), hotels, guest houses, hostels, take-away shops, hospitals, care homes and industrial plants – are highlighted by the review.
Clearly there is still much to be done to ensure that the requirements of the Fire Safety Order are not only more clearly communicated and understood, but that organisations comply with those requirements through fire safety measures that are based on comprehensive and robust risk assessments.
But what am I to do with Ellicott’s Cat? I was considering employing the Burmese Red cats across the street to consult upon his future diet but having seen him chase one of them up a tree and force the other to give up its catnip mouse, I wonder whether they will be impartial? And what of Schrodinger’s Cat? Well, I’m sure it will now be long dead as the great man postulated the illustration in 1935 – later in life he is rumoured to have said that he wished he had never met that cat!
