The Transfer Window Has Now Closed…

As a West Ham fan of over 50 years standing I sat up the other night hoping for some incoming transfers to provide cover at centre half plus the likelihood of a new striker and just possibly a holding midfielder. As it turned out there were no signings at all allegedly in part due to a lack of co-operation from other clubs. In view of this I was wondering why I’d wasted all of the time associated with this matter. And then I saw the similarity with the fire sector where on many occasions the inability of organisations to co-operate has meant that the greater good has suffered and a lot of time has been frittered away. My mind then wandered across to the possibility of a transfer window for the fire sector and who would we like to sign – below I give you my abstract thoughts …

At centre half how about Dante Alighieri (no he’s not from Lazio or Juventus!) but rather he’s the guy from Inferno (part of the Divine Comedy) and his influence in the dressing room could be great as anybody that can find their way through hell should have no problem with the fire sector and indeed his knowledge of fire systems should be immense. Also he’s associated with the immortal phrase  “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate”  (not the Roma equivalent of “I’m Forever Bowing Bubbles”!)  which I now know translates into  “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” – I’m sure I’ve seen this chiselled into the wall outside of most of the fire meetings that I’ve participated in over the last decade or so – if only my Latin had been better all those years ago I could have saved a lot of time…

Moving on to a striker for the fire world somebody that can bang in the goals is sorely needed – a single minded individual who can rise above the political quagmire and drive home that ball. Looking around I don’t see any possibilities here currently  in the real world and thus perhaps we should head for Melchester and sign up Roy Race – that’s right Roy of the Rovers!  Melchester didn’t suffer mid table obscurity and life was always exciting for their fans – we certainly need some extra colour and verve in the fire world and some new blood could bring this even if we have to use artistic licence to sign it up!

For anybody that has ever dealt with a Government Department then they’ll know that they’re the best place to find a holding midfielder – some of the stuff that we talk to them about now has been ongoing for years and their ability to hold the ball and then kick it into the long grass has to be seen to be believed!  This means that serious problems that require a remedy never get dealt with – so much so that the European Government equivalent of UEFA sometimes has to get involved to help find the ball!

But what about outgoing transfers and the reasoning behind them? Well apart from the long overdue departure of myself from the this fascinating game we call the fire sector – in my opinion there’s a whole load of people that would be better off hanging up their boots or heading for the lower leagues. But to go further could be libellous …

And for those of you that want to enter the fire sector you might want to remember Dante’s phrase namely “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate”  before you consider your options prior to the opening of the next Transfer Window!

 

By Graham Ellicott, FIA CEO

This year’s AGM & Lunch was the best one so far!

Without having seen the official feedback results yet, the people I have spoken to so far have said this year’s AGM & Lunch was possibly the best one so far !

We have stuck to an event formula which is tried and trusted. We have a two hour AGM followed by a drinks reception and a then a lunch which includes a few awards and an after lunch speaker. We have learnt that the speaker is the most important part for a successful event and that they need to be funny !

Christine Hamilton brought her husband Neil (the man who lost the 5th safest seat in the land !) as support as she was recovering from ankle surgery and it was interesting to see his face as she laid into him with some of her jokes. Whilst not up to Charles Brandreth standard the ‘wife from hell’ gave an interesting insight into life behind the scenes. I think Christine was a bit like Christmas, the build-up and intrigue are probably the best bit, whilst the day itself is good but does not quite live up to the hype.

Phil Toase our ‘Maurice Bean Memorial, Life Time Achievement within the Fire Safety profession’ award winner graciously accepted his award and told us that now he is fully retired he could tell exactly what he thinks, and that fire brigades should not be charging and trading and that third party certification is the way forward. This is just what we wanted to hear and we didn’t even need to twist his arm. Whilst Bob Choppen’s honorary membership award will be presented at next year’s event as our award winner was unable to bet here on the day, we were delighted to recognise Frank Fitch’s contribution as one of UK’s leading foam experts, with honorary membership. Frank whilst almost fully retired still represents the UK on CEN (European) standards committee.

Phil Toase

The venue is one of the things in the formula that we like to change but we have now exhausted the locations that are affordable and can house the large number for a drinks reception and lunch and accommodate the AGM for approximately 120. We have been at 8 Northumberland before. It is the most central London venue of its type and therefore works well for travel but it is tight to fit us all in. Next year we are at the much larger ‘Brewery’, another venue we have been to before.

We used a lot of info graphics in both the Annual report and the AGM presentations this year. They also seem to have gone down well and are great to use as slides rather than getting stuck with text, and for the second year running we used video interviews to break up the format. It was strange to have Colin Todd sat next to me whilst we sat watching him on the big screen. To be fair Colin is great at presenting, being interviewed live or via video but at least by video I can keep him to time !

Our Chairman, Mr Harvey, does a very good job at hosting and is so easy going that I tend to forgive him when he goes off script. A script that is very carefully worded and has many hours spent on it !  He makes the interviews run smoothly and we were bang on time this year.

 

There were some major constitutional changes agreed. We introduced a new affiliate membership which we will roll out in the new year. This aims to bring us closer with some of the key stakeholders by bringing them into the fold. We split membership categories ‘C’ and ‘E1’ to help level out the turnover banding which relates to turnover and clarified what turnover is counted. Those that are affected by the changes in category will see a saving whilst all others stay at the same rate that was set in 2007. The Chairman also announced that we plan to hold the subscription rates for another 5 years, barring the usual caveats and massive inflation !

We introduced a ‘suggestion box’ on the dining tables this year and promised a bottle of champagne for the best suggestion. With 31 entries which is 8.6% of those attending it was worth doing and we now have a selection headache. The first review of the suggestions was interesting with many relating to activities or positions we have or are currently working on. This tells us we need to communicate more and we may drip feed these into focus messages over the coming months. Some of the suggestions included an FIA mascot (a man sized costumed version that the General Manager has to wear on stage) and releasing an FIA single, a cover of YMCA ‘it’s fun to work at the F – F I A. Let’s just say, those two suggest that the writer probably does not need the bubbly !

Roll on 11^th November 2015 when we will do it all over again.

 

By Martin Duggan, FIA General Manager

Euralarm Conference Heads to France

St Juan les Pins, France, earlier this month

The Euralarm AGM & Conference was set in a glorious venue with the hotel sitting on the edge of the Mediterranean in southern France just along from Cannes. Frequent helicopters passing overhead evidenced the arrival of the rich and famous for the film festival attempting to upstage our own prestigious event.

The setting for the Euralarm conference

But once we launched there was no time to be distracted; more than 50 delegates had assembled to follow the proceedings and Marc Chabaud, Euralarm President, gave a warm opening introduction. Marc highlighted the release of a formal Annual Report for 2013/2014 that overviewed all the actions and achievements of Euralarm during the year. There followed an informal dialogue led by our own Chairman, Martin Harvey, allowing the various Section and TC Chairs to give some details of their activities and to discuss their plans for the future. For more information read the Euralarm annual report 14>>

Derek Harrington speaking at the conference

 

Two changes to the statutes were proposed and accepted:

• The first will allow research associations to become members (giving an opportunity for growth) and the second was an easing of the rules for selection of auditors
• The day closed with a presentation from a group of French associations – GESI, GPMSE, IGNES & SVDI – of their common view on the future of Product Certification in Europe supporting ‘one stop testing’

So, with the first day’s work done and with plenty to talk about, we assembled at a restaurant on the beach close to the hotel for the Gala Dinner and an excellent networking event.

The second day featured the Safe and Secure Solutions for Smarter Cities conference. The following topics were covered:

• Public Emergency Alarm & Response in Crisis situations
• Fire Safety and Security in Hotels
• Smart Safety and Security in Cities 2020

The theme of Fire Safety and Security in Hotels is of particular interest to the fire industry and some interesting facts were presented.

Did you know…

Europe is the top worldwide tourist destination with 480M tourists visiting every year. The sector represents 4% of the EU GDP!

The Euralarm position is that Europe needs world-class products and systems, harmonized fire safety policies and strong enforcement by local authorities. Currently legislation across EU member states is inconsistent and Euralarm is calling for a legally binding EU-level instrument such as a Directive.

Well that gave us all plenty to think about but there was still the final day featuring the various Euralarm Section meetings. I attended the Fire Section and we had a very busy agenda.

One topic that has been discussed for some time but is starting to become more important is the relationship between the EN 54 series and the ISO 7240 series of standards. ISO has changed its rules; since 1^st May 2014, if a standard has not been adopted by more than five countries when it comes up for its five year systematic review, it will be withdrawn. The European fire industry needs to decide whether or not to support the ISO standards that will allow free access of their products to growth and sales in the International markets outside Europe and the US.

Strikes by French air traffic control stranded some of the delegates forcing them to endure yet another day in sunny St Juan les Pins allowing further debate of the proceedings… unfortunately I made it home!

 

Graham Simons, Technical Manager, FIA

Bandits at 12 0’Clock Over Hendon!

By Graham Ellicott, FIA CEO

Having worked in the fire industry for well over 30 years I know that I’m getting on a bit but a day out recently speaking at a fire seminar at RAF Hendon took me back even further to the late 1960s – is that really getting on for 50 years ago?

As a callow youth I had the great fortune to fly Chipmunks out of RAF Woodvale and that included aerobatics such as stall turns and barrel rolls. Imagine the scene – a spotty youth trying to keep down his breakfast while fighting to control the joystick as he hums Eric Coates’ Dam Buster march and shouts into the throat microphone ‘Roger, Woodvale Tower. Bandits at twelve o’clock. Wilco and out.’ Too much reading of Biggles methinks…

And to compound my elevated age the Chipmunk was a replacement for none other than that famous biplane the Tiger Moth!

So what reminded me in particular of my advanced years? Well it was the immaculately preserved Chipmunk in the Hendon Museum and my guess is that it could have been there nearly 20 years having retired from RAF service in 1996!

The preserved Chipmunk that led to the reminscing

However, the seminar was anything but dated with much information regarding the up to date approach of London Fire Brigade and, in particular, its enforcement activities. The LFB speaker also discussed their initiatives with sprinklers and false alarms not to mention Primary Authority Schemes and trends in fires and their associated causes.

Trade speakers at the seminar gave excellent presentations on numerous subjects including Technology Evolution via Digital Platforms, Lifetime Cost Management, Radio Fire Detection, Aspirating Fire Detection and the Door Control Standard BS BS 7273-4:2007.

Most seminar delegates also took advantage of the Museum and, being around military aircraft, many remembered their time in the armed services. Indeed it’s only when you get talking to people in this type of situation that you realise how much some have achieved in life with many of them having risked their lives for the greater good of us all. Some of the exploits told made my stall turn in a Chipmunk seem pretty tame and my playing at being a fighter pilot pretty pathetic…

Follow the Signs

We all follow the fire safety signs in our work places don’t we? We know what that little white man on the green background means. Or is it a little green man?

Over the years there have been a number of signs that are supposed to show how we get out of a building in the event of a fire or other emergency, all following either European legislation (Safety Signs Directive) implemented in the UK as Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 or, of course, the British standards we had.

So we had our British signs but did you notice when you went to Europe that they weren’t exactly the same as ours? There was no European standard setting out what signs should look like so you could follow the examples in the Directive but you could adapt them to suit your needs.

Well, all that has changed. Not only do we now have a European standard; it’s actually an international standard, BS EN ISO 7010. So, yes, all fire safety signs the world over should look the same and carry the same information. OK, I’ll have to fly the flag here – the ISO was based on the BS so they are really still our signs so it won’t be that much of a culture shock for the UK.

To help end users and fire companies we (the FIA) have produced a guide that explains the new standard and gives examples of what signs should be used. Questions like how high they should be mounted; what lighting is required; whether you can use photoluminescent signs on escape routes; and similar questions are answered in the short guide. Of course, as with everything, the guide is just that (a guide) and we’d always recommend you consult with your competent service provider.

The guidance will also be incorporated into the next revision of the FIA’s Best Practice Guide but to get you own copy right now simply download it from our website>>

Rob Thilthorpe, Technical Manager

Learning more about the FIA

Above: Monica Keats Caricature

In an effort to make fire safety advice more accessible we’ve produced three informative videos which have been released throughout June.  I’m pleased to say that these videos have been well received and today, last but not least, I’ve released our final video – An Introduction to the FIA.

This video is a short (but sweet) explanation of why trade associations are important and what the FIA can do for you. By coming together we can give fire protection companies a loud voice through lobbying activities and Standards committees.

With contributions from CEO Graham Ellicott, Compliance Manager Vicky Keeble, Training Manager Ian Gurling and Sales Manager Michael Gregg – the video highlights our wide range of training courses, membership benefits and services to help members become Third Party Certified. Our main criteria for membership is Third Party Certification which helps up to guarantee that FIA members are a cut above the rest but also encourages other companies to aim for Third Party Certification.

So, why not watch now and find out more about who we are and what we do:

If you missed our other video releases see:

Construction Products Regulation: Is this the end of quality marks?

Fire Risk Assessments: An Introduction

By Monica Keats, Marketing Communications Executive

Infographic: How to Cut False Alarm Costs

Some of you may know that in July last year we launched our Cut False Alarms Costs! campaign and microsite as part of ongoing attempts to highlight the costs associated with false fire alarms.

In an effort to make complex fire stats and information more easy to digest for end-users, we’ve produced an infographic about How to Cut False Alarm Costs.

With an emphasis on the opportunity to save money through properly managing detection systems, the infographic is designed to be a creative way for ‘fire people’ to share false alarms advice with ‘non-fire people’.  So, please share away!

By Monica Keats

Is this the end of national quality marks?

Here, at the FIA, we’re keen to share knowledge and information with the fire industry whenever we can. Those of you who attended the FIA Conference in March this year will know that Christian Lais of Euralarm gave a presentation on Construction Products Regulations (CPR).

The introduction of the CPR and the change of status of CE marking could potentially mean the end of national quality marks. This video of Christian’s presentation explains  the requirements for construction product suppliers after 1st July 2013 and the possible impact on quality marks.

By Monica Keats, Marketing Communications Executive

Taking the Pith Out Of Ellicott…

By Graham Ellicott, FIA CEO

There is a persistent urban legend that claims the prevalence of the ‘thhhh’ sound in cerveza (funny how beer is the first example that springs to mind!) in Castilian Spanish can be traced back to a Spanish king who spoke with a lisp, and thus his subjects felt duty bound to follow him.  This myth has been discredited by scholars for lack of evidence but I wonder whether they were right…

I ask myself this as I now have a lisp and have had it for a couple of weeks; perhaps my allegiance to King Pedro of Castile has been latent and has now surfaced?  It certainly has made ordering a beer in ‘Barthelona’ easier and as for reading ‘Therevantes’ well, that’s a doddle.

There are, however, drawbacks as I found out last week when I had to give presentations in public; people look at you oddly and, in my case, say ‘He’s even scarier than he normally is!” But more about this later.

The presentations I gave were at FIREX International, the mega fire trade show by UBM at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. I had to give two back-to-back presentations which, at my age, is a mental strain!  I guess the drop in audience for the latter one on Fire Service Trading is a reflection of this!  At this stage I have to award the Ellicott Prize for Perseverance to Malcolm Brightman of Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service who sat through both and is living proof that my presentations are not a total cure for insomnia. Malcolm I’m next presenting at…

From the FIA’s point of view, FIREX International was a success with plenty of visitors to our stands, plus we won the Charity Quiz! Any further innuendos about a fix will not be tolerated; indeed, such unkind comments could warrant a visit from me with both presentations.

Back to the ‘even scarier’ comment that possibly was generated by the fact that I have a front tooth missing at the moment; these run ins with the Chief Fire Officers Association can be hazardous and as one Chief Fire Officer said to me ‘You look really scary with your tie done up and as for that poking your tongue through the gap well’. His brigade has been signed up for the Ellicott 2013 summer reading of ‘Oranges are not the only fruit’ so they can remove the pith- that is assuming that they stay awake…

FIRESA Reception: Mission Accomplished

By David Smith, FIRESA Council Secretary

If there’s one thing better than organising a worthwhile event, it’s having organised a worthwhile event. I tend to find them quite stressful and have a palpable sense of relief once it’s all over. The FIRESA Reception held on Thursday 2^nd May at our office in Hampton was such an event and I’m pleased it’s ‘mission accomplished’.

The Reception formally welcomed our newest group of members, made up of companies that were integrated into the FIA from FIRESA at the start of April.

For those that are not aware, The FIA has provided FIRESA’s secretariat services for the last eight years but it was an independent body until the full merger last month, which was agreed earlier this year.

We started the morning with a session led by the FIRESA Council’s trusty Chairman, Derek Gotts, looking at the FIRESA Council’s achievements over the past year and its future objectives. Few would doubt that the Fire and Rescue sector has been subject to significant transition over recent years and calmer waters are not yet on the horizon. As we move through 2013, the Fire and Rescue sector faces particular challenges both internally and under the influence of several external factors.

FIRESA was often described in its infancy as the official opposition to Firebuy, the organisation set up to administer the, then, ODPM’s National Procurement Strategy. I would argue that it was never as simple as that but with reports of Firebuy’s demise having been realised early in the Coalition government tenure in its ‘bonfire of the quangos’, the FIRESA Council’s work has evolved, and will continue to do so as a multi-dimensional body acting on all fronts on behalf of the fire fighting supply industry.

We also had two terrifically informative presentations from external speakers. First up was CFO Ian Hayton of Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service, perhaps currently one of the more controversial figures in the sector, given his plans to mutate the FRS into a public service mutual which would include their already-active commercial trading arm.

Ian explained that this is in response to government grant award cuts that have led him to implement radical changes in Cleveland’s service delivery model. The Fire Minister, Brandon Lewis, is trying to push through the necessary regulatory changes that would allow this and any future mutuals to operate as legal Fire and Rescue Services although it was emphasised that this does not imply that all Services should become mutuals. It appears, however, that the very same changes in law would open the door not only to employer-led mutuals but to provision of these services by commercial organisations acting under the jurisdiction of the local Fire and Rescue Authority.

Next up was CFO Paul Fuller of Bedfordshire and Luton FRS who spoke in his role as Vice-President of the Chief Fire Officers Association. Touching on the previous issue, he noted the CFOA view that it is opposed to FRS privatisation before going on to discuss a number of issues that are presently being addressed. Among them was what he sees as the success of the Integrated Risk Management Planning approach by the FRS’s and the increasing levels of sophistication being applied to determining and responding to fire risks at a local level. Certainly, Paul sees this widening to become a shared process involving the full spectrum of the fire safety community and with the goal of making real safety improvements to the built environment.

The second part of the day offered a timely chance for our FIRESA-derived members to gain an initial overview of important information about the Associations’ activities from those members of the FIA Team who drive the various functions which will now serve the new FIRESA Council.

I’m delighted to report some very appreciative feedback immediately after the event and indeed, this morning as I opened my e-mail box. I hope one of our guests, Susan Munro of Monro Kempton Associates, doesn’t mind me quoting her saying ‘The day was extremely informative and useful in the context of what is happening regarding potential privatisation and the development of mutuals and the implications this will have on EU Procurement, Localism and the future of contracting. The speakers were excellent and humorous. Additionally, I was impressed by the services offered by the FIA and the wider benefits in addition to the all-important networking you can offer’.

Thank you Susan and finally, thanks to everyone who was involved and attended yesterday.