“Collaboration must be the way forward” urges Fire Aware

Gavin Skelly (pictured, right), CEO at Fire Aware, is focused squarely on the importance of working closely in the supply chains in the post-Grenfell era as the legal process in the aftermath of the June 2017 tragedy continues to its conclusion.

Skelly informed Fire Safety Matters: “We’ve all read the recommendations from the Public Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire and the industry is acutely aware of what can happen when fire safety isn’t right. Let’s collaborate, make certain that we’re all doing our jobs to the highest standard and ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”

Skelly continued: “The new legislation, including the Building Safety Act 2022, is quite complex and challenging for everyone involved, but it’s not insurmountable if we share issues and find solutions.”

According to Skelly: “There’s a need to commit to Best Practice beyond the legislation itself. Once a company or an individual does that then everything changes. We’re here to protect members of the public as they live and work in our towns and cities. They have a right to feel safe, and we all have a responsibility towards that safety. This is a vocation, not just another job.”

Code of Conduct

Further, Skelly has highlighted Fire Aware’s own Code of Conduct and charters, which make specific demands across all specialisms for all members who choose to join the organisation.

The charters don’t specifically request technical compliance in any particular area, but they do obligate the member company to understand its competence requirement’s for the work undertaken and to prove a consistent track record of these compliance benchmarks.

The charters ask the member business to consider (at all times) the safety of the end user and to go ‘above and beyond’ minimum standards in order to promote an enthusiasm within the member business to identify itself as an organisation that cares.

Fire Aware operates 17 charters in total including the Affiliate Charter, the Building Management Company Charter, the Commercial Landlords Charter, the Commercial Trades Charter and the Main Contractors Charter.

Cultural change

Dame Judith Hackitt – who led the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety – has, of course, called for cultural change through moral and ethical behaviours, supported by the Building Safety Regulator, which has been created to promote competence and higher standards.

Skelly firmly believes that all of those practitioners involved in the design, construction, management, maintenance and letting of buildings need to understand that they have an obligation to fire safety even if their business isn’t directly connected with fire specialisms.

For its part, Fire Aware continues to focus squarely on the moral responsibility of all those working in the fire safety supply chain including designers, developers, asset owners, managers and other key stakeholders.

The organisation aims to change the culture of the built environment sector with its moral Code of Conduct via the aforementioned series of charters designed to influence how member companies behave in upholding their Duty of Care.

Fire Aware is a recognised membership body serving the built environment and related sectors with a common aim of working and trading responsibly, all underpinned by Best Practice standards.

*Further information is available online at www.fireaware.org