2022-2023 Board of Trustee Directors and IGA leaders named by IFE

The new Board of Trustee Directors was announced at the IFE’s 99th AGM, which was held on Tuesday 18 October at Aviva’s headquarters in London.

Parina Patel BSc (Hons) PhD CEng MIFireE boasts great experience ranging from concept design, construction and handover right through to expert witness work. As a result, Patel is a “true believer” in fire engineering involvement from start to finish in the building lifecycle.

Patel is an active member of the IFE and currently undertaking training to become a member of the IFE Registrants Group, which reviews and interviews prospective CEng applicants. She is also a member of the IFE’s Special Interest Group for Heritage Buildings and the IFE’s Women in Fire Engineering Networking Group.

On being elected to the Board of Trustee Directors, Patel commented: “I’m honoured to have been selected by the IFE’s members to represent them on the Board of Trustee Directors. Over the next three years, I hope I can bring my enthusiasm for problem solving to the IFE’s Board and help in attaining its strategic goals. I’m keen to push diversity in the sector and show that people of all genders, ages, backgrounds and ethnicities can thrive and make a difference. To be truly effective, fire engineers should reflect the society they serve.”

As stated, Chris Bilby GIFireE, Hao-giang Tay BSc (Hons) MSc CFIFireE and James Lane BEng (Hons) CEng FIFireE have been re-elected to remain on the Board.

In essence, the IFE’s Trustee Directors help the organisation to grow, influence and shape the global fire sector as it responds to new challenges and opportunities. They work in a voluntary capacity and are appointed for a term of three years. The full Board of Trustee Directors can be viewed here.

International General Assembly leaders

A further two appointments following the AGM are for IFE International General Assembly leaders. The IGA is made up of representatives from IFE branches and Special Interest Groups and meets twice each year to proactively share learnings.

Jacob Derrick IEng CBuild E MCABE MIFSM MIET MIFireE has been appointed as the new IGA leader. Derrick has been involved with the IGA for the past four years.

“Over the last few years,” explained Derrick, “I’ve seen the IFE move through several phases of change and observed the desire of the IGA to pursue real transformation. The members of the IGA all share a common goal of improvement of fire safety and driving better industry practices.”

He added: “During my time as IGA leader, I’m particularly keen to ensure that the UK-centric views are balanced with international perspectives, and I would like to bring greater awareness of the IGA to IFE members more widely and help the continued growth of the stature. With the support and assistance of the IGA membership, I’m confident that we can drive real and positive change. I look forward to working with everyone involved.”

Further, Jason Hill GIFireE from the IFE’s New Zealand branch has been appointed as the IGA vice-leader.

International president update

As reported by Fire Safety Matters, the IFE recently announced the appointment of Dr Peter Wilkinson MIScT CEng FIFireE as international president.

Wilkinson stated: “It’s truly an honour to be the IFE’s international president 2022-2023. My aim for the next 12 months is to strengthen the ties the IFE enjoys on the international stage with as many of the other major bodies in the fire safety world as possible.”