IN TANDEM with the building owners and safety managers who employ them, fire risk assessors now face additional challenges when it comes to satisfying new legal requirements designed to meet fire safety competency standards that have come into force with commencement of the Fire Safety Act 2021, and which will increase still further now that the Building Safety Bill has achieved Royal Assent to become the Building Safety Act 2022. That’s the firm belief of the Fire Sector Federation.

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THE ASSOCIATION for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has expanded its guidance offer for practising fire safety professionals thanks to the release of three new and also three updated documents.

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ON THURSDAY 28 April, Western Business Media – publisher of Fire Safety Matters and its sister ABC-audited magazine, namely Security Matters – held the inaugural edition of the Fire & Security Matters Awards at the CBS Arena in Coventry. On the night, the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Stephen Adams, former CEO of BAFE.

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ELECTROTECHNICAL AND engineering services trade body the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has called for more stringent competency requirements in the Building Safety Act 2022. The Building Safety Bill was introduced by the Government nearly a year ago following on from the Grenfell Tower disaster (in which 72 people died) and, of course, Dame Judith Hackitt’s subsequent Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

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THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) has called for the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to be renationalised. A motion on this issue was passed at the Trade Union’s recent Annual Conference, which stands as the first in-person conference to be run by the organisation since the pandemic took hold.

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ON WEDNESDAY 4 May at noon, Fire and Rescue Services across the country observed a minute’s silence to mark Firefighters Memorial Day. The National Fire Chiefs Council also paid tribute and duly recognised the ongoing dedication and commitment of brave UK firefighters, particularly so those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice.

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THE INAUGURAL Fire & Security Matters Awards took place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on the evening of Thursday 28 April. Celebrating the work conducted by organisations, teams and individuals from across the UK, the black-tie gala dinner and awards ceremony included representation from a significant number of National Security Inspectorate (NSI)-approved companies who’ve achieved the highest standards of excellence and innovation in their ongoing desire to keep people and property safe.

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THE FIRE Brigades Union’s (FBU) first ‘in-person’ conference since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic will take place over four days at The Grand Hotel in Brighton from 10-13 May.

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THE GOVERNMENT’S Building Safety Bill received Royal Assent on Thursday 28 April 2022. Following months of debates and tabled amendments, the Building Safety Act 2022 is intended to ‘create lasting generational change’ to the way in which high-risk and high-rise residential buildings are both constructed and maintained.

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THE TWENTY sixth episode of the Fire Safety Matters Podcast is now live to view and available to download or stream for free. In this episode, Mark Sennett (CEO at Western Business Media) chats with Ken Bullock (business development manager for emergency evacuation systems at Advanced) about BS 8629.

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