Registration opens for Fire Safety Matters Live Manchester 2026

Fire Safety Matters Live Manchester is underpinned by an excellent conference programme accredited for Continuing Professional Development through the Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM). The day features eleven presentations followed by a Fire Safety Mock Trial delivered thanks to regulatory lawyers James Muller and Elliot Kenton from leading law firm Weightmans.

The first session of the day begins at 9.15 am and features Iain Ronaldson (head of fire safety at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust) outlining critical fire safety risks within a live healthcare environment undergoing complex remediation. The 30-minute session will observe the challenges of maintaining safe evacuation strategies, compartmentation and compliance while works are ongoing and patients remain in situ.

At 9.45 am, Adil Sardardeen (sustainability manager at Headline Sponsor Apollo Fire Detectors) reviews the subject of ‘Understanding Fire Safety Sustainability Compliance’. The core of this discussion elaborates on how circular economy principles can reduce waste and improve material decisions in both a credible and proportionate way.

Dr Karthik Govarthanam (technical director at Firefly) joins conference at 10.10 am to examine ways in which to overcome compartmentation challenges in existing buildings. This session highlights what Approved Document B requires from compartment walls, fire stopping and concealed spaces before considering how single-sided systems can provide practical and evidence-supported solutions.

Prior to the first coffee and networking break of the day at 10.50 am, Aico’s relationship manager Robert Avery is scheduled to spend 20 minutes concentrating on Best Practice when it comes to meeting recognised industry standards across training, competency and systems installation.

Risks posed by lithium-ion batteries

One of the most popular subjects for debate and discussion in the sector at present is the risk of fire posed by lithium-ion batteries. With this in mind, Fire Safety Matters Live includes a presentation on the topic courtesy of Chris Dunne (UK sales engineer) and Tom Codd (product manager) of FFE. From 11.20 am, conference will hear how flame detection can support such higher-risk applications, looking at fire behaviour, environmental factors, detector selection and the important process of false alarm management.

11.45 am sees the start of a three-way discussion involving Rob Bullen (senior solutions consultant at HSI HandsHQ), Paul Jenkinson (founder and director of Accredex) and James Knott (Health and Safety manager for SJ Eastern). ‘Building Fire Safety Competence for Tomorrow’ explores how competence in the fire safety domain is evolving in order to meet the demands of modern buildings, emerging technology and evolving regulations alike.

Keith Plowman (fire engineering and fire safety consultant at the Global HSE Group) joins conference at 12.10 pm to detail how practitioners can effectively manage risk, maximise limited budgets and maintain high standards of resident safety through practical decision-making, targeted investment and adopting a balanced approach towards service delivery.

Immediately prior to lunch is a session from Simpro, the details for which are still to be confirmed.

Everyday obstacles

‘Everyday Obstacles Encountered by Fire Safety Risk Assessors’ kick-starts the afternoon session at conference, with Lukasz Lakomiec (specialist Health and Safety and fire safety consultant at Howden) assessing how organisational culture can either support or obstruct compliance. This session begins at 1.50 pm.

2.10 pm realises a presentation on fire safety at the John Lewis Partnership. Lee Goupillot (fire safety advisor for the business) looks at waste electrical and electronic equipment in the retail and distribution environments.

The penultimate presentation of the day outlines how one of the UK’s biggest fire safety prosecution cases – involving the Beechmere retirement village in Crewe – eventually collapsed. James Muller from Weightmans is the speaker.

Accompanying exhibition

No fewer than 60 of the leading fire safety systems and solution providers are taking part in the accompanying exhibition. Delegates attending conference and the exhibition will leave the venue at circa 4.30 pm armed with a host of practical ideas, details of innovative approaches, news on the latest products and solutions and valuable industry connections all designed to help drive real improvements within their host organisations.

In addition to Headline Sponsor Apollo Fire Detectors, Fire Safety Matters Live Manchester 2026 is sponsored by Aico, FFE, Firefly, the Global HSE Group, HSI HandsHQ, Simpro, the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board and the IFSM.

Indeed, the IFSM will be running its Annual General Meeting and Technical Conference at the same venue on the same day, while the National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers is once again delivering its ever-popular Training and Partnership Event.

Industry supporters of Fire Safety Matters Live Manchester 2026 also include the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, BAFE, FireQual and, of course, the Fire Industry Association.

*Registration for Fire Safety Matters Live 2026 is free of charge. Visit the event’s dedicated website for further information and register online now to join 600-plus of your peers for a day of first-class education and networking