RETAIL REFURBISHMENT projects present a rather unique set of fire safety challenges that must be carefully managed throughout every stage of the works, writes Ramtech Electronics. From the earliest design decisions and material selection through to construction methods and site management, fire risk should remain a central consideration. This is particularly important in retail environments, where refurbishment work often takes place in complex buildings that may remain partially occupied or operational during construction.

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WITH THE summer term drawing to a close, fire safety might not be front of mind in the school domain, observes Tom Roche, yet a run of recent incidents is a reminder that risk doesn’t take a holiday simply because the academic year is winding down.

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WITH THE Grenfell Tower fire having occurred nearly a decade ago, the conversation around fire safety competency continues, writes Justin Maltby-Smith, but concerns around consistency and transparency in the sector remain. These concerns play a central role in the Government’s consultation on regulation of the sector due to the fact that the debate isn’t simply about frameworks, registers or professionalisation. It’s also about public safety.

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TWO DECADES ago, writes Tom Roche, a piece of regulatory guidance quietly set a ceiling – quite literally – on what a warehouse could be without sprinklers. That 18-metre height limit in Approved Document B was, at the time, an outer boundary to signal a building that was going taller than perhaps the norm. Now, warehouses look very different. Has our thinking about protecting them from fire kept pace?

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FIRE SAFETY in Scotland marked a defining moment on 6 April with the introduction of new regulations requiring sprinkler systems to be installed in historic building conversions used as hotels. For many commentators and practitioners, this represents a necessary step forward, writes Iain Cox.

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FOR MANY fire protection contractors, observes Onetrace, the biggest risk isn’t the installation work itself. It’s the records surrounding it. Photos and site updates can be buried in personal phones and WhatsApp chats. Quality assurance sheets sit in folders and drawings are marked up manually.

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SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING across major infrastructure has become increasingly sophisticated, writes Tom Roche. Airports and transport hubs now measure greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3, publish reduction targets and track year-on-year progress. That progress matters, while the discipline behind it represents a significant shift in terms of how infrastructure organisations approach environmental responsibility.

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BACK IN late March, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government launched its open consultation on the Fire Risk Assessors Profession in England. The consultation closes on 18 June. Here, Dennis Davis outlines why it’s essential that all practitioners responsible for fire safety in the estimated three million buildings in England where the legal requirement exists to undertake a fire risk assessment, record the findings and take any necessary actions under the Fire Safety Order must respond.

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THE FIRE safety industry is proceeding through radical change realised in large part by legislation. Here, Gavin Skelly covers the hugely important issue of the need for cultural change and outlines why the moral responsibility for those with a Duty of Care is a vocation, not just a job or a compliance exercise.

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‘WHY SPRINKLER Water – Not Fire – is Mass Timber’s Greatest Threat’ was the original headline of a recent research-based article, writes Tom Roche. Take a moment with that headline. A system that keeps fires at bay is being positioned as a greater danger than the fire itself. The claim attracted enough concern that the article was subsequently revised, but the framing had landed and deserves a direct response.

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IN FEBRUARY 1877, notes Tom Roche, a fire broke out in a Massachusetts mill. It was, by most accounts, an unremarkable fire and the kind of incident that, at any other time, would have gutted a building, destroyed livelihoods and perhaps cost lives. On this occasion, though, something different happened.

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ACROSS THE country, observes Gareth Barker, Fire and Rescue Services are called to medical emergencies, including road traffic collisions, industrial accidents and collapsed persons in public spaces. Fire crews often arrive before any ambulance and, particularly so in rural areas where response times are longer, firefighters may be the only trained responders on scene for several critical minutes.

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AS THE use of drones continues to accelerate across defence operations, organisations throughout the defence supply chain are facing new safety and compliance challenges. Here, Mike Brodie explains why hazardous storage is a key consideration for supporting modern defence capability.

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ONE TRUISM that catches the attention at the moment is the sheer scale of logistics buildings, writes Tom Roche. In particular, there’s renewed momentum behind designs of sheds that exceed 18 metres in height. Storage arrays on this scale are truly challenging, but do we all understand what those challenges are?

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S Day 2026, which is observed on 8 March, is a moment to recognise and celebrate the achievements of women, while reflecting on the progress still to be made. In the fire and life safety domain, writes the Fire Industry Association (FIA), that reflection carries particular significance.

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THE FIRE industry here in the UK has always defined itself by responsibility, writes Simon Lyons. Responsibility to protect life. Responsibility to safeguard property. Responsibility to uphold compliance. Today, that responsibility has expanded and, as such, leadership must expand with it.

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THE FIRE Sector Confederation stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution, writes Steve McGuirk. What began as a necessary reorganisation has blossomed into something even more significant: the emergence of a convenor for fire safety collaboration and co-ordination in the UK.

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AS HOTELS across the UK now welcome record numbers of guests, one threat continues to grow quietly in the background, writes Hyfire. That threat is the fire risk posed in what are now increasingly complex buildings.

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CONTINUING THE organisation’s commitment to progress, innovation and inclusivity within the fire sector, Steve Hamm outlines new initiatives for 2026 that will reinforce the Institution of Fire Engineers’ (IFE) mission of assisting fire professionals worldwide to excel in their careers.

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TWO YEARS ago, Zzeus Training heralded a landmark moment for the fire and security sectors when the first candidates successfully completed the EAL Level 3 Diploma in Providing Electronic Fire and Security Systems. Those candidates’ certificates were formally presented by Dame Judith Hackitt DBE and recognised by EAL’s managing director Al Parkes, who praised Zzeus Training for being a “pioneer” in the domain of fire alarm systems training.

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The multilayer PCB segment is a big part of our production. In order to support this important segment, we have developed long-standing relationships with a broad factory base. The factories are carefully selected in our sourcing process.

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