Indeed, the AGM is an important opportunity for members to engage directly with the work and governance of their professional body. The gathering will include updates from the IFE and consideration of the annual accounts. The new Board of Trustee Directors will be announced and the new presidential team outlined with plenty of time for questions.

Following the success of the chosen delivery method last year, the AGM will be held once again in a hybrid format, ensuring members can take part in a way that best suits them. In-person delegates will be welcomed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon with online attendees able to participate via the AGM website.

Important moment

Paul Adams, CEO at the IFE, commented: “This AGM is a particularly important moment for me as it will be my first as CEO of the IFE. It provides a valuable opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved, reaffirm our commitment to professional standards and transparency and look ahead to the role we will continue to play in supporting our members and the wider sector.”

Adams continued: “I’m very much looking forward to engaging with members, hearing their views and working collaboratively to build on our strong foundations in the year ahead.”

Rasbash Lecture

The IFE is delighted to announce the return of the Rasbash Lecture, which will follow immediately after the AGM and be streamed live to online attendees.

This year’s lecture will be delivered by Dr Karen Boyce FIFireE, senior lecturer in the School of the Built Environment at the University of Ulster. Boyce’s presentation runs under the title: ‘Safe Evacuation for All: How Far Have We Come and How Far Are We Prepared To Go?’

The presentation will explore how current means of escape design guidance aligns with the realities of accessible building design and changing demographics, drawing on research and real-world evidence to question underlying assumptions, evacuation planning approaches and management expectations. Ultimately, it’s about challenging whether the profession is doing enough to deliver effective and inclusive safety for all.

Those attending the AGM and Rasbash Lecture in-person are invited to join Dr Boyce for an informal drinks reception following the event. A recording of both the AGM and the Rasbash Lecture will be made available to members on MyIFE shortly after the day has concluded.

Booking details

IFE members will receive an e-mail from AGM partner PIN Communications on 30 June. This contains a unique security code and instructions.

Anyone planning to attend the AGM and the Rasbash Lecture in-person must register their place via the IFE’s website before 3.15 pm on 28 July. Visit the IFE’s events page to book in-person places online

*Photo: Cameron House Hotel (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service)

It’s a development that also prompts a broader and more challenging question: ‘If fire risk exists across the sector, why focus only on historic hotels?’

The change follows years of scrutiny after tragic events, most notably the fire at Cameron House Hotel near Loch Lomond in 2017. That incident, which claimed two lives, remains a pivotal moment in the conversation around hotel fire safety in Scotland. It exposed vulnerabilities, raised questions about protection for sleeping occupants and led to recommendations that the Scottish Government should consider stronger fire suppression requirements in hotels created from older buildings.

Some will view this regulatory change as closing a loophole. It’s important to be clear about what this legislation does and doesn’t do. It applies specifically to historic building conversions (defined as traditional buildings). The broader reality, one that may surprise many travellers, is that hotels in Scotland (and those across the rest of the UK) are not generally required or even formally guided to install sprinkler systems.

A guest checking into a modern and purpose-built hotel tonight might think sprinklers are in place, but there’s no guarantee such systems are protecting them while they sleep. That’s a fact rarely surfaced in any hotel booking search, and one that deserves far greater public awareness.

Interesting question

This brings us neatly to an interesting question raised by the Scottish Government's own cost-benefit analysis, commissioned as part of the review of sprinkler requirements. The analysis found that non-traditional hotel constructions, which would include modern hotels, have a higher frequency of fire incidents and suffer greater degrees of physical damage in a fire episode than historic buildings. In the period studied there were less casualties.

The economic sustainability case for fire sprinkler system installation was stronger for non-traditional hotels than for the converted historic properties now covered by the new regulations.

While the difference in casualties for historic conversions was clear, it does mean we have to think about where to draw the line. If the data suggests that buildings underpinned by non-traditional construction are more susceptible to greater fire damage and greater fire area, then the logic of limiting the requirement to older buildings becomes, on the face of it, one that’s about ‘escapability’, with one type of premises prone to more damage, but perhaps with a better means of escape.

The regulatory response has been shaped by tragedies, but the evidence-led view of where risk actually resides across the entire hotel estate means that we need to keep an eye on this situation and hope no new tragedy strikes a non-traditional hotel.

Driving progress

That’s not to diminish the importance of what has been achieved. The Cameron House Hotel fire (the aftermath is pictured above), and the tragedy at the New County Hotel in Perth six years later, have energised progress on fire safety.

However, given that there are upwards of 400 hotel fires recorded annually across Britain (ie more than one fire every single day across a cohort of around 9,500 hotels), the evidence suggests that the economic sustainability case for making sprinklers a norm across new hotels remains compelling for the business owner and, it must be said, largely unaddressed.

Scotland has taken a step in the right direction. The question now is whether the industry and Government have the appetite to go further, viewing the protection of every hotel guest as a baseline rather than an optional extra.

Iain Cox is Chair of the Business Sprinkler Alliance (www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org)

The new publications are as follows:

*PFKG Knowledge Share 10: Active Fire Curtain Standards

*PFKG Knowledge Share 11: Active Fire Curtains – Insulation versus Radiation

*PFKG Knowledge Share 12: Fire Barriers and Cavity Barriers – What’s the Difference?

Taken together, these documents provide clear and practical guidance in areas where poor terminology, legacy standards and inconsistent interpretation continue to undermine compliance.

Knowledge Shares 10 and 11 focus on common specification errors associated with active fire curtains. Knowledge Share 10 addresses frequent confusion between smoke leakage-classified active fire curtains and simple smoke curtains. Simple smoke curtains are intended solely to control and direct smoke towards smoke control systems and provide no fire resistance (integrity) performance. This is in contrast to smoke leakage-classified active fire curtains, which are tested to fire resistance standards.

The document cautions against the use of the term ‘smoke and fire curtains’ in specifications as this is misleading and can result in the selection of incorrect products.

Frequent misapplication

Knowledge Share 11 highlights the frequent misapplication of insulation (I) performance where radiation (W) classification is more appropriate for active fire curtains. Insulation fire resistance (I) refers to the time taken for the temperature on the non-fire side of a curtain to rise more than 180°C above ambient under test conditions: a performance that most active fire curtains don’t achieve for any significant duration.

By contrast, the radiation criterion (W) measures the time taken for heat radiation at one metre from the non-fire side to exceed 15 kW/m². This typically provides a more realistic and meaningful measure of performance for active fire curtains, particularly so when combined with integrity (E) to form an EW classification.

For its part, Knowledge Share 12 addresses another long-standing area of confusion: the distinction between fire barriers and cavity barriers. The document explains the different regulatory roles these systems perform, along with the differing fire resistance requirements that apply to each. It also highlights how misunderstanding can lead to non-compliance, particularly where products are installed within cavities, above ceilings or beneath raised access floors without appropriate supporting evidence.

Early engagement

Across all three publications, the PFKG emphasises the overriding importance of early engagement between fire engineers, designers, contractors and manufacturers in order to ensure that specifications are clear, achievable and supported by suitable test evidence.

“These Knowledge Shares are about removing ambiguity from some of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of passive fire protection,” explained Will Pitt, chair of the PFKG. “Incorrect assumptions around standards or performance don’t just create technical issues. They also introduce avoidable compliance risk into fire strategies and, ultimately, undermine safety. Clear terminology and evidence-led specification are fundamental.”

All three Knowledge Shares are available now as free downloads from www.pfkg.org, duly supporting the PFKG’s ongoing commitment to improve competency and consistency across the fire safety community.

*The Passive Fire Knowledge Group’s mission is to improve the design, specification and installation of passive fire protection through expert-led collaboration, research and the sharing of knowledge across the industry. Further information is available online at www.pfkg.org

Named in honour of former Oxford United FC midfielder and star player Joey Beauchamp, The Joey Beauchamp Foundation aims to address the pressing requirement for mental health support and awareness within the local community. With a steadfast focus on collaboration and community engagement, the organisation seeks to empower individuals to overcome challenges and go on to thrive in their daily lives.

Key objectives

The Joey Beauchamp Foundation’s key objectives are to:

*promote counselling and support for those individuals and families in need of such attention due to mental health issues

*make grants available to organisations to enable such individuals to receive support and fund counselling and support programmes

*publicise and promote the resources available for supporting mental health and suicide prevention to members of the general public

*promote to the public an understanding of the issues surrounding mental health and suicide in order to encourage positive and productive discussions

*educate on the subjects of mental health resilience and suicide prevention

More than anything else, what Joey Beauchamp wanted to be was an Oxford United FC player. He fulfilled his dream by making 428 appearances for the club across two spells (1989-1994 and 1995-2002), scoring 80 goals in the process. It was his team, his city and his home. He loved life in Oxford.

However, Joey – recognised as a supremely gifted footballer – began to suffer from depression, alcohol addiction and financial problems. At the age of 50, he took the decision to end his own life.

Joey wasn’t aware that there was a network of support for the hundreds of people just like him suffering with mental health-related issues every day.

Raising funds

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Sennett (CEO of Western Business Media and the founder of Fire Safety Matters magazine) explained: “The announcement of this year’s charity partner for the Fire & Security Matters Awards means a great deal to me on a personal level.”

Elaborating on that point, Sennett stated: “Joey was a hero of mine when I was growing up. He was playing for the team I love: Oxford United FC. Undeniably, Joey was the club’s greatest ever player. In adulthood, I was fortunate to know Joey socially and he always went ‘above and beyond’ to help raise funds for charities when I served as chair of the Oxford United Supporters Trust named ‘OxVox’. He assisted me and many others. Joey meant so much to the people of Oxfordshire.”

Sennett continued: “Tragically, Joey took his own life on 19 February 2022. In his memory, the charity was established to address the pressing need for mental health support and awareness. We’re very grateful to Joey’s brother Luke, who helped to found the charity and is one of its Trustees, for giving us his blessing on our desire to support this vitally important cause.”

Charity auction

On the night of the Fire & Security Matters Awards – supported as always by Fire Safety Matters and its sister titles at Western Business Media, namely Security Matters, Professional Security Installer and Benchmark – there will be a charity auction featuring some fabulous prizes. All of the proceeds are being donated to The Joey Beauchamp Foundation.

*Further information concerning The Joey Beauchamp Foundation can be accessed online at www.joeybeauchamp.org Donations are always welcome

**Additional detail on the Fire & Security Matters Awards 2026 is available to view at www.firesecurityawards.com

The penalties, totalling £42,300, were issued for running an unlicensed HMO and failing to properly manage the property and keep tenants safe.

Council investigations uncovered a number of serious fire safety and management problems at the three-storey property, which was occupied by seven people from six households.

Among the problems identified were a faulty and inadequate fire alarm system, the lack of emergency lighting, the absence of a fire blanket in the kitchen, defective fire doors, obstructions on escape routes, bedroom and exit doors that required keys to open from the inside, a lack of proper safety checks, inspections and records and a failure to respond to requests for information and documents to support the investigation.

Council officers also found evidence that the property had been operating as an HMO for a significant period without the legally required licence being in place. HMOs are properties rented by several people from different households who share facilities such as kitchens or bathrooms. Landlords who operate HMOs must follow strict legal requirements to make sure tenants are safe, particularly so in relation to fire safety and property management.

Paying the penalty 

Following the issuing of the penalties, Jetsun Ltd paid the fine within 28 days and received a 15% discount under Gateshead Council’s enforcement policy. The funds will be reinvested into further enforcement work in the private rented sector to help improve housing standards across Gateshead.

Samantha Allcott, strategic director of housing, environment and healthy communities at Gateshead Council, said: “Landlords have a legal duty to make sure the homes they rent out are safe and properly managed. In this case, the conditions found at the property were unacceptable and could have put tenants at serious risk, notably so in the event of a fire.”

Allcott added: “We work closely with landlords across Gateshead to help raise and maintain standards. Tenant safety will always come first and, that being so, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where standards fall below what’s required by law.”

Gateshead Council introduced additional HMO licensing in parts of Gateshead in June last year to underpin ongoing work designed to improve housing standards and protect tenants living in privately rented accommodation. 

From this month onwards, all FIA examinations conducted through FireQual will be delivered via Surpass. The new platform provides an improved examination experience for candidates, while also supporting enhanced quality assurance, security and compliance requirements.

For most candidates the transition will be straightforward. The examination process remains familiar, although the appearance of the system and some functionality will differ from the previous platform. Going forward, candidates sitting examinations should expect a different user interface and are encouraged to read any guidance provided before commencing their assessment.

This change also marks the beginning of a wider programme of improvements that will be introduced over the coming weeks.

Online invigilation

As part of ongoing regulatory and Awarding Organisation requirements, the FIA and FireQual will begin introducing Online Proctoring (ie online invigilation) for examinations.

Online invigilation enables candidates to complete examinations remotely, while maintaining the same standards of security and integrity expected during in-person assessments.

Candidates taking online invigilated examinations will be required to:

*complete a system and equipment check before their examination

*verify their identity (note that company IDs are no longer accepted)

*provide a clear view of their examination environment

*ensure desks and workspaces are free from unauthorised materials

*remain alone in the room throughout the assessment

*follow all examination instructions and invigilation requirements

Full guidance documents and support materials will be made available before candidates are required to undertake online invigilated assessments.

What candidates need to do

The FIA and FireQual strongly encourage all candidates, employers and booking contacts to review any examination guidance issued by the FIA and FireQual. Examination arrangements that may have applied previously should not be assumed to remain unchanged under the new system.

Candidates will receive clear instructions in advance of their examination and will be given sufficient notice of any new requirements.

Supporting guidance

A range of support documents, including step-by-step guides and technical requirements, will be made available on the FIA website.

All candidates, members and training customers are thanked for their support during this transition. Both organisations look forward to delivering an enhanced examination experience through the new Surpass platform.

*For further information visit www.fia.uk.com and www.firequal.com

New data shared with consumer safety charity Electrical Safety First by Biffa, the UK’s largest waste management company, reveals that more than two million incorrectly discarded vapes were found at just four of its sites between June 2025 and March this year. That’s the equivalent of almost 300 vapes every hour and more than 6,500 every day.

The startling figures emerge as polling of 1,000 vapers across the UK by the charity found that more than half (59%) admitted to disposing of their vapes incorrectly in household rubbish or recycling bins over the past 12 months despite the same proportion saying they were aware that improper disposal can cause fires in bin lorries and at recycling centres.

Worryingly, of those who said they had disposed of their vapes in the household general waste bin, two-thirds (67%) admitted doing so once every week or more. Meanwhile, nearly three-quarters (71%) of those who had put vapes in household recycling bins admitted doing the same, suggesting that the true number of vapes entering the waste system could be in the millions each week.

Real risk

Giuseppe Capanna, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First, said: “Every vape thrown into the household rubbish or recycling has the potential to create very real and frightening risks for waste collection workers who are simply doing their job.”

Capanna continued: “Vapes contain lithium-ion batteries and, when they’re disposed of incorrectly, those batteries can be crushed or damaged, which can then lead to fires that have the potential to escalate rapidly and put workers at risk.”

In terms of risk mitigation, Capanna noted: “Safe disposal can start with simple changes. If you use vapes, build safe disposal into your routine. For example, every time you go to the supermarket or a vape shop, drop off your used vapes at the designated vape disposal point.”

According to Capanna: “Every household can help turn the tide on this issue by making safe disposal a habit rather than an afterthought, in turn reducing the number of dangerous batteries entering the waste stream. We urge all households to stop and think. Don’t bin the battery.”

Preventing safe disposal

While some vapers admit to safe disposal habits, including taking devices to a recycling centre or drop-off point (28%) or returning them to a shop or retailer (16%), the study findings also highlight key barriers to correct disposal.

More than a quarter (27%) said they did not know vapes needed to be disposed of in a specific way, while others assumed placing them in the bin was fine (25%) or said they lacked convenient local disposal options (21%).

As stated, vapes contain lithium-ion batteries, which can cause explosive and highly toxic fires if damaged. When thrown into household rubbish or recycling bins, vapes can be crushed, punctured or compacted during the waste process, causing the batteries inside to overheat or ignite.

These fires can spread quickly through bin lorries and recycling centres, putting workers at risk and causing major disruption as well as costly damage. Damaged batteries can also leak harmful chemicals into the environment if they’re not recycled properly.

*Further information is available online at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

Both new guidance notes provide key information on the preparation, content and management of the key accompanying documents for HRB Building Control Approval (Gateway 2) application and subsequent approved documents for HRB Completion Certificate (Gateway 3) applications.

These guidance notes are supported by an example of the structure and content of a Fire and Emergency File and a sample extract of a Building Regulations Compliance Statement.

Feedback from the Building Safety Regulator confirms that, while showing signs of improvement, the quality of Fire and Emergency Files and Building Regulations Compliance Statements remains the cause of rejection in relation  to some applications. It’s absolutely key that these documents clearly narrate the design and technical approach taken by applicants and fully evidence their assessment of risk, notably so in relation to fire and structure.

The guidance builds on the CLC guidance suite updated on 18 December last year to support those submitting and assessing Building Control applications for new HRBs.

*Read the new and updated CLC guidance online. Guidance Note 01 (focusing on The Building Safety Regime for a new Higher-Risk Building) has also been updated. Additional guidance is also available on the CLC website

The e-Learning course has been developed to help housing professionals, fire safety practitioners and others gain a greater understanding of residential fire risks and the role sprinkler systems play in protecting lives and property.

The training covers a range of key topics, among them the nature of fire risk in social housing environments, how fires spread within residential buildings, the limitations of passive fire protection measures and the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems as a dedicated life safety solution.

Ruth Oliver, skills and qualifications advisor at BAFSA, stated: “As social housing providers continue to address building safety responsibilities and resident protection, access to practical and knowledge-based fire safety education is becoming increasingly important. Our programme aims to help improve awareness across housing management, maintenance and compliance.”

Target audience

The new CPD programme is designed to support professionals already working within the housing and fire safety sectors and those seeking a broader understanding of residential fire safety challenges and solutions.

The programme takes approximately two hours to complete and allows participants to work through the modules at their own pace. Learners who successfully complete all modules and pass a short multiple-choice assessment will then receive a BAFSA CPD-endorsed certificate.

*Further information and booking details can be found on the BAFSA website

For new-build projects, the (now established) Innovation Unit witnessed a 90% approval rate during this 12-week rolling period, with decisions overtaking the number of new cases received during the last 12 weeks.

Highlights to 30 May

*Across all categories, 358 Gateway 2 decisions were made by the Building Safety Regulator in the 12 weeks to 30 May, with a 75% approval rate. 65% of all decisions across all categories related to London cases

*Applications representing 14,928 units were determined, of which 9,499 (ie 64%) were approvals. There are currently 38,775 in progress live case units. New applications for 13,964 residential units were received in the rolling 12 weeks to 30 May

*90% of decisions (28 out of 31) made by the Innovation Unit in the last 12 weeks were approvals. London witnessed a 100% approval rate for its 19 case decisions. This reflects the additional work and engagement with applicants to enable the delivery of safe homes

*Operational improvements to achieve the Building Safety Regulator’s External Remediation Improvement Plan’s aim of reducing average decision times have seen approval rates in this rolling 12-week period rise to 79%. This is considerably higher than 2026’s end of year minimum 65% target

*Following the introduction of the External Remediation Improvement Plan in April, 16 legacy remediation applications from 2024 now remain. A further ten applications are on track to be determined in June. This is down from 42 that were outstanding at the beginning of 2026

Accelerated assessments

Under the Building Safety Regulator’s batching process, the median time from a case being issued to a supplier to a decision is 12-to-14 weeks depending on the type of application.

This pilot process scales capacity by bundling applications to specialised engineering services suppliers for accelerated assessment, with the Building Safety Regulator maintaining regulatory oversight.

The primary goal of batching is to accelerate backlog resolution in new build and remediation applications.

Positive improvements

Charlie Pugsley, acting CEO of the Building Safety Regulator, stated: “We continue to see positive improvements in numbers of approvals for both new-build and existing building remediation cases, as well as significantly faster decision times. This includes continued positive results from our Innovation Unit by virtue of working closely with applicants to safely resolve complex technical challenges. This positive engagement has energised a growing number of decisions and rising approval rates.”

Pugsley continued: “We are also making important improvements following the recent introduction of our External Remediation Improvement Plan, with existing building approval rates of 79% over the last 12 weeks already above our minimum 65% target for the year.”

Continuing this theme, Pugsley observed: “We recognise that people living in other unremediated buildings still want them to be fixed safely and at pace. We continue to work to accelerate our assessments, decisions and approvals and also to improve consistency, ensuring that industry can build new and make existing buildings safe. As such, thousands of residents then see the essential safety improvements they deserve.”

In conclusion, Pugsley commented: “We remain steadfastly committed to continuous improvement, ensuring that accelerated decision-making for any high-risk building, either for new-build or for existing buildings, must never come at the cost of building safety.”

*Transparency Data: Building Safety Regulator Building Control Approval Application Data – March to May 2026