Fire safety returns home to NEC Birmingham

On 21-23 March fire safety finally returns home to the NEC Birmingham after more than four year away. The Fire Safety Event will attract more than 6,000 installers, end users, fire safety managers, consultants, risk assessors, insurers, facilities managers, health and safety professionals, manufacturers and fire and rescue services, who will enjoy an unparalleled line-up of free educational content.

The Fire Safety Event is co-located with the long-established Health and Safety Event, Facilities Management and Maintec exhibitions. It will feature 20 fire sector manufacturers including: Advanced, FirePro, Coltraco Ultrasonics, Patol, BT Redcare, Turner and Townsend, SSAIB, Sigma, Asecos, Evac+Chair, Institute of Fire Safety Managers, BAFE, Association for Specialist Fire Protection to name but a few. 

The Keynote Theatre (Sponsored by Advanced) will boast the most high-profile collection of fire industry experts ever assembled at a free-to-attend event in the UK. On 21 March, solicitor Warren Spencer, who has prosecuted more than 100 cases under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 [FSO], will review key prosecutions he's been involved with under the FSO. Institute of Fire Safety Managers president Dr Bob Docherty who will focus on the role of the responsible person, while National Trust's Bob Bantock will explore emergency response and salvage operations in heritage premises. Bob will give particular focus to the devastating fire at Clandon House.

On 22 March, former BAFSA general secretary Stewart Kidd will highlight the need for mandatory fire suppression systems in large storage occupancies and well-known fire safety trainer Roy Smith with stress the need for safe storage of flammable substances by carrying out live demonstrations of chemical explosions. Dr Carl Hunter will explain why it's essential to constantly monitor gaseous systems and room integrity, while BAFE chief executive Stephen Adams will tell delegates how they can meet their fire safety responsibilities. 

The final day of the Fire Safety Event takes place on 23 March and the Keynote Theatre will be opened by Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack who will deliver a state of the union address, which will look at the impact of austerity measures on the fire and rescue service and concerns, community safety and blue light collaborations. Former chief fire officer of Gloucester Fire and Rescue Service Jon Hall will demonstrate ways of protecting buildings from flooding, while West Midlands Fire Service primary authority manager Jonathan Herrick will examine safe evacuation methods from buildings. Tom Gilbert from the Tall Buildings Network will highlight common failings when evacuating tall buildings and Association for Specialist Fire Protection chief executive Niall Rowan will conclude the line-up by explaining key steps for ensuring passive fire protection compliance.

You can reserve your seats in any or all of the Keynote Theatre sessions by registering for the event and selecting the sessions you wish to attend. All you need to do is visit www.firesafetyevents.com

In addition to the Keynote Theatre, the Fire Safety Event will also boast a second theatre, which will focus on case studies from manufacturers. The Fire and Evacuation Theatre will include talks from companies such as Advanced, Turner and Townsend, BT Redcare, SSAIB, Patol, Coltraco Ultrasonics, Evacusafe and Evac+Chair. 

The sessions on 21 March begin with Dr Carl Hunter from Coltraco Ultrasonics who will share a case study of how gaseous suppression is protecting maritime vessels and offshore facilities. Gerda’s Andrew Thompson will discuss the importance of complying with fire doorset regulations, while Evac+Chair’s Garry Hicks will tell delegates how to prepare for evacuating buildings during terrorist attacks.

On 22 March, FirePro UK managing director Tony Hanley will tell delegates how he has helped reducing fire damage at a hospital by installing a suppression system. Head of BT Redcare, Andy Fyvie, will give a presentation on alarm signaling and how you can install a combined fire and security interface, which is not prone to false alarms. 

Turner and Townsend director Paul Lane will deliver a session on how fire risk management is helping protect residents in sheltered housing. IFSM president Dr Bob Docherty will close out the day’s sessions by teaching delegates how they can get their fire risk assessment right.

The final day will commence with a session from Advanced’s Aston Bowles who will explain the importance of suitable emergency lighting. Andrew Brown from SSAIB will stress the benefits of third party certification. Apreco managing director Mike Hodges will describe the key role that ventilation systems play in smoke control during fires. The final session in the Fire and Evacuation Theatre will be hosted by BAFE’s Chris Auger, which will advise how delegates can meet their fire safety requirements.

You can reserve your seat to any of these sessions by registering to attend the Fire Safety Event. It’s FREE to register, visit www.firesafetyevents.com

The Fire Safety Event is also coming to Glasgow, Scotland at the SECC on 3-4 May where more than 4,500 fire industry professionals will gather to enjoy even more keynote sessions and browse 30 exhibition stands. It will take place as part of the Scotland Works, which will feature content and exhibitions on health and safety, cleaning, facilities and maintenance. The Fire Safety Event also comes to Manchester EventCity on 10-11 October, where more than 3500 delegates will have access two to theatres and 30 exhibition stands and the show is co-located with the long-established Health and Safety Show North. We will have a full preview of Fire Safety Event Scotland in our next issue of FSM.