In the latest episode of Assembly Point, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director at the FPA, is joined by Sailesh Mehta, Barrister and Head of the Fire Law Team at Red Lion Chambers to discuss the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and prosecuting those who bear responsibility for the tragedy. Together they consider the implications of the removal of the Building Safety Manager role from the Building Safety Act, coroners’ recommendations, and whether regulators are appropriately resourced under the current regime.

For the second part of the episode, Jonathan speaks to Gill Kernick, Transformation Director at Arup University, and former Grenfell Tower resident. Gill outlines the role of regulations; the need for systemic change; and the responsibility that not only government, but industry has to play in implementing change to prevent further low probability, high consequence events.

In the latest episode of Assembly Point, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, FPA Managing Director is joined by Chris Miles, Regional Business Director at UL to explore how building safety in the UK could benefit from international testing practices.

For the second part of the episode, Howard Passey, FPA Director of Operations speaks to Marcus Rees, FPA Senior Technical Consultant about the benefits offered by a fire strategy when designing, constructing, refurbishing or managing premises.

In the latest episode of Assembly Point, Dr Jim Glockling, Technical Director at the Fire Protection Association and RISCAuthority is joined by Tom Roche, Senior Consultant at FM Global, and Mike Rooney, Chief Executive Officer at Resilience First, to explore resilience and whether it will ever be fully embedded if not mandated. The panel discuss the need for resilience within the commercial and service estates to survive disaster, the role of resilience in business continuity, and whether insurance alone is resilience enough.

In our second episode of the series, Howard Passey, FPA Director of Operations is joined by Nick Coombe, Vice Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Protection Committee & NFCC lead on Building Safety; Andy Frankum, Chair of the National Social Housing Fire Strategy Group, and Steve Emery, Fire Officer at Oxford University to explore vulnerable risks, specifically looking at social housing, care homes, educational settings, and the impact on evacuation strategies.

The Fire Protection Association Director of Training and Digital Services, Claire Wright kicks off series 2 by talking to Jane Duncan OBE, Chair of the RIBA Expert Advisory Group on Fire Safety, and Clive Johnson, Group Head of Health and Safety at Derwent London PLC. The panel discuss the competency requirements at each stage of the design and construction of a building and how these can be met. This episode also highlights key elements that need to be considered by all groups involved in the design, construction and maintenance of a building to ensure safety for the occupier.

In the final episode of series 1 of our Assembly Point podcast, Howard Passey, Director of Operations at the FPA, marks the Fire Protection Association’s 75^th anniversary by talking to Peter Caplehorn, Chief Executive of the Construction Products Association; Adrian Dobson, Secretary of the RIBA EAG; and Dennis Davis, Executive Officer of the Fire Sector Federation. The panel discuss the FPA’s own milestones and its work over the past 75 years, the turning points in fire safety in the UK, and what they hope to see in the next 75 years.

In the latest episode of Assembly Point Howard Passey, FPA Director of Operations, talks to Lewis Ramsey, Caretaker Manager at BAFE Fire Safety Register and former Assistant Chief Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, about the key areas to consider when looking at the risk management of fire in buildings occupied by vulnerable people such as schools, hospitals, and care homes. Howard and Lewis discuss how crucial it is to have appropriate fire safety measures in place that ensure occupant safety and are cognisant of the premises layout, construction, and features.

In our second panel episode of the series, Jonathan O’Neill OBE – Managing Director at the Fire Protection Association, speaks to Niall Rowan – Technical and Regulatory Affairs Officer at the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP), Russ Timpson – Founder of the Tall Building Fire Safety Network, and Allan Meek – Director at Group SCS. Together the panel explores the implications of the Building Safety Bill following the Government’s review of the Building Regulations.

In our first panel episode of the series, Claire Wright – Head of Training at the Fire Protection Association (FPA) talks to Anthony Taylor – Chairman of Working Group 8, John Brett – Director of Health and Safety Compliance at Estates & Management Limited, and John Briggs – Commercial Director at the FPA. Together the panel explores the practical steps building managers can take to ensure they follow the competency framework including the core knowledge, skills, experience and behaviours required for the role of Building Safety Manager.

For this episode, we're joined by Tom Roche, Senior Consultant at FM Global. Tom and Howard explore the fact that sprinklers have still not been made mandatory for all new or major refurbished school buildings in England in the revised Building Bulletin 100 document, and why sprinklers should be made mandatory in all high-risk buildings.