Featuring the Fire Protection Association and fellow industry thought leaders, including the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) and Fire Industry Association (FIA), ITN Business has launched a special news-style programme covering fire safety, prevention, and protection.
‘Fire Safety: Prioritising Prevention and Protection’ examines the current fire safety landscape and how the industry is working to reduce fire risks and enhance public safety. Presented by television journalist Sharon Thomas and hosted on the ITN Business content hub, the programme considers the key components for protecting communities against the devastating effects of fires – fire safety, education, and preparedness – with education serving as the foundation to empower individuals with the knowledge needed to prevent fires, mitigate risks, and respond effectively in emergencies.
As Thomas explains: “The fire safety sector continues to encounter challenges such as the demand for stronger regulations and enhance safety and competency standards.”
Alongside special insights that explore the need for educating the public around safety at home, training to reduce preventable deaths, the safe use and disposal of batteries, and the importance of smoke alarms, the programme also features thought leadership interviews with the likes of the FIA, the IFE, and the FPA.
In a special interview, FPA Chief Executive Dr Gavin Dunn discusses how the industry has been evolving to meet the changing regulatory standards of fire safety, the drive towards innovation and sustainability, and the sector’s priority for building trust and confidence following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
With the arrival of a new government, Gavin believes there is a “real, unique opportunity” to address the challenges around fire safety: “We stand ready to support them, and we really hope that this time round, change is taken seriously.”
Added to the recently published Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report, outlining multiple recommendations for the sector to take on board, he notes: “While many of the challenges around fire and property protection are well known and well documented over many decades, we really do have no excuse now not to get on with it”.
“The various new technologies, principally around decarbonising our economy, whether it be microgeneration systems, solar panels, or anything involving a battery, do represent a whole new set of risks around fire and life safety. For our organisation, it has meant a very significant pivot.”
Gavin adds: “With the greater use of these technologies, primarily through sustainability and energy, we are increasingly engaged with a much broader range of stakeholders across the sector, to help them understand the risks of the technology and so they use them correctly.”
You can watch Gavin’s full interview here:
‘Fire Safety: Prioritising Prevention and Protection’ launched at the annual FIRE Conference on 24 October 2024. Held at the IET: Savoy Place in London, the event saw in-person and online delegates presented with a special showcase of the programme.
To watch the programme in full, visit the ITN Business Hub here.