In light of the terms of reference for the official Grenfell public inquiry and expert panel appointed to advise Government on immediate fire safety action, the Fire Sector Federation has made an offer to Government to assist.
It is calling on Government to listen to the experience and expertise of the Federation’s membership, who can provide a pan-industry view of the systemic breakdown of fire safety regulation and propose recommendations on possible solutions.
The Fire Sector Federation brings together 64 organisations from the UK’s multi-billion pound fire industry. Membership includes the fire and rescue service, the fire industry sector (involving representative trade associations and main companies providing active and passive fire protection products), local authority building control and global insurers.
It is calling for Government to listen to the right people; those who can offer expertise from across the entire fire and built environment, enabling them to consider the whole picture and ensure fire safety is given due and proper consideration throughout the life cycle of UK building stock.
Paul Fuller, Chairman of the Fire Sector Federation, said:
“We are gravely concerned in particular about the whole design, specification, supply chain and construction process.
“The system is inherently fragmented; meaning decisions about design strategies, products, techniques, certification, competency and auditing, amongst others, are made in a disjointed and often ineffective and inconsistent manner, with less regard to fire safety than should be the case.
“At the moment we see too many fire experts each day making snapshot comments without true consideration of the whole picture. The FSF is the only representative organisation that brings together all of the fire sector in one place, as well as like organisations in other sectors across the built environment and responsible authorities.
“The Federation has made an offer to Government to assist. It is calling for Government to be proactive in helping to develop the most appropriate mix of solutions to make sure a tragedy such as Grenfell Tower can never happen again.
We expect a response from Government soon.”
