EVENT NEWS
FIRESA RECEPTION T
he FIRESA FIA Reception Day held at Hampton on 2nd May pursued several strands in front of a substantive audience of new FIA members that were recently transferred from FIRESA, the trade association for suppliers to the Fire and Rescue sector. For those that have missed it, FIRESA’s secretariat services have been provided by the FIA for the last eight years but it was an independent body until merger with the FIA was agreed earlier this year and their membership welcomed into the fold at the start of April. The day began by examining FIRESA Council’s most notable
achievements over the last year and its future objectives in a session presented by Chairman, Derek Gotts. The Fire and Rescue sector has been subject to significant transition over recent years with calmer waters not yet on the horizon and as we move through 2013, the Fire and Rescue sector faces particular challenges both internally and under the influence of several external factors. Against a backdrop of year-on-year cuts in the grant awards to our Fire and Rescue Services (FRS’s), Sir Ken Knight’s recently-published ‘Facing The Future’ paper lays bare a number of discussion items, some quite radical, that may catalyse further changes to the Services and which the supply industry must influence and respond to effectively. FIRESA was often described in its infancy as the official opposition
to Firebuy, the organisation set up to administer the then ODPM’s National Procurement Strategy. However simplistic and, in fact, wrong that may be, Firebuy’s demise early in the Coalition government tenure in its ‘bonfire of the quangos’ has led FIRESA’s work to evolve into an ever-growing range of activities. Derek emphasised that this will continue, with the Council being a genuinely multi-dimensional body acting on all fronts on behalf of the firefighting supply industry. The second part of the day comprised a series of short
presentations on the FIA’s various capabilities, with a timely opportunity for our FIRESA-derived members to gain an initial overview of important information about the work of the Association and to hear first-hand from those members of the FIA Team who manage the functions that are now available to them. We also had two wonderfully informative presentations from
external speakers. CFO Ian Hayton of Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service is perhaps currently one of the more controversial figures in the sector given his plans to evolve the FRS into a public service mutual and he explained that this move is in response to government cuts that have led him to implement radical changes in Cleveland’s service delivery model. The Fire Minister, Brandon Lewis, is attempting to implement the necessary regulatory changes that would allow this and any future mutuals to operate as legal Fire and Rescue Services. We also heard from CFO Paul Fuller of Bedfordshire and Luton
FRS who spoke in his role as Vice-President of the Chief Fire Officers Association. Touching on the previous issue, he noted the CFOA view that it is opposed to FRS privatisation before going on to discuss a number of issues that are presently being addressed. Among them was what he sees as the success of the Integrated Risk Management Planning approach by the FRS’s and the increasing levels of sophistication being applied to determining and responding to fire risks at a local level. Certainly, Paul sees this widening to become a shared process involving the full spectrum
of the fire safety community and with the goal of making real safety improvements to the built environment. Feedback after the event suggests that the FIRESA ‘state of play’ and FIA introductory elements of the day were well received and not least the informative and frank presentations made by our external speakers. It leaves me to thank Ian, Paul, Derek and the entire FIA Team and we look forward to FIRESA Council’s and our firefighting members’ contributions across the spectrum of the FIA’s activities in the coming years.
David Smith, FIRESA Council Secretary
DON’T MISS OUT T
his year’s AGM and Lunch takes place on Tuesday 5th November at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London
Tickets for this year’s AGM and Lunch are now on sale. Last year’s AGM and Lunch sold out within two weeks…don’t miss out this year!
Individual tickets are £125.00 and tables of 10 are £1,125.00. Visit the FIA website for more information and booking.
We’re pleased to announce that the after dinner speaker will be Gyles Brandreth.
‘Gyles Brandreth has a serious talent for making people laugh’ Daily Mirror
Gyles has enjoyed success in many areas of public life, and is now is one of Britain’s most sought-after awards hosts and guest speakers. A former Oxford Scholar and President of the Oxford Union, Gyles’ career has included being an MP, a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government, to being an actor, author, broadcaster and starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End.
EVENTS CALENDAR
3rd July 4th July
16th July New Technology Showcase, Hampton
‘ Fire Risk Assessor - Are lessons being learnt?’ CPD day, Hampton
BS 5839-1:2013 & BS 5839-6 Revision CPD Seminar, Winsford, Cheshire
12th September ‘The Law’ CPD day, Cheshire 25th September FIM Expo, Edinburgh 5th November
AGM & Lunch, London
twitter.com/FireIndustry | 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16