Business News The Griffin Report
Thousands of people flock to Birmingham’s German Christmas market every year. But few will know about the length organisers go to ensure their safety. Jon Griffin, Chamberlink’s award-winning columnist, went to meet the couple responsible for visitors’ safety.
would not be the same without Alan McEntire. Every year, thousands of people
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flock from all over the region and further afield to enjoy Bratwurst, Gluhwein, Steins of beer and other Teutonic-style festive treats. But virtually none of the revellers
will realise that their personal safety at the event - which has become an integral part of Birmingham’s Christmas over the years - owe a considerable debt to Alan. The 64-year-old is the brains
behind the various aspects of public safety at the market, which has brought an undeniable slice of German-style seasonal fun to the heart of Birmingham down the years. Alan was recruited for his safety
role at the Christmas market – and other high-profile projects across the UK – following a 35-year stint with Staffordshire Fire Service, which led directly to a second career as he was approaching his 60s. He and wife Dawn run SEL
Group Ltd from their home in Stafford, providing fire risk assessments and other health and safety advice to a range of clients, including the Birmingham Christmas market. “On the Christmas markets, I see
the majority of the stalls when they are being built. We work overnight – we have five or six massive cranes. I do the build and the de- rig, the start and the end effectively. “My role is safety officer during
the build of the market and on 23 December, we go back to strip it all out.”
Alan’s decision to leave
Staffordshire Fire Service in January 2012 appears to have paid handsome dividends. Since then, he has landed safety work at the 2012 London Olympics, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2104 and picked up a range of clients from Rolls-Royce to forklift truck specialists Linde and South Staffordshire Council.
Now Alan has his sights set on
another plum target –the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. But the roots of his subsequent decision to branch out on his own stem back to his days as Head of Fire Safety in Staffordshire. “During my time in Fire Safety, I
was sitting there sifting through a pile of licensing applications. One of them was the 1999 V Festival at Weston Park. I picked that up as a little licensing job and it turned into an event for 56,000 people. Eventually the V Festival went up to 100,000 people, with the likes of James Brown, Kylie Minogue, Manic Street Preachers and Rihanna. “I provided fire safety and fire
cover for the V Festival for 19 years. I did that for 16 years when I was in the Brigade and when I left the promoters employed me directly. That is how I got deeply interested in events. “I had left the fire service at the
end of March 2012. I was 58 when I went – I had had a good innings. Looking back on it, I really enjoyed it – the camaraderie was fantastic, and I still see a lot of the people now.”
Alan called time on his 35-year
career following a period of restructuring at the service – but soon landed on his feet. “I walked away from the Fire Service and went straight to London to do the
‘My role is safety officer during the build of the market and on 23 December, we go back to strip it all out’
16 CHAMBERLINK December 2018/January 2019 Safety first: Alan and Dawn McEntire
2012 Olympics. I had a phone-call from one of the recruitment people for the Olympics, It was good timing, serendipity.” Alan found himself working as
Fire Safety Officer in the International Broadcasting Centre at the London Olympic Park. “One building had every TV station in the world covering the Olympics – there was another building for the written press. That was my domain, looking after them – I was there for four months. My job, along with the rest of the team, was to make sure we never had a fire. “I went up to Glasgow in 2014
and did three or four months up there with the Commonwealth Games. I worked on health and safety for the athletes’ village – there were 6,500 athletes. “Now the Commonwealth Games
are coming to Birmingham in 2022 – it would be lovely if I could pick up some work, and if fairly local people got to work there. One of the themes of the Games is to encourage growth in the community.” Alan’s work with wife Dawn on
the SEL Group dates back to her launch of the company more than
20 years ago after she set up as a consultant in sustainability and occupational hygiene. She had previously worked as an engineer in a nuclear power station and with the likes of the Ford Motor Company and Lucas Industries as a Corporate Environmental Health and Safety manager. “It is principally the two of us although within the SEL Group we also have a team of people who work at events. We have kept our heads above water, we are bringing money in, we are paying for everything, we are making some profit. We have got 20 plus regular clients, principally doing fire and risk assessments.” After more than 40 years at the
coalface of the world of health and safety, Alan is better qualified than most to comment on some of the myths which Fleet Street – understandably - take great delight in exposing. “There is a myth that kids can’t
play conkers at school. Often, they are self-perpetuating myths. A lot of the scare stories can be avoided by doing risk assessments and having the background knowledge.”
t is one of Birmingham’s best- known annual attractions – but the famous Christmas market
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