Fire Sector Summit Both speakers emphasised the need for long


overdue, wide ranging regulatory change and that outcomes must not be diluted. Sprinklers are proven to be cost effective and government must not be ‘let off the hook’ if it continues to state they are too costly to fit. Government also wrongly thought it would have to rehouse everyone after Lakanal, but it was possible to retrofit in one day. Currently, regulation requires sprinklers in major refurbishments and new high rise flats over 30m high; Scottish standards stipulate over 18m high; and Wales requires them in all domestic and residential buildings. BS 9251 is a mature standard on which to base


installations, while BS 9991 and BS 8458 also relate. An annexe will be produced to PrEN 16925 – the European Residential Standard to replace BS 9251 – covering the broader current use of sprinklers in the UK. There is also good support, if more limited, for a bespoke watermist standard, Mr Seaber added. Myths and legends about sprinklers can be


dispelled by education, early consultation and ongoing liaison with residents. US and UK statistical evidence suggests residential systems are at least as reliable as commercial systems, he said, despite common concerns such as unwanted escape of water. BS 9251 gives guidance on monitoring and alarms to warn the fire service of escape of water, but does not make them a requirement. Mains water supply is preferred over pumps and tanks, but the greater hydraulic demand of some designs may mean that mains supply is insufficient. Poor workmanship can be avoided by enforcing the use of third party approved and qualified installers. Then Mr Brinson briefly provided the European


context. Northern Europe tends to lead on sprinklers: since 2010, Norway has required sprinklers in all flats and Sweden uses more residential sprinklers than the UK, so we occupy third place. The Netherlands is ‘a nascent industry’ and several projects exist across Belgium, Germany and France. He added that Finland has retrofitted about half of its care homes. There will clearly be an increased requirement


for sprinklers – around 30 local authorities have said they will retrofit and many Scottish schools have made sprinklers a requirement in a possible step towards a national requirement. But as Mr Seaber warned, ’ It’s all about layering for safety’. There is still the potential to get things wrong


and the Grenfell result can’t be second guessed. ‘For instance, if the fire started in a fridge, it would be hard to determine if sprinklers would have stopped the fire before the cladding was ignited. Noone will ever probably know’.


Fire investigations


Dr Andrew Moncrieff, managing director of Hawkins and Associates, discussed fire investigation and


the forensic regulator role by noting that a current trend of a move away from accreditation made him wonder, by 2020, ‘what will be left to be accredited or trained?’, with the majority of fire investigations undertaken on a civil basis by insurers. The UK has ‘always been good at fire


investigations’; a ‘team effort’ blending expertise as ‘you don’t want 11 keepers in a team’. However, junior officer training has declined, with investigation teams previously held to a ‘higher standard’ and able to call on the now defunct Forensic Science Service (FSS). Hawkins offered ‘extended technical


expertise’ for a decade before this ‘fell apart’, with fewer fires investigated by police, training non existent, and ability and experience ‘degraded’. Private companies ‘didn’t fill the gap’’, as when the market shrank they ‘weren’t interested as it didn’t pay’. Hawkins set up a sister organisation but the market wasn’t there, and ‘we can’t maintain a 24/7 national service when there’s only one fire to investigate every three months’. This meant a ‘drain on experience’, plus


‘unreasonable contract terms’ offered by police and ISO accreditation requirements. ‘Unintended consequences’ came from cost pressures, senior officers and investigators leaving, and replacing them ‘not a priority’. It was ‘astonishing how quickly this began sliding back’, though ‘not particularly surprising’. You ‘can’t blame the people in charge when


they’re struggling to do anything’ , but if FRSs don’t investigate, it will be police who have ‘no capability’. Scene of crime officers (SOCOs) ‘have not liked fire investigations’, and Dr Moncrieff asked if insurers ‘have a role to play’. He recommended a ‘strategy to build on the old model’, as the discipline is ‘in trouble – we want to see ideas. We haven’t quite lost yet, but


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