something I didn’t give much thought to before, but now it seems to be everywhere I turn. Protecting people, property, businesses and the environment is not entirely new to my working career; my previous employment in the insurance industry definitely taught me the importance of safety and protection in residential premises and commercial businesses. However, since working for the FPA, my work


is more focused towards one area: fire protection, and how prevention and life safety coincide with the fire industry. My increasing obsession with walking into a building and checking for fire exits, sprinklers in ceilings and looking at emergency lighting, fire and smoke alarm systems has admittedly made for good humour, but has also rubbed off on others, showing how extensive the fire industry is. I’m privileged to be able to extend my knowledge and do my bit for fire safety as a whole, and of course to work for the UK’s national fire safety organisation. The FPA is widely recognised within the industry,


having done extensive work to promote safety within residential premises, commercial premises and the environment. Having enrolled on numerous training courses, I can see how vast the industry is, but it all works towards achieving the same goal and outcome. Our Certificate in Applied Fire Risk Assessment course opened my eyes to those who undertake fire risk assessments on a variety of premises. I was able to see that it is so important to make sure that almost every area of a building is not left unseen; nearly every room will have an area for concern, and an area which is fire safe should a fire occur. The course provided me with knowledge and


understanding of principal workplace fire hazards, associated risks, passive and active means available to mitigate fire as well as protection measures; it raises awareness of the vast range of topics involved in fire safety management. The assessor has a responsibility to outline these good and bad areas − he/ she is effectively the link between a property owner who may know little about fire safety, and those who know a great deal more. Experienced


Viewpoint W


Jamie Wyatt, the FPA’s sales account executive, shares what he has learned about fire safety and the organisation’s services


ORKING FOR the FPA has certainly opened my eyes to a whole new industry, and of course its importance. Fire safety is


assessors help owners improve their premises with guidance and advice passed on within their reports. Having visited many industry events, it is


always great to hear other views, what other companies think will help moving forward and to see new and effective ways that other businesses promote products and services. This has been very influential for my role, as I have been able to provide feedback to certain areas of the FPA, and adapt how I work to stay up to date with new products and ideas out there. Personally, dealing with sales and business


development, I’ve had to learn very quickly that we not only offer huge numbers of high quality training courses, sell fire safety publications and have a large and growing membership that can access great benefits such as Fire & Risk Management; we also have an extensive technical department that provides a great deal of guidance on almost all aspects of fire safety. We are very proud to have our own fire testing


laboratory just a couple of miles away from the office, where we have highly experienced and qualified scientists, engineers and analysts who offer a complete range of fire research, technical consultancy and experimental solutions. Two test rigs for BS 8414 testing have recently been


built by the FPA, and the decision to fully open these for commercial use was taken as a result of concerns about the lack of market capacity − it is hoped this will speed up the UK testing process. The FPA also prides itself on its sprinkler head inspection and testing service, providing independent testing at the highest standard in accordance with the standards required. It is very pleasing to see that our client base


ranges from schools, hospitals, residential and commercial premises to farms, fire and rescue services, construction companies and hands on jobs alike. I think I speak for all at the FPA when saying we wish for this to increase and continue, as we want to make sure the importance of fire protection is at the forefront of everyone’s minds


Jamie Wyatt is sales account executive at the Fire Protection Association. For more information, view page 5


www.frmjournal.com NOVEMBER 2018 1


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