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Graham Ellicott is chief executive of the Fire Industry Association |
22 June 2010
It is deeply disappointing that the concepts of ‘responsible’ and ‘competent’ persons under the Fire Safety Order appear not to be understood in CLG premises. This is especially surprising given the number of people in CLG’s Eland House who are heavily involved with the Fire Safety Order. Indeed on paper a good number of the Eland House team are arguably capable of carrying out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.
One has to ask if CLG can’t apparently comprehend its own fire legislation, then how can they expect the average commercial business to understand and discharge its duties with regard to the Fire Safety Order?
Perhaps it’s time for government to step aside and let the fire professionals in the trade and fire and rescue services come together to respectively educate/encourage and enforce fire legislation?
After all, the UK has a new coalition government which is looking to save money and increase efficiency. So where better to start than to let the fire trade – who know how to run operations efficiently and who have trimmed their costs significantly already – co-operate with their professional fire and rescue colleagues in order to raise the levels of fire safety in buildings, while at the same time driving down deaths and property losses due to fire?
So Mr Pickles and Mr Osborne – when would you like us to start?
When tribal warfare ceases fire (9.05.10)
Before I write this blog I normally I agonise for days on how I can see the funny side of the fire world, while at the same time poking fun at myself – I guess this is some sort of paranoid self deprecating torture! That said, there is only so much fun that you can have at your own expense in a short period of time.
So I feel the need for once to be serious and ask the question: Why are we all so wrapped up in this strange old fire business? Well it’s a sort of tribal affair isn’t it? Each faction wears its own war paint and skirmishes break out every now and again, with the last enemy’s enemy now being an ex-friend who is related to the previous acquaintance’s bête noir – and so it goes on.
But local altercations aside, the tribes come together when there is something serious to address. As I write this piece we are approaching the 25th anniversary of the Bradford City stadium fire, and this disaster is a good example of what can be achieved when people and organisations work together both during the event itself and in its aftermath.
Like the fire world, football is tribal. Personally I belong to two tribes, one of whom has had had my undying loyalty for 50 years or so and my membership is claimed because of my birth and upbringing in that part of the world, where east London and Essex combined to produce the greatest footballer (well in my opinion anyway!) ever to kick a ball, namely the sadly missed late Bobby Moore.
My other tribe goes back nearly 20 years and membership was gained through my son who appeared one day and said: “Dad, I’ve got a free ticket to the game but you have to pay to get in” (insidious marketing tactics will always out, the FIA’s marketing manager always tells me!) and so grew my love of the team that graces the hallowed turf of Cherrywood Road. Any sad individual who can name them see me at IFSEC and I’ll give you your prize!
But back to the Bradford City fire disaster which occurred on Saturday 11 May 1985 when one side of the Valley Parade ground was destroyed by a flash fire, which broke out during a game against Lincoln City. On that day Bradford City were supposed to be celebrating winning the Football League third division trophy. The fire killed 56 people and more than 265 others were injured.
Bravery
As a result of their action during the fire, four police officers and two spectators were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal and two police officers and two spectators received the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. In addition, another 18 police officers and supporters were publicly acclaimed as having saved at least one life. Together, the rescuers managed to clear all but one person who made it to the front of the stand.
After the fire an enquiry, chaired by Sir Oliver Popplewell, led to the introduction of new legislation, including the banning of the construction of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds.
Since the Bradford City fire legislation has, of course, changed the way that premises are managed. In the light of this it is to be hoped that we never see another fire in a sports stadium that kills or maims one person, let alone the 321 or more victims at Valley Parade, not to mention their families, colleagues and acquaintances.
When I visit Cherrywood Road I expect to see a good game of football, listen to the banter of the crowd usually aimed at the referee and his assistants, plus hopefully see my team trounce the opposition. I do not expect to see a fire of any size or any injuries or fatalities which might result from it.
This week it’s IFSEC and normal Flaming Innuendo blog service will be resumed, as I’m sure a UBM guy will do something to make me laugh. Ron, I expect you to warn your colleagues that I will be watching their every move to provide content for a suitable blog piece. For my part, I will try and avoid doing anything comical, like the time I demolished the stand in front of the visiting Japanese delegation.
Beyond the call of duty (7.04.10)
Does this scenario bring anything to mind - the whir, whir, whir of helicopter blades as planes fly in formation above? ‘Apocalypse Now’ or ‘The Deer Hunter’ I hear you say!
Well no, that’s not it, so add to it the intrepid reporter dressed to blend in with the rest of the personnel as they dodge the down draft of blades as the vapour trails from the planes cloud their vision as they home in on the main story. Kate Adie in the first Gulf War or perhaps John Simpson in a burkha in Afghanistan? No wrong again!
Add to that, then, the handheld camcorder and the tough questioning by the reporter of the Government Appointee – Jeremy Paxman asking Michael Howard the same question twelve times perhaps? Sorry not in the same league!
No, I have to tell you that I refer to none other than Ron Alalouff of Info4fire.com who, while under the downdraft of the Agusta rotor blades and the vapour trails from the Aeroworks Extra 300 LP aircraft, carried out a gruelling round of interviews at the Fire Industry Association’s Annual Conference at Sywell Aerodrome.
A great day was had by all at Sywell, with presentations including those on fire investigations, Fire Safety Order prosecutions, the Services Directive, watermist, visual alarm devices, apprentices, and the joint venture between the Institution of Fire Engineers and the FIA on a new route by which engineers working for FIA companies can gain Eng. Tech. membership of the IFE.
During the lunch break while the Blades Aerobatics team got ready to fly, it was all the FIA could do to restrain Ron from begging them to allow him to fill the wing walking slot which was to end in a stall turn of such ferocity that even Adie, Paxman and Simpson had refused to volunteer!
Once airborne, the Blades carried out a short display of death defying flying which brought gasps from the crowd and from Ron exclaiming “I should have been up there with them!”
It’s going to be difficult to for the FIA to top the Sywell experience. We are looking for a new venue with crowd appeal and one at which the representatives from the fourth estate can further test their mettle. So far we are considering the Tracy Island Conference Centre with the lunch attraction expected to be a flypast of Thunderbird 2 with Virgil Tracy at the helm. International Rescue has requested a stuntman body double for Virgil. Ron?
As for me, I’ve accepted the role as body double for Parker, so watch out Lady Penelope!
Now who's the weakest link? (24.3.10)
Do we all take ourselves too seriously? I ask as recently I heard myself banging on at a seminar about the benefits of properly designed, installed and maintained fire protection systems. And as I continued the listeners were beginning to visibly wilt and glaze over as I pontificated on something that I found important and interesting. In the big scheme of things it was not as obviously fascinating to them as it was to me.
I wonder whether in future, when I get invited to speak or participate in an ‘expert panel’, I should try and mentally visualise the guy we all know as ‘the boring old fart’! I must fight against becoming one of these or if that’s not possible, throw in the towel now before many more people discern my decline (alright, some say I’m already there) towards that end.
I’m also intending to hand out score cards so that the audience can hold up marks for ‘Technical Merit’ and ‘Presentation’ with ‘6’ being the top grade. If I drop below 4 on TM then it’s time to walk away, and if P falls lower than 5 then it’s obviously time to get the hair and eyebrows trimmed again.
And of course if I hand out score cards then I expect to receive something similar about other speakers – perhaps the ability to vote them off as the weakest link? Picture the scene:
Anne Robinson: “So Graham what do you do?”
Me: “Well Anne, I’m with the Fire Industry Association and we are…”
Anne Robinson interrupts: “Well Graham, if I were you I’d ‘fire’ your hairdresser having seen your haircut, but tell me who’s the weakest link and why?”
Me “It’s [name withheld]) because their comments to all and sundry have been the same at the last 85 events that I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ to attend, and I can’t stand it anymore and more importantly neither can anybody else, and it’s getting us all a bad name.”
Anne R. then cuts to the other speakers. In answer to her most famous question they, to a man and woman, vote for me as the weakest link citing my eyebrows, poor haircut and general ability to induce a comatose reaction from the audience.
Anne then returns to me and utters the iconic phrase “Graham you are the weakest link Goodbye”.
So there we have the verdict. But delivering the same message over and over again can be successful as, of course, there may always be some people out there that have not heard it!
Weakest link I may be but having recently had the eyebrows trimmed and hair cut at least I don’t look like an old fart, do I?
No taxation for aliens? (24.02.10)
Well it’s been a strange couple of weeks with regard to working with other fire related bodies.
Many years ago I ran a fire protection business in Houston, Texas that supplied systems to the petrochemical and offshore industries, many of which were installed by Resident Aliens (RAs). Indeed I was an RA myself – great name eh? like something out of ET – although I can assure that I don’t yet have a bike that flies! RAs have the right to reside and work in the USA but don’t get a vote.
One day a bunch of fellow RAs showed up in the warehouse and tried to buy material without the sales tax, quoting the talismanic saying from the US Revolution by the Bostonian Jonathan Mayhew – "No Taxation Without Representation!" Having disabused them of the notion that we could sell product without sales tax they duly paid up and went on their way, but it got me thinking of whether they had a point?
The talismanic saying raised itself to the higher levels of my consciousness late last week when I discussed with one of our board members an e-mail that I had recently received from the Chair of a fire-related ‘quango’. This informed me that my “kind offer” of supplying a representative to give a view from the fire trade wasn’t welcome as “the current membership is adequate”. The thing that really made me laugh was that the board member in question mentioned that the quango had recently contacted his company asking for some financial support!
So my message to all companies in the fire trade is: Don’t support any quangos without proper representation and if you do and don’t get it, then remember 1776, storm their premises and chuck all their Typhoo into the harbour!
But on to more encouraging news of collaboration with other parts of the fire world, namely a coming together of the FIA with the sprinkler gang (aka BAFSA) and both Hants and Dorset Fire and Rescue to put on a well received free fire seminar for the hotels and guest house sector (I’d thought of asking the aforementioned quango for support money but suspected that the irony of the situation might have been lost on them). This success confirmed my view that trade associations are at their best when they get out to the grass roots and work with them. I’d rather do this any day that sit in yet another darkened room focusing on government targets and working with other relevant government departments and related organisations to help shape and join up the agenda.
Now off down to Halfords to see if the flying bikes have arrived.
A pile-up of egos (11.02.10)
Working for a trade association can be one long round of meetings and many people think that these can be mind blowingly boring – but that is far from the truth!
Take last Monday when I dragged my weary frame out of bed at some unearthly hour to drive 180 miles to a gathering of the great and the good. My house lies three miles from the motorway and in that short distance there were four cars off the road – one on its side, an Audi, with its red bonnet caressing a tree, and two others that skidded of the road into the adjacent ditch. The perils of black ice plus middle aged boy racers in cars that are as big as their egos, perhaps?
Having negotiated my way around the carnage I got to the meeting venue and participated in the usual round of give and take. But then bingo! the brown stuff hit the fan and people were accusing one another of not being as good as their word plus the usual trade association bragging that we have more members than you do, so you can’t have a valid view...I guess this is more ego on view, as we all know that size isn’t everything!
An hour later and this was still going on. I was beginning to lose the will to live especially with two participants who continually found fault with everything, so I mentally switched off and started to answer e-mail via the local wireless connection. Pretty rude I know, but hey why change the habits of a lifetime!
Meeting over and back in the car I wondered why I had bothered. I then concluded that it’s now 30 years since I entered the fire industry and in that time – in general – the UK has become a safer place when fire is considered.
That said, meeting participants have not changed and neither have the size of their egos, but I didn’t check the car park to see if any of them had red Audis...
