The fire safety sector can only develop better outcomes if it unites to tackle issues such as modern building methods, sustainability and compliance with standards, says Brian Robinson.

Have developers changed their tune about which purpose group to categorise high rise student accommodation since the requirement in Approved Document B for sprinklers in blocks of flats over 30m? Paul Clayton thinks they have.

The issue we face is not one of a blanket need for tougher regulation to ensure the safety of life and therefore, by default, the protection of property, but rather one of enforcement of the very regulations already in place.

Landlords of residential blocks may be profiteering from so-called remedial fire safety work, which is often no more than an accumulation of maintenance issues, says David Sugden.

Simon Ince of Warrington Certification Ltd hits out at what he sees as the foot-dragging of professional and industry bodies on the subject of unified fire risk assessors schemes.

Even in these austere economic times, improved and more efficient detection and alarm technologies can mean users don’t have to compromise on quality, says Paul Walsh.

Brian Robinson argues that if fire protection measures in practice lived up to current guidance and standards, we would have safer buildings.

Bob Docherty takes issue with the Chief Fire Officers Association that inconsistency of enforcement by fire and rescue services is more perceived than real.

Bob Williams relates some inadequate fire risk assessments and calls for a national register to drive out the 'cowboys'.

Mindful of the need to avoid a consultants charter, has the ‘light touch' regulatory ethos of the Fire Safety Order resulted in some responsible persons being out of their depth?

In response to comments made by Tom Welland in the November issue of FSE about inconsistent enforcement of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the Chief Fire Officers Association has made the following statement...

In spite of disquiet from some sections of the fire safety community, the first evaluation of the effectiveness of the Fire Safety Order paints a worryingly rosy picture, says Ron Alalouff.

Graham Ellicott gets invited to a party where even the provision of some sublime live music did not prevent his thoughts from turning to the problems of fire safety legislation.

In the fire safety community, I sometimes get the impression that people are reluctant to come forward and air their views openly.

Can we assume that newly built homes passed by inspectors have been constructed to fire safety standards set out in building regulations? If a recent case is anything to go by we can't, says David Sugden.

The launch last month of the new CFOA policy on false alarms marks a significant joint effort by the industry and the fire and rescue service to tackle two issues, says Ron Alalouff.

The term ‘passive' fire protection might suggest something inactive or even optional. Not at all, says Wilf Butcher who argues that our attitude to such safety should be hard-wired.

Using fire resistant cable for detector wiring in fire alarm installations might seem like a sensible decision. In most cases, however, it may not be necessary says Don Scott.

If you are in a tall building when the fire alarm goes off, is your first thought to get into a lift? Probably not, but research by the BRE shows that in certain cases, using lifts and escalators in...

Although there has been unprecedented co-operation between the fire and rescue services and the fire industry, the revised joint policy on false alarms will not actually come into force yet. Terry...

I have a vision that tens of thousands of years from now, when the remnants of surviving man evolve from the Earth's latest ice age, an explorer will stumble across the ruins of a long lost...