An innovative campaign to promote risk reduction in schools has won the 2010 fire safety award from the Association of Building Engineers (ABE).

A memorandum of understanding between fire, police and three local authorities to formalise their joint approach to school fire safety was signed in July 2010

Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service won the award for helping schools understand their individual risks, using a risk assessment toolkit based on Building Bulletin 100 – Designing for Fire Safety in Schools. This was applied to over 200 schools in the area, helping to kick start improved fire strategies and increasing their awareness of the benefits of sprinklers.

At the same time, an arson task force was set up with local police which carried out joint crime and arson risk evaluations at schools, known as SCARE (School Crime and Arson Risk Evaluation).

The initiatives followed the publication of official figures which showed, said the ABE, that between 2000 and 2005, Bedfordshire had 52 school fires per million of population – the third worst in the country. The fire service says arson is now down by 75% compared to 2003.

The ABE said although it recognises that improving passive and active fire safety measures in schools is a long-term initiative, as a result of the BB100 risk assessment tool measures and the arson task force, schools in Bedfordshire and Luton are now a long way towards achieving safer school environments for everyone.

The ABE also awarded highly commended certificates to:

• Safety Central – a ‘centre of excellence’ led by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which is used to raise awareness of fire, road and other safety issues to vulnerable groups
• Andy Shaw, station manager for fire protection at Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, who developed a risk based inspection/audit software programme, which helps identify priorities of buildings for audit
• Arc Associates UK for their work in carrying out fire risk assessments for Hull City Council’s housing stock, which included a community safety initiative for tenants and staff, and home fire safety checks for all new tenants and those falling into the ‘vulnerable’ category.

The ABE fire safety award is presented to a person or organisation who through invention, research design, publicity, education, training or any other related activity – has made a significant contribution to the advancement of fire safety, fire protection or fire engineering.