The Fire Industry Association (FIA) is pleased to announce their upcoming Fire Safety Seminar with the support from the London Fire Brigade.

Taking place on Thursday 20th February at the FIA office in Hampton, this event follows a series of successful Fire Safety Seminars last year in Cambridge, central London and Leeds with support from the local fire services.

Relevant to those responsible for fire safety in commercial premises, the seminar will educate them about the importance and benefits of incorporating fire safety management measures and help them understand their duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
FIA CEO Graham Ellicott will be opening the seminar and experts from the FIA, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association and the Association for Specialist Fire Protection will give presentations covering various aspects of fire safety in the workplace such as who is responsible under law; fire risk assessments; fire fighting by staff; tacking false fire alarms and more.

With a range of topics on the agenda, the seminar will benefit business owners or facilities managers; health & safety managers; building designers or consultants from all commercial premises including office and retail buildings; care homes; sleeping accommodation; educational and healthcare premises.

Last year the FIA added a ‘Tackling Unwanted Fire Signals’ presentation to agenda which is given by the local Fire and Rescue Service and has proved very popular.
As fire service cuts and unwanted Fire Signals remain high of the agenda, it is important that the public are aware of fire safety management best practice, especially with changes to response policies to automatic fire alarms by brigades in England over the last two years.

In a survey conducted by the FIA in 2011, 33% of bosses in London said there has been a fire in their workplace and 24% admitted to revising fire safety procedures in the economic downturn. Major fires often result in businesses being unable to recover and closing down, and the economic cost of fire in the UK is on the increase. However there are simple, cost effective ways to protect residents, staff and businesses from fire and the FIA aims to help the public make commercial properties more fire safe.

In the same survey 56% of employees said that they were unaware of how to operate the fire alarm system in their workplace and over a quarter admitted that they wouldn’t know what to do in the event of a fire. Bringing together the local fire service and experts from three fire trade associations, this seminar will help delegates provide a safe environment for occupants and staff alike.