The Chief Fire Officers Association is likely to back calls for a national register of fire risk assessors.
Nick Coombe, chair of the CFOA enforcement working group, said that CFOA would probably advocate such a scheme, which would hold the details of competent fire risk assessors around the U.K.
The register would go some way, he said, in providing consistency to the flexibility related to a less prescriptive approach to fire safety.
He was speaking yesterday at the opening seminar of International Firex, called ‘Taking the Risk out of Fire Risk Assessments.’
His comments came after Simon Ince of Warrington Certification renewed calls for the register, or ‘one directory that will raise standards’.
Fire safety consultant Colin Todd said the creation of a consultants’ charter would come as no surprise and that the promise made by government for there not to be a charter was always ‘false spin’.
However, Mr Ince said that in order for the idea of a register to be attractive to the industry, the scheme would have to be commercially viable.
Speaking to around 100 delegates, he expressed exasperation about discussing ‘the same issues’ again. Concluding his address, Mr Ince said: “Hopefully when we all meet again in two years time we will not still be talking about the same issues.”
He also recalled comments made by Wilf Butcher, CEO of the Association of Specialist Fire Protection. Last month, Mr Butcher compared the task the fire industry has in teaching the built environment about fire safety with the difficulties teachers face in trying to engage with children across the country.
The answer, Mr Ince said, was to keep it ‘simple’. “You have to make it so simple that they don’t get it wrong,” he said.
BAFE last month launched a new fire risk assessment scheme that is open to consultation.
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