NFPM: Fire protection—keeping you safe

FIRE PROTECTION

—KEEPING YOU SAFE

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

The inaugural National Fire Protection Month celebrated the important role of the fire protection sector in keeping lives, property, and the environment safe from the risk of fire.

In the early hours of 2 September 1666, a fire broke out in Thomas Farriner’s bakery in Pudding Lane, London, when a spark from his oven hit fuel in his kitchen, starting what would become known as the Great Fire of London.

Dry, hot summer conditions and strong winds caused the fire to spread quickly, and bureaucratic indecision by the Lord Mayor prevented the fire from being contained.

Over the next four days, the fire consumed much of the city within the old Roman walls, extending out to the west and destroying over 13,000 homes, 87 churches (including St Paul’s Cathedral), and even threatening the court at the Palace of Whitehall.

Over 200,000 people were displaced—approximately 85% of the population made homeless—with over £10 million worth of damage caused (equivalent to £1.72 billion in today’s terms). It took 50 years for the city to rebuild.

With no national fire service, and nothing like the fire protection we know today, residents were helpless, and many who fled the city to get away from the blaze did not return for months or years.

The incident changed and improved many of the strategies used to combat fire, including dedicated firefighters, building controls, and (eventually) the first suppression systems.

National Fire Protection Month

In remembrance of the Great Fire of London, and to recognise the role and innovations of fire protection in the centuries since, in September 2022 FPA Australia held the inaugural National Fire Protection Month (NFPM).

This annual event celebrates the importance of fire protection to the safety of life, property, and the environment.

Sixteen free seminars and webinars were run throughout the month, with over 1,000 people registering to attend. With the theme ‘Fire protection: keeping you safe’, the program saw a variety of speakers covering a range of related topics.

Some of these focused on what the fire protection sector does to keep people and property safe, particularly in residential apartment buildings.

Others explored different areas of fire protection—mining, defence, electric vehicles.

And there was a lot of interest in the rules surrounding fire safety assessment and product certification.

Students from western Sydney discuss opportunities within the fire protection industry.

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PHOTOS: FPA AUSTRALIA

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1. CEO John Kilgour (FPA Australia), Mrs Linda Hurley, and Michael Donegan (Redmen) at the launch. 2. Sue Steele (Red Earth Health Solutions), Neil van Drunen (AMEC), and Nick Rice (AusFire) discuss fire safety in mining.

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3. Steven Baxas (City of Melbourne) and John Clampett (John Clampett Consulting) discuss how fire safety features protected Lacrosse residents. 4. John Kilgour welcomes attendees.

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5. Peter Meyer (Office of Defence Industry Support) discuss the fire protection needs of the Defence forces, while Steve Lockwood (Hydfire) and Greg Strettles (SDS, hidden) look on.

The program even included a careers forum for school leavers, where ten practitioners discussed the specific roles that they play in the industry. This was mostly attended by students from Blacktown Girls’ High School, and it was encouraging to see the interest shown in fire protection careers.

The results

Through NFPM, we have been able to reach out to some new sectors to discuss fire safety. It allowed members and their clients to participate in different events and to hear the positive story of fire protection.

While the attendance at different events was varied, we have been able to raise the profile of the industry, and we look forward to running the event again next year.

In launching the event at Admiralty House in Sydney, our Patron, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), GovernorGeneral of Australia, recognised that a key benefit is the additional time given by fire protection systems to allow occupants to escape and firefighters to attend the blaze: “… In the event of a fire in a building, it is the fire protection and fire prevention systems that will buy people trapped in that building time,” he said.

“And ‘time’ as we know—the precious minutes and seconds—can make a world of difference …”

FPA Australia CEO John Kilgour echoed that sentiment: “We all know that firefighters are essential,” he said.

“But without detection and alarm systems, suppression systems, mechanical smoke control features, and passive fire walls and doors, there would be no chance of saving a burning building.

“More importantly, the people within such a building would have no hope of getting out safely.”

The role of NFPM was to share this message with the community, so that the role of fire protection (often unremarked) can be recognised and celebrated.

With the success of this first effort, NFPM will return next year, and we are keen to get some feedback about the event—what worked, what didn’t, and what topics would you like to hear about.

Drop us a line at engagement@fpaa. com.au and help us to deliver an even better event in 2023.

THANK YOU

TO EVERYONE WHO SHARED THEIR TIME AND EXPERTISE TO PRESENT AT OUR VARIOUS EVENTS:

Jeff Apps, Firesense Steven Baxas, City of Melbourne Council Greg Bignall, Absolute Fire Safety Gregory Bonnily, Contact Group Nathan Brown, BCA Engineers John Clampett, John Clampett Consulting Nicole Cocks, Vortex Fire Peter Collina, FPA Australia Nick Columb, Life Again Michael Connelly, Chubb Fire and Security Leigh Gesthuizen, FPA Australia Ben Girard, Credible Fire Safety John Godfrey, JMG Nick Grice, First 5 Minutes, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Alex Hoyle, GMBS John Ivison, Civil Fire John Kilgour, FPA Australia Anita Kingdom, Total Concept Industries Hugh Kingdom, Total Concept Industries Anthony Lada, Chubb Fire and Security Steven Lockwood, Hydfire John McDonough, Fire and Rescue NSW Shae Mete, FPA Australia Peter Meyer, Office of Defence Industry Support Allen Mitchell, FPA Australia Paul Mlozniak, Beyond Fire Scott Phillips, Local Government NSW Stephen Poulter, Port Stephens Council George Reboredo, Fire Protect Systems Adrian Rhodes, Inspiring the Future Australia Nick Rice, Ausfire Industries Alex Robertson, FERST Alan Short, Fire and Emergency Services SA Greg Smith, FPA Australia Sue Steele, Red Earth Health Solutions Greg Strettles, Safety Direct Solutions Emma Sutcliffe, EVFireSafe Helen Ting, Department of Customer Service Neil van Drunen, AMEC Bruce Waine, Total Concept Industries Paul Waterhouse, FPA Australia Mark Whybro, FPA Australia, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia Matthew Wright, UL Matthew Wunsch, Department of Customer Service Alex Zimbounellis, Fire Protect Systems

THANK YOU TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION MONTH STEERING COMMITTEE:

Julia Barraclough, FPA Australia Peter Collina, FPA Australia Michael Connelly, Chubb Fire and Security (ACT representative) Leigh Gesthuizen, FPA Australia Paul Gleeson, Contact Group (Tasmanian representative) David Heath, Fireguard West (Victorian representative) John Kilgour, FPA Australia Anita Kingdom, Total Concept Industries (NSW representative) Diane Lim, Fiona Wood Foundation Steven Lockwood, Hydfire (NT representative) Anton Milne, FPA Australia Allen Mitchell, FPA Australia Ed Payne, Rader FS Fire Solutions (WA representative) George Reboredo, Fire Protection Systems (NSW representative) Alan Short, Fire and Emergency Services SA (SA representative) Dale Spurway-Humphries, Performance Fire (SA representative) Paul Waterhouse, FPA Australia Mark Whybro, FPA Australia, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia Luke Woodward, Infusion Solutions (Queensland representative)