From the CE’s desk

It was good to get together with over 220 BAFSA members and guests or our AGM, Meeting and Dinner at Marriott Forest of Arden in early November. This was our first face to face AGM and Dinner since 2019 as Covid had prevented us meeting for the last two years.

It was also a great opportunity to introduce Alasdair (Ali) Perry our new Chief Executive.

After a very successful recruitment campaign which attracted over 46 applicants, BAFSA Council Members interviewed and selected Ali from a very competitive short list.

Since our last face to face AGM, BAFSA has gone from strength to strength and embraced online technology for many of our meetings including the AGM. We have also done more online training courses; this was caused by necessity however it is likely that much of our training will continue in this mode. BAFSA’s training for installers and designers has carried on almost uninterrupted and thanks to the good work done by Ruth Oliver and Alan Crichton our courses are now all available online. Whilst writing, I would like to thank all of the BAFSA team members for the excellent work they have done over the last year.

From early next year our new Chief Executive, Ali will be in post and he will be working with BAFSA Council to produce a new five-year plan for BAFSA and I would encourage all Members to let Council know the direction of travel you wish your organisation to take?

We are keen to see BAFSA continue to grow and we are aware that there are more Third-Party Accredited installers out there who we need to encourage to join BAFSA for the benefit of the industry and of course to ensure that people, communities, businesses and the planet are robustly and sustainably protected from fire by water based automatic fire suppression which is designed, manufactured, installed and maintained to the highest standards.

KEITH MACGILLIVRAY MBE MA BSC CHIEF EXECUTIVE “I am absolutely delighted to have been appointed as the next Chief Executive of BAFSA. As I retire from the Fire Service after 28 years, I can think of no better way to continue my passion for improving fire safety than as BAFSA’s CE. The current position of strength the association finds itself in is testament to the work of people such as Keith McGillivray the current Chief Executive, Stewart Kidd the previous Secretary General and the late Chair John McCann.

I look forward to continuing this good work and maintaining BAFSA’s focus on fire suppression systems and preserving the strong reputation of the association. I will also focus on continuing the long history of BAFSA’s work in delivering quality and improving awareness of the benefits of sprinklers. In addition, I will lead BAFSA in campaigning, influencing and advocating for expanding the legislative requirements for sprinklers in the built environment.

Most of all I look forward to working with members and stakeholders to ensure BAFSA continues to strengthen and improve fire safety across Britain.”

ALASDAIR PERRY

2023 BAFSA Council

INSTALLERS RUSSELL DIXON – Chairman, BAFSA Hall & Kay Fire Engineering ALASTAIR WILSON, Vice Chairman, BAFSA Vipond Fire Protection MARK STANSFIELD A & F Sprinklers STEVE BRAILEY Armstrong Priestley MATT BAKER Compco CLAIRE HARPER Domestic Sprinklers PAUL BERRY Johnson Controls MATTHEW SMITH Pyro Protection Ltd EDDIE PEARSON

MANUFACTURERS & SUPPLIERS PHIL ILSLEY Grundfos Pumps KATE SCOURFIELD Johnson Controls (Products)Ltd AFOLABI AKINSANYA Rapidrop Global Ltd CHRIS GAVIN Reliable Fire Sprinkler (UK) Ltd NICK SCULL Victaulic

ASSOCIATES TOM ROCHE FM Global SIMON BIRD Fixed Firefighting Systems Bureau ROGER BRASON South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Installers