Fire Protection Charitable Trust

from Fire NZ Magazine - September 2019

New Zealand Firefighters Welfare Society

The complexity of self-funding the industry share of standards development has long been a fire protection industry bugbear. Historically there has been somewhat of an ad hoc approach to funding, with sprinklers having their own levy system administered by a single sprinkler system certifier (SSC), but the alarm sector not having any formal mechanism in place to collect funding.

Those in the industry have long been aware that some form of consistent funding model was needed, but commercial sensitivities prevented the collection of a levy for fire alarms as well. Instead, industry needed to “pass the hat around” every time a revision of the alarm standard came due. Several different formulae were used over the years, but fairness and transparency were ongoing issues.

The obvious solution was the formation of an independent body to oversee the levy collection process for both sprinkler systems and fire alarms. There also needed to be the guarantee of complete transparency and an assurance that the funds collected were ringfenced so they weren’t diverted from their original purpose.

Enter Scott Lawson. The CEO of Fire Protection Association New Zealand (FPANZ) was ideally placed to spearhead the development of a trust that would exist for the primary purpose of ensuring levies were collected and held until they were needed at Standard review time.

He began discussions with CEOs and industry leaders around the usefulness of such an organisation at the end of 2016, “but it took some time to get everyone singing from the same song sheet.”

“There was a fair bit of corralling needed to get everybody on board,” admits Lawson. As the Standards should ideally be reviewed every five years, some were worried that the money collected wouldn’t end up being used for the correct purpose if the management of FPANZ changed.

“There was some concern, particularly from those in the fire alarm industry, that the money collected would just sit in a bank and end up being diverted from its original purpose if there were leadership changes within management of FPANZ.”

Concurrently, Lawson started discussions with Standards NZ, and it became apparent that the best way to move forward was to set up a trust that was completely independent of FPANZ and so not subject to any future changes to personnel who might lack Lawson’s level of buy-in.

After extensive discussion with members of the Association, plus FPANZ Board and Council members, other industry stakeholders, and with the help of independent legal advisors, it seemed obvious that a charitable trust with only one or two set objectives was the best way forward.

This had the added bonus of protecting the funds from changes both in FPANZ staffing and the business risks encountered by normal day-to-day operations.

The establishment of the Trust helped to assuage many of the fears held by industry: “Once it was explained that the Trust would operate as a completely separate charitable entity people began to appreciate how useful it could be.”

The Fire Protection Charitable Trust was set up in late 2018, its core objectives being defined as: “the promotion of the ongoing development of fire safety Standards, and assistance with and provisions for the training, establishment of qualifications and professional development of people working in the fire protection industry”.

“After independent legal advice, a trust deed was prepared by our lawyers and we started the process of finding independent trustees who would administer the Trust once formed,” says Lawson. “The FPA funded the development and all costs up until the Trust was running on its own.”

As part of the set-up process, the Trust established memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with inspection organisations who operate at the “coal face”, collecting the levies when sprinkler systems or fire alarm systems are installed.

A separate MOU exists with FPANZ, who provided all the set-up costs, and who conducts the Trust’s administration free of charge.

The appointment of trustees by FPANZ and the Trust’s board was another means by which to ensure the accountability and transparency of the Trust.

“Again, we wanted to ensure that there was a cast iron entity that ensured the money could only be spent on set objectives as outlined in the formation of the Trust,” says Lawson. “When I’m no longer CEO, this will ensure that there is no change of use of these funds in the future.”

The five inaugural Trustees (appointed for a five-year term late last year) are all well-known industry figures, who give broad representation of the interests of the fire industry sector as a whole.

The Chair of the Fire Protection Charitable Trust is David Prosser, who prior to retirement was fire detection product manager with Tyco/Johnson Controls, a major local manufacturer. He is also an FPANZ life member and the chair of the Standards NZ Fire Alarms committee.

Jacqui Bensemann, Managing Director of Argus Fire Protection, is the Treasurer; Nicky Marshall (fire system design engineer and Southern Regional Manager of Protech Design) is Secretary; and Chris Mak (Fire Protection Engineer and Manager of Aon Fire Protection, current FPANZ President, and Chair of the Standards NZ Fire Sprinklers Committee), and Mitchell Brown, Area Commander (Manawatu) for Fire and Emergency New Zealand are both Trustees.

Lawson says that the Trustees are all highly respected and bring a range of skills to the role.

“These trustees bring industry experience and each one their own specific skill set ensuring that the Trust has great management and is representative of the wider industry.”

In parallel, changes were afoot in NZ’s qualifications framework. Also, there was, (and still is), a pressing need for ongoing fire industry recruitment and training. With this comes the cost of developing qualifications and training material. FPANZ has championed, and funded, several initiatives, but a need could be foreseen for external agency/grant funding in future.

Lawson says that now the Trust is in existence, the feedback from the industry is positive: “They (industry) can get on with their daily business, knowing that there is a separate entity for underwriting the future cost of Standards development.”

It is hoped that the existence of the Trust will help smooth the path for future fire Standards by removing financial barriers and aiding the fire industry’s self-regulation through the development of industry-led codes of practice.

Trust Chair David Prosser says that there is a need for more consensus-based codes of practice, which can steer the entire industry towards best practice “even though they don’t have the weight of Standards or regulation.”

“Codes of practice are a lot cheaper and faster to produce than formal Standards,” he says. “They also help to fill a void in performance-based situations where existing sources of best practice guidance are not well known or immediately apparent.”

It is likely that the Trust will play a future role in helping with fire protection education by assisting with the ongoing development of industry-specific qualifications and training, as well as providing impetus for improving skill levels, training new recruits to the sector, and fostering industry best practice.

Prosser continues by saying that the Trust’s scope may extend to other disciplines in the future.

“It’s hoped the Trust might become a vehicle to receive and administer funds related to training and Standards or codes of practice in other fire disciplines such as hand-operated fire-fighting (e.g. extinguishers), passive fire protection, and possibly even agency training and qualification development grants.”

Prosser acknowledges that the credit for the Trust’s development lies in the foresight Scott Lawson has shown. “He had the vision to establish the Trust. The Trustees would also like to acknowledge the generous and practical assistance with ongoing administration offered by FPANZ.”

Lawson, meanwhile, is delighted that the Trust has finally become a reality, filling a gap in the sector that needed to be filled.

“I am genuinely proud that industry has taken the steps to support this initiative and get it off the ground. The Trust is able to focus on the continued development of fire safety Standards in New Zealand and that is a really positive outcome for both public and businesses.”