Bafe magazine by BIP Solutions

ISSUE ONE

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editorswelcome Stephen Adams Chief Executive, BAFE

PROMOTING QUALITY IN FIRE SAFETY SERVICES

What does this actually mean?

BAFE is the independent, third party certification registration body for quality in the UK fire protection industry.

This means that we are the registration body that develops schemes to support quality standards for fire protection companies to achieve and become third party certified.

For more than 30 years BAFE have been developing schemes for UKAS accredited Certification Bodies to assess and approve fire protection companies to recognised quality standards. If you require fire protection services for your premises then YOU NEED BAFE to be sure that the companies that provide them are competent, meet all the appropriate standards and have been regularly, independently audited. Whilst this certification process is not mandatory, registered fire protection companies have demonstrated their quality commitment and are confident in their ability to provide the highest service possible.

This independently acknowledges their competency to provide fire protection services. If you require fire protection services for your premises then you need BAFE to be sure that the companies that provide them meet all the appropriate standards and are independently audited. BAFE is completely independent and therefore is a totally unbiased party to help competent companies and people in need of fire protection services find each other. There are registered companies across the UK and are both large nationals and smaller regional businesses who have all achieved the same high quality standards.

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A The Fire Service College, London Rd, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0RH T 01608 653 350 E info@bafe.org.uk w www.bafe.org.uk BAFEFIRE

@BAFEFIRE

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DON’T GAMBLE WITH YOUR FIRE PROTECTION

If you are the appointed ‘Responsible Person’ for your company’s fire policy you need to be sure that the contractors you use are competent. To find these competent providers, you need BAFE. By using third party certified BAFE approved companies, you can be confident you are using independently assessed skilled professionals for your requirements, which will help meet your obligations with UK fire legislation.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER MAINTENANCE // FIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS EMERGENCY LIGHTING // FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM SYSTEMS FIXED GASEOUS FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS Search FREE to find certified competent companies at

WWW.BAFE.ORG.UK

Promoting Quality in Fire Safety

Using third party certified fire providers for your requirements can avoid disaster

IN September, BAFE registered company Fire Crest (extinguisher.com) was called into a local Care Home after a pump had caught fire in their loft the previous evening. Earlier in the year, Fire Crest inspected their system and installed a detector in this area to alert staff and their elderly residents as early as possible. This early warning enabled everybody to evacuate carefully and for the Fire and Rescue service to extinguish the blaze quickly. Minimal damage was caused and more importantly nobody was harmed by the fire. Fire Crest are one of BAFE’s many companies registered to both the BAFE SP101/ST104 (Maintenance of Fire Extinguishers) scheme and BAFE SP203-1 (Fire Detection and Alarm Systems) scheme. They recognise that competence is of vital importance for the fire protection industry. Third party certification validates this competency for many fire protection companies all over the UK, providing a clear indicator of who is able to perform important specific tasks required to keep your building safe from fire. Vince Allison from Fire Crest stated

“after the fire the CQC (Care Quality Commission) and fire brigade needed assurance that the system was working fine before residents could return to their bedrooms. We tested the area, repaired melted cables to door magnets and the home was ready to be used fully the next day”. Robert Catanzaro, founder of Fire Crest, added “being BAFE registered authenticates our ongoing commitment to provide the best quality service to provide the greatest fire safety solutions for our customers. I am extremely proud of our team here at Fire Crest and cannot commend them enough for their diligent work to help keep our customers safe”. - The small fire was detected early and extinguished quickly. Without the detector in this void the care home could have gone up in flames. This early detection is a reminder to care homes and all businesses to ensure that your fire safety systems are provided and regularly maintained by a third party certified company. This has the potential to save lives and also your livelihood. The responsible actions taken by this care home in using a third party certified

provider has created a safe environment to be in from fire. Even if fires do occur, the earliest possible detection is in place with a well maintained system. Unfortunately there are far too many false alarms which have led to Fire and Rescue Services having to modify their responses. The assurances given by using third party certificated providers will demonstrate that a genuine activation has occurred. Unlike security systems which are regularly switched off when opening the premises and switched on again upon leaving, fire systems are on all the time – and sometimes overlooked. By making sure that everything is in order and maintained regularly by a third party certified provider, there will be a muchreduced risk of false activations. These systems will work at the most critical times to protect life and property. You wouldn’t use an unregistered gas engineer, so why would you run the risk with your fire safety provider? Use BAFE registered companies to ensure you are using certified competent people for the works you require.

Brandon Lewis MP speaks at the Fire Sector Summit AT the Fire Sector Summit earlier this month where BAFE exhibited, Brandon Lewis MP (Minister for Policing and the Fire Service) spoke about fire safety professionalism. He said that "Maintaining high standards of building and public safety requires constant vigilance” – a statement that BAFE thoroughly endorses. He continued to address the audience saying “My expectations and my hope is that you will continue to drive the work needed to professionalise the fire safety industry. And, by developing and promoting training and certification schemes, allowing those involved in the business of protecting our buildings from fire to extend and demonstrate their competence. We can do this alongside ensuring further professionalism in the fire service.” BAFE’s role is to establish and develop schemes for certification to best demonstrate competence for specific tasks within the fire industry. We continue to review these schemes to ensure they provide the best quality level possible to support standards and legislation. “Businesses and those responsible for non-domestic premises need a diverse set of fire safety solutions. They can then genuinely benefit from the flexibility to determine how best to meet their statutory responsibilities in respect of life safety and protection. They need easy access to good, competent advice to identify and assess risks, high quality workmanship from trusted and certified suppliers and installers, and products which demonstrably meet good standards.”

BAFE provides this access for end users and specifiers to find certified competent companies to get the best advice and services possible for their fire protection requirements. We will continue to promote this to end users to ensure they use a quality company for their desired works. Our registered companies can also help us promote BAFE and can encourage their potential clients to verify their third party certification and BAFE registration free on the BAFE website or via the BAFE office.

When Brandon Lewis MP was appointed Fire Minister in July 2016 we wrote to him to discuss the work that we do to develop the overall quality level in the fire industry. Following this speech, we will contact Mr Lewis again to further discuss the importance of our third party certification schemes to establish a stronger relationship with Government.

Trying to locate quality fire protection companies?

Find them at www.bafe.org.uk BAFE registered companies are certified in specific areas of fire protection by UKAS accredited Certification Bodies using BAFE developed schemes. Search free to find certified competent fire companies near you at www.bafe.org.uk

Fire Extinguisher Maintenance Fire Detection and Alarm Systems Fire Risk Assessments Emergency Lighting Systems Fixed Gaseous Fire Suppression Systems

A The Fire Service College, London Rd, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0RH T 01608 653 350 E info@bafe.org.uk w www.bafe.org.uk BAFEFIRE

@BAFEFIRE

BAFE