In its first event in the seminar series "How Safe are YOUR fire doors", held at the Building Centre, Store Street, London, BWF-CERTIFIRE presenter, John Fletcher, urged the audience that only 3rd-party certificated products can provide the most dependable way of ensuring fire door safety, a point echoed by Graham Fieldhouse of Brent Housing, one of the two guest speakers at the event. Graham went on to discuss some of the issues faced in Brent’s £8million spend on fire safety in its high-rise blocks.
Mike Burroughs, Head of Fire Protection and Investigation in Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, described some of the issues and challenges faced by the service across the two counties in the South West of England. In particular, he highlighted some of the tragedies, which have occurred, including in one particular incident, the blocking of a fire escape window and use of a plastic replacement door for the entrance to a ground floor flat in a converted house. The evening finished with a presentation by Iain McIlwee on the Fire Door Inspection Scheme – FDIS.