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 AS MOST of you will be aware, this year’s IFE annual general meeting and conference took place last month in Blackpool and was well-attended by both members of the Institution and other delegates. Speaking to people who attended in various guises, whether as a delegate, speaker, sponsor, exhibitor or member of staff, it would appear that the event was a success, with a lot of positive feedback being generated.
As international president, I would like to offer my personal thanks to all those who supported the event in one form or another. From a personal perspective, I would like to thank members of the Institution’s Lancashire Group and staff from IFE head office for their sterling work over the two days and the period beforehand in ensuring that things fell into place. While these events are inevitably a ‘team effort’, I would like to single out, for particular mention, both Jenny Angus from the Institution’s head office and Ray Cassar from the IFE Lancashire Group for their unstinting efforts.
The conference itself was designed to be wide-ranging in its scope, reflecting the broad church of fire engineers which the Institution represents. Each of the three conference themes – prevention, protection, and emergency response and planning – was also broad in terms of subject matter. Each had an international dimension, with presentations made by speakers from Canada, Hong Kong and Australia.
Building protection was examined from the perspective of heritage buildings and modern buildings with complex engineered solutions, and issues around the large-scale regeneration of existing building stock were discussed. From managing risk locally to planning for major global events, there seemed to be something for everyone. What was made clear, however, is that fire is a risk to communities the world over, whatever the geographic and demographic context, and it is incumbent upon fire professionals to educate, prevent, protect and respond in order to reduce that risk. The broad constituency of the Institution makes it a somewhat unique body where a truly integrated approach to reducing that risk can be discussed, debated, shared and ultimately implemented.
Given that one of the key themes of this month’s edition is ‘new threats’, it was somewhat appropriate that one of the speakers at this year’s conference was Ron Dobson, the commissioner for fire and emergency planning in London. Ron’s paper, which considered some of the major incidents that London Fire Brigade has attended in recent years and also outlined some of the key planning requirements for ensuring resilience in major modern cities, shows that today’s fire professionals can no longer work in isolation from other disciplines. Fire engineers have to operate effectively in the wider social context, with fire engineering in its broadest sense being an integral part of overall community safety.
Grassroots membership
As you read this column, my duties as international president will no doubt have begun in earnest. During August, it will be my privilege to represent the Institution to present papers at conferences in Auckland, New Zealand, and Denver in the US state of Colorado.
While the sharing of knowledge in this way with other professionals is a worthy activity in its own right, I have to say that, for me, one of the main advantages of these events is that I shall have the opportunity to meet with local IFE branch members and engage in some of their branch activities.
One of the things that struck me quite forcibly at this year’s annual general meeting and conference is how highly the IFE is regarded in many parts of the world, and I am very much looking forward to meeting people who support the Institution at ‘grassroots’ level, not only to listen to their views, but also to try and ensure that the Institution supports them in the most appropriate way possible. After all, without the efforts of its members, the Institution could not function in the way it does.
Finally, I recognise that, for many of our members (and staff), we are now approaching the main holiday season. Can I thank you for all your efforts on behalf of the Institution and wish you a safe and relaxing holiday period. Hopefully, we can all have the opportunity to recharge our batteries and come back revitalised as the Institution looks to move forward once again.
Paul Richardson
BEng (Hons), BSc, CEng, FIFireE, MCGI
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