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 AS YOU read this column, I anticipate that I shall have been installed as the 80th international president of the Institution of Fire Engineers at the 85th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Conference and Exhibition, held in Blackpool, Lancashire, earlier this month.
I feel both honoured and privileged not only to have been installed to this office, particularly when one looks back at the extensive list of my illustrious predecessors, but also that this year’s AGM and Conference took place in the county of my birth, where the whole of my fire engineering career has taken place.
Before continuing, however, it would be entirely remiss of me not to pay tribute to the work carried out by my immediate predecessor, Charles Chu. During his time as international president, he has been an impressive ambassador for the Institution, carrying out his duties with commitment, enthusiasm and humility. He has been a credit to himself, his home Branch in Hong Kong, and to the Institution as a whole. He will indeed be a hard act to follow, and I fully intend to learn from his experiences and, hopefully, become a worthy successor.
Significant year
This year is particularly significant for the Institution as it marks the 90th anniversary since it was established. It is anticipated that this milestone will be recognised in a suitably auspicious manner. There have been many important developments in fire engineering during the last 90 years, not least of which has been the emergence of fire engineering as a discipline in its own right, underpinned by the fact that the Institution is now recognised in the United Kingdom, and increasingly in the wider international community, as the primary body for the professional recognition of fire engineering professionals. It is hoped that 2008 will be another watershed for the Institution as it seeks to further enhance its growing international reputation.
Such optimism is not without foundation since a number of positive opportunities have already emerged. During 2007, the Institution enjoyed an overall increase in membership of 4%, with increases in corporate, non-corporate and non-voting grades. Current indications are that this trend will continue, particularly when one also considers the great work being undertaken by the Institution’s members and officers to further develop individuals’ opportunities for personal development and professional recognition; the re-emergence of the relevance of the Institution’s examinations among a number of UK fire and rescue services and the increasing desire for Engineering Council registration, particularly at Engineering Technician level, bear testament to this fact.
One of the Institution’s great strengths has always been its members’ involvement in local activities. Indeed, my local Lancashire Group recently ran two very successful seminars in partnership with the Disability Association, and no doubt many other similar examples can be cited from groups and branches in all areas. It is planned that a new Middle East Branch will be inaugurated during 2008, and that branch activity will be reinvigorated in both India and Nigeria. I very much wish to encourage all those initiatives.
It is clear, however, that today’s global environment brings challenges for the Institution in terms of its efforts to develop fire engineering as a discipline. It is essential that the Institution is fully involved in identifying, promoting and disseminating best practice in fire engineering, underpinned by demonstrating support for and encouragement of research activity. It is my hope that, during my time as international president, I shall be able to contribute to that involvement, not only in countries where fire engineering is comparatively well-established but also in other developing countries.
Climate change and sustainable development are two key societal issues faced by today’s world, and both issues have clear links with the fire engineering profession. Today’s fire engineers need to consider, among other things, their contributions in sustainable building design and the potential for reducing carbon footprints, whether as a result of building design or stemming from fire itself. This is indeed a key challenge, but one to which the Institution should rise, ensuring that it makes a valid and effective contribution.
This coming year, there is much for the Institution to do and to achieve. Your involvement as members is key to that, and I intend, as your international president, to support, encourage and join with you as we look to develop more fire engineers, see fire engineering mature as a discipline in its own right and, ultimately, make our world a safer place for our communities and the people who live in them.
Paul Richardson
BEng (Hons), BSc, CEng, FIFireE, MCGI
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