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IN the March edition of Fire Risk Management, John Judd, the chairman of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) Board of Directors, described how several British fire and rescue services have partnered with IFE to deliver a testing regime for their crew managers.
This is a great accomplishment, both for the Institution and the fire authorities concerned, and I sincerely hope to see further developments. I clearly remember the hours of studies and the interaction with fellow candidates when I prepared for my examinations. In hindsight, it opened up for me a whole new world of professional knowledge and technological developments that has benefitted my entire career.
That feeling resurfaced recently when I met Colin Lammey, chief fire officer of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. Northern Ireland was among those that reintroduced professional assessment – in fact, the examination was to be held in the week following my visit. While I was talking with Colin on this very subject, he showed me his collection of books and technical manuals, and I assured him that, likewise, I had always kept my manuals and reference materials handy in my office.
Imagine colleagues thousands of miles apart, who may have no knowledge of each other, sharing the same information, experiences and expert advice. That is the value that IFE has been bringing to its members and fire professionals worldwide. Our challenge now is to draw on the potential of the Institution to achieve international recognition for the fire engineering profession.
Northern Ireland Branch
I was privileged to attend the annual general meeting of the Northern Ireland Branch in April and passed on the President Chain from Maurice Rafferty to Philip Martin. In addressing Branch members, I was pleased to see a good attendance of young members, who obviously represent our future. Maurice and Philip have plans for more Branch activities in the coming year, and I am looking forward to seeing them at our next General Assembly meeting.
Consultation on the fire profession
You will recall that I have mentioned the Institution’s review of its role and strategic vision in order to align it with the development of the fire engineering profession. We will shortly be circulating a questionnaire to seek the views of members, as well as other stakeholders, to facilitate our deliberations.
The development of fire engineering as a discipline has been slow but steady. As far as IFE is concerned, we have a strong fire and rescue service background and our membership qualifications have been based upon recognition of a broad spectrum of professional competence. While these remain fundamental to our membership grades and titles, we must not lose sight of recognition by other professional bodies.
In recent years, fire engineering has gained recognition as a distinct discipline by the Engineering Council UK (ECUK). Our strategic goal is to facilitate recognition of fire engineers across the world, and we aim to promote ECUK registrants in countries having a compatible engineering practice, while seeking to develop reciprocal recognition in other regions. Is that also the wish of our members?
Currently, our overall ECUK registrants represent only 3% of the Institution’s membership. We seek to understand the key issues that could facilitate more competent fire professionals to register as Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians. In what manner should we set our goals with Branches and teaching institutions on future professional development?
In our aim to promote best practices in fire engineering, identify shortcomings and improvement measures, should we try to delineate functions and responsibilities to be discharged by qualified fire engineers, technician or professionals in other disciplines? Is it practicable to develop a registration scheme for professionals with various backgrounds to meet different demands in different regions?
Sustained development of fire engineering as a discipline must be supported by sound scientific research. Given constraints with resources, would stakeholders – including officials, practitioners and researchers – be willing to explore the possibilities of pooling their resources for a coordinated approach in research work, and to share the outcomes?
There is a growing international concern on climate change and sustainable development. Fire engineering is closely related to these issues but, regrettably, is not duly recognised. Should we be seeking to establish a clear position with international bodies and governments?
These are some of the questions that we would like to have your contributions on during the forthcoming review, and you will be hearing from us very soon.
Charles Chu
FSDSM, CPM, BEng (Hons), CEng, FIFireE, FHKIE
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