Free Fire Seminar

[hammer1]

http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/adg/adg133.html

[stevew]

If you are thinking of attending I would recommend that you check who the speakers are before attending.

I was recently contacted by the FIA re a seminar they were holding locally on fire safety in care/nursing premises.

Five speakers covering various aspects including sprinkler systems, the RRO, means of escape, fire alarm and emergency lighting. Sound good?  Well, in my opinion the audience would have gained more by staying at home with a copy of the relevant RRO guide.

I have got to single out the speaker on the RRO who was from a well known national company offering fire safety advice.       He clearly had no background or experience on the subject and spent his 20 minutes reading from his Powerpoint presentation.  Perhaps if one was critical one could look at his employer and come to the conclusion that they felt the event did not justify an alternative speaker.  Disrespectful to those in the care/nursing business and a poor advert for the fire industry.     

[kurnal]

Hi Steve
Sorry to hear you were dissapointed, I hope it was not the events in Sheffield or Manchester as I was the speaker on behalf of the FIA!

The FIA asks its competent member companies to contribute and present at these events, like all organisations when you rely on volunteers sometimes a last minute hitch can arise. it doen't happen often but when it does we are forced to find a stand in at short notice and the poor sod then has to work to someone elses prepared presentation.

Generally the events are well managed and well received.  Sometimes it can be a little dissapointing, one of the problems when organising free events  it is very diffiult to gauge the profile of the delegates and to pitch the presentation. For the care home seminar I did at Sheffield there were major national providers of social housing on the one hand and care workers from the sharp end on the other.

Hey if you would care to join us at the FIA you would be very welcome, and from looking at your website I can see we are striving for the same goals and standards. We need people to help move things forward and get the message out there.

 

[Tom W]

If you are thinking of attending I would recommend that you check who the speakers are before attending.

I was recently contacted by the FIA re a seminar they were holding locally on fire safety in care/nursing premises.

Five speakers covering various aspects including sprinkler systems, the RRO, means of escape, fire alarm and emergency lighting. Sound good?  Well, in my opinion the audience would have gained more by staying at home with a copy of the relevant RRO guide.

I have got to single out the speaker on the RRO who was from a well known national company offering fire safety advice.       He clearly had no background or experience on the subject and spent his 20 minutes reading from his Powerpoint presentation.  Perhaps if one was critical one could look at his employer and come to the conclusion that they felt the event did not justify an alternative speaker.  Disrespectful to those in the care/nursing business and a poor advert for the fire industry.     

What i find disrespectful is companies who plant themselves in the audience and tout for business when companies have paid to have a presence there.

[ian gough]

Steve: as one of the speakers and organisers I have to say your comments do not reflect the vast majority of positive responses we've had.

[stevew]

Ian

I would always support the sprinkler lobby and your presentation on the subject was very informative.  I was however, concerned that having spoken to a number of care providers and experienced consultants in the audience that they agreed with my view that too much time was taken 'selling' sprinklers.

Time would have been better spent discussing and clarifying in a little more depth the areas care/nursing providers seem to generally mis-understand.  This bearing in mind that a number of fire authorities now have the audit approach of immediate enforcement on the grounds that 3 years is long enough to carry out the assessment and impliment its contents. 

[Clevelandfire 3]

Nice one Ian.As always I see you readily make new chums on this forum. Best form of defence is attack though isn't it pal. zzzzz.

[hammer1]

I went today to the 2nd seminar and I personally  thought it was very good.

Good organising, good venue (by the Thames, Fulham Football FC). I also thought the speakers were very good in most cases and very competent in their respective disciplines and being very knowledgeable  (with loads of goodies to boot). The bloke from FIA was a stand in and is on the fire risk council (not sure who blew out??). It is a shame I did not go to the 2 days and made the most of it.

Good flow of tea and biscuits all day was a bonus.

Not mentioning any names but other organisations would of charged you a few hundred quid, so being free is a real bonus. Only down point was the Harrods prices in the cafe

I would say keep a look out for future ones (in my humble opinion).