Fire Safety Experience:
Inspecting Officer
As a Fire Safety Inspecting Officer enforcing UK fire safety legislation, my primary responsibility was to ensure that buildings and premises comply with fire safety standards to protect residents and the broader community. This role has equipped me with a deep understanding of Approved Documents B and P, crucial for carrying out comprehensive Fire Risk Assessments. Regularly communicating with building owners, managers, and residents, I confidently discuss intricate safety details, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and the importance of adhering to safety protocols.
My tasks involve creating detailed reports on building safety, highlighting areas of non-compliance, and providing actionable recommendations. Collaborating closely with professional surveyors and engineers, I’ve developed strategies to address identified risks, ensuring the highest safety standards are maintained. My extensive technical knowledge encompasses all stages of a building’s life cycle, with a particular emphasis on fire safety.
Furthermore, I have experience navigating protocols, building safety information systems, and maintaining safety case files. These skills ensure that all relevant data is accurately recorded, stored, and easily accessible for future reference, further promoting building safety and compliance.
Resident Communication & Building Safety Reports:
During my involvement with the Surrey Fire & Rescue Service’s TBST project, I was dedicated to proactively ensuring the safety of Surrey’s residents and firefighters. This commitment required clear and effective communication with various stakeholders, including residents, to keep them informed and reassured. My experiences have not only sharpened my communication skills but also equipped me with the expertise to draft comprehensive building safety reports that can be easily understood by both technical and non-technical audiences.
Fire Risk Assessments & Building Surveys:
One of the pivotal objectives of the TBST project was to collect essential risk information for specified building sets. This involved a deep dive into the history of cladding fires, and understanding the materials and associated risks. My involvement provided me with hands-on experience in carrying out structured risk assessments and surveys, particularly focusing on high-risk buildings.
Technical Knowledge & Strategy Development:
The TBST project’s success hinged on forming robust partnerships with relevant teams and developing effective strategies to lower the risk associated with identified high-risk buildings. My role demanded extensive technical knowledge, especially regarding fire safety in buildings. Collaborating with professional surveyors, engineers, and other experts was a regular feature, ensuring that our strategies were sound and innovative.
Safety Case File & Data Systems:
The TBST project provided me with an understanding of the importance of maintaining comprehensive safety case files. This includes collecting, storing, and analyzing building safety information and data in a structured manner, ensuring quick retrieval and analysis when required.
Fire Safety – Tall Building Safety Team (TBST):
Aim and Objectives:
To work proactively in partnership to ensure the safety of Surrey’s residents and firefighters providing a safer Surrey for all.
- Objective 1: Form a robust working partnership with relevant teams.
- Objective 2: Collect vital risk information for the specified building sets.
- Objective 3: Carry out inspections for identified high-risk buildings and take appropriate measures to lower risk.
The TBST work
- Established the TBST (1 February 2020).
- Identified 67 buildings of 18 meters (9 Floors) or more (NFCC data).
- Identified 400 buildings of 11 meters (4 floors) or more (SFRS data).
- Processed, cleaned and merged SCC’s satellite data of 11,000 entries.
- Liaised with national managing agents and responsible persons for data gathering.
- Identified all buildings over 11 meters in height in Surrey.
- Gathered robust data on their use and occupancy types.
- Determined which buildings have external cladding facades, which type & composition.
- Thoroughly inspected all premises identified as high-risk and took appropriate action to increase safety and mitigate any risk.
- Recording of robust risk information in support of resident and firefighter safety.
Vital Risk Information.
We aimed to make our residents and the public safer from fire. Therefore, we considered other risks to the community due to the system failings that Grenfell brought to light.
The most significant objective for this project was the collection of vital risk information. This information was a cornerstone to ensure the TBST could meet its aim.
Partners.
- National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
- Local Borough Building Control.
- Local Borough Housing Teams.
- Surrey Fire & Rescue Service.
