FIREX 2014 International took place at Excel, London on 17th – 19th June. Exhibitors from every category of fire protection displayed their products and services, showing every fire safety manager, engineer and installer the latest technology in active and passive fire protection.
The emphasis of the education programs this year was on passive fire protection and detection, with safety in residential properties and living and working in a fire safe environment being two key topics in the ASFP seminar programme.
One of the major highlights at the show was inside the FPA Infozone, where Fiona Ambrose from the BBC shared the ways that the BBC are improving fire safety in their international bureaus.
At FIREX the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) launched their newly updated publication – Ensuring Best Practice for Passive Fire Protection in Buildings. The publication was originally produced following a joint industry/government sponsored research project into passive fire protection in buildings in which a number of buildings were inspected for compliance with regulations. It has now been extensively updated and contains guidance on best practice including who and where to get necessary information and guidance.
The Fire Safety Search team learned about many interesting ways that organisations contribute to innovation and safety on a broad scope. We met BRE Global and heard about their fire testing facility, and watched a video demonstration of products being tested in their cutting edge laboratory for research and certification.
There were insightful talks on very intriguing developments in fire safety, which included the FPA Infozone seminar on fire safety management in historic buildings. Mike Coull, of Heritage Fire and Safety, said “Structural features of historic buildings can be a help in restricting the spread of fire. Owing to small beam spans, thick stone walls, etc it is possible to restrict the lateral spread of fire. But against that, there are some structural features that assist the spread of fire, including timber frames, timber stairs, large open spaces, large roof voids, etc.” He stressed the necessity to ensure effective management of contractors on heritage properties.
Major exhibitors at FIREX with big stands had a successful show including C-Tec, Advanced and Kentec. However, it was not all about the big players in the industry as the exhibition hall was filled with many small stands from new exhibitors looking to increase their market share in the fire industry, which is a major reason why FIREX International is so important for new innovation.
FIREX this year was visited by representatives from a very broad range of countries including France, China, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, as well as a big turnout from UK visitors and exhibitors, demonstrating the show’s popularity at home in the UK and also abroad.
This was a very positive show and, just like in previous years, there featured a well presented forum for the fire safety, detection and protection industries.
FIREX International once again delivered on its reputation as a great place to meet exciting contacts. We have high expectations for the next edition on 16-18 June 2015, returning to Excel, London.
