What a month!
Its been a while since I posted a blog, but this is with good reason.. what..a..month!
The fire and rescue service has been stretched to breaking point across the country with temperatures hitting over 40 degrees which has provided the perfect storm for a range of differing types of fire. Operationally, it's been foot to the floor. Taking wild fires out of the equation, a number of large building fires in my service have put us at virtual breaking point. Today, as I write, I have received news of a potential national fire sevice strike in October 2022 over a derisory 2% pay offer after over 10 years of pay freezes or 1% rises. Which I can tell you, in times of over 10% inflation, the fire fighters that protect you and your families, find abhorrent.
On the fire safety and Opex side of things, again, a busy, busy month. However, this month brings us an annual visit to one of my favourite and most interesting places to risk assess. The Royal Hospital Chelsea. A complex steeped in history providing living accomodation to the Chelsea Pensioners who live together in wards where each resident has a small 'berth' area with beds and ensuite facilities. An immesurably interesting place which was built back in the mid 1600's when fire safety wasn't at the forefront of peoples minds! Although significant safety measures are in place to help protect the resident, challenges remain that have to be carefully considered as the majority of the site is grade 1 listed with changes to the structure and compartmentation limited by the heritage department of the site. Whatever the challenges, it is always a pleasure to spend a week on site, speaking to some of the most interesting people you could wish to meet, including a 101 year old SAS veteran who is reportedly one of the only remaining original SAS soldiers. What we owe some of these people, god only knows.
The Royal Chelsea Hospital - what a privilege it is to conduct the fire risk assessments here.
As we move forward into September, and from a personal point of view, it is this month (and in my 40th year i may add!) that I finally move into fatherhood, as my wife and I will finally welcome our little girl into the world with a section planned for 27th September. Exciting, and somewhat scary times, but as with all such things, we are looking forward to the challenges ahead from both a business point of view and the challenges Opex Fire Safety faces in the coming months and the challenges I face personally such as learning which way around to put a nappy on!