The Grenfell Tower tragedy exposed fundamental and deep-rooted issues over competency, highlighting major skills and knowledge gaps amongst those responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and day-to-day operation of buildings. In this article, Jonathan O’Neill OBE, Managing Director of the Fire Protection Association (FPA), explores whether the issue of competency has become clearer since Grenfell, and argues that a greater degree of focus must be placed on fire safety competence and accountability for those responsible for building design.

Fire safety remains top of the agenda following the Dame Judith Hackitt Review and the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster. Whilst much of the debate has centred around the use of combustible cladding and the need to improve fire safety management systems, there are strong calls from the industry to tighten the law on the installation of fire suppression methods too. Antony Corbett, Product Manager for Geberit Piping Systems, examines the case for mandatory sprinkler installations into existing properties.