Commit to a moral culture for safety, says Fire Aware
Posted by: electime 2nd September 2026
Growing fire safety leader Fire Aware says the only way to achieve cultural change is for organisations large and small to recognise that the public are relying on their moral approach for their safety.
Gavin Skelly
Fire Aware CEO Gavin Skelly says the duty holders in multiple sectors affected by fire safety legislation should raise their own standards of best practice to meet and even exceed legal requirements.
Skelly said: “Our own members are proud to commit to a Code of Conduct and our specific charters which take the safety process beyond legislation. This is a vocation, not a job, and we should never place other corporate drivers before that.
“As we continue to seek methods to improve fire safety in the post-Grenfell era, we all need to commit to taking actions and changing behaviours. This includes the way we procure products and services, how we install fire safety equipment and materials and how we assess safety in our buildings.
“The public has a right to know they are safe as they inhabit and move about our buildings in large cities and towns. This includes shopping malls, hospitality venues, stadia, healthcare buildings and public infrastructure.
“This applies to any sector which has a responsibility to protect people as part of its remit, and committing to meeting that responsibility is key to progress.”
Dame Judith Hackitt – who led the Grenfell Inquiry – has called for cultural change through moral and ethical behaviours, recently supported by the new independent Building Safety Regulator (BSR) that was created to ‘promote competence and higher standards.’
Skelly said all of those involved in the design, construction, management, maintenance and letting of the built environment also need to understand that they have an obligation to fire safety even if their business is not directly connected with fire specialisms.
Fire Aware continues to focus on the moral responsibility of all those working in the fire safety supply chain including designers, developers, asset owners, managers and other stakeholders.
It aims to change the culture of the built environment sector with its moral Code of Conduct via a series of charters designed to influence how member companies behave in upholding their duty of care.
Fire Aware is a recognised membership body serving the built environment and related sectors with a common aim to work and trade responsibly to all best practice standards in the interests of the safety of the general public. See www.fireaware.org.
