Changing behaviour is the key to future safety, says Fire Aware
Posted by: electime 19th May 2026
Changing the behaviour of those in the supply chain is the difference to making cultural change happen across multiple sectors, says Fire Aware.
As membership of the fire safety organisation grows, it is increasingly seeing those responsible at different levels taking their duty of care for public safety seriously.
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) which has been created to “promote competence and higher standards.”
Fire Aware CEO Gavin Skelly said: “Changing behaviour can be difficult especially across different disciplines whether you are a contractor, sub contractor, asset owner or manager. However, it is the difference between meeting the cultural change that is needed or not.
“Actions do speak louder than words. Adopting best practice above the minimum requirements of compliance can feel like an unnecessary step – yet it is a valuable USP for any business with a duty of care in the post Grenfell era.
“Working in this industry is more than a job. Fire safety is a vocation. Adopting that attitude of mind which then turns into actions and behaviours is how we will make this happen. Dame Judith Hackitt asked for behaviour change and this is a central principle of our organization.”
“Many are joining us as members because they want to sign up to our code of conduct which binds us all together. Many members follow our code and their charter conditions for their own sector which we apply and are happy to reach these levels of competence because it means they can sleep at night. This is a unified network that understands the vocational commitment to protecting people’s safety.”
Skelly said all of those involved in the design, construction, management, maintenance and letting of the built environment need to understand that they have an obligation to fire safety even if their business is not directly connected with fire specialisms.
Sectors which are particularly vulnerable to fire risk include the hospitality sector – with the many bars, restaurants and hotels which are trusted to protect their customers – and healthcare which has to protect many vulnerable and elderly people including those who cannot look after themselves in the event of a real fire.
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 by introducing a 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.
