Airvent has contributed to the development of the the fire safety accreditation scheme FIRAS, which aims to set a minimum industry standard for the installation and maintenance of smoke control systems.
Under the FIRAS scheme, certified companies are obliged to employ competent supervisors and technicians who have been assessed by FIRAS inspectors.
These competent employees are regularly reviewed, ensuring their technical and practical abilities remain in accordance with FIRAS regulations.

A register of these competent employees must be maintained by every company that is certified under the FIRAS scheme. These registers are regularly reviewed to ensure the company maintains a competent workforce with abilities that remain up to date with the work-scope the company provides.

Once certified, all FIRAS registered companies are subject to random inspections of their installation work by qualified FIRAS inspectors, ensuring all requirements are maintained.

'Smoke ventilation systems are used to save lives and protect assets,' explains Airvent director Ian Doncaster. 'That's why we feel it's absolutely vital that people who install or maintain this equipment are qualified and up to date when it comes to the latest products, installation processes and technologies. The FIRAS scheme is the perfect tool to ensure a benchmark of quality and accountability within our industry.'

Smoke control ventilation systems are an integral component of fire safety systems which is why it is vital to ensure they are only designed, installed and maintained by experts. The FIRAS certification scheme makes it much easier to establish who these experts are, and by taking a proactive approach to reviewing the competency of these individuals, ensures they have the experience, expertise and knowledge necessary for the job.

FIRAS is voluntary, third party certification for installation contractors of both passive and active fire protection systems, operated by Warrington Certification and accredited by UKAS to EN45011.

A comprehensive listing of companies which have FIRAS certification - including the scope of their certification - can be viewed in the FIRAS Register. The scheme has been produced with involvement of a number of fire safety specialist firms including Airvent, SE Controls and Colt.

Visit www.firas-database.co.uk for more details.