Fire-Dex takes on new team members following strong year

by Featured NewsPeople

Family-owned global manufacturer of PPE for first responders, Fire-Dex, has announced that after another year of growth and continued success, the company has made 15 key associate promotions and hired three new team members.

The manufacturer saw year-on-year sales growth of over 40% in booking and revenue, having brought on 110 new associates across its 13 locations, resulting in production volumes being up nearly 30% across the board.

Fire-Dex has announced the promotion of 15 individuals to new roles, including:

  • David Moore, Senior Zone Director
  • Nick Lino, Director of Supply Chain
  • Jamie Marks, Director of Human Resources
  • Dan Goble, Director of Information Technology
  • Bart Brown, Regional Zone Director
  • John Armstrong, Senior Project Manager
  • Shannon Lienemann, Communications Manager
  • Jon Sawyer, Regional Sales Manager
  • Niki Carter, Regional Operations Manager
  • Anthony Costanzo, Regional Operations Manager
  • Alexa Green, Content Marketing Specialist
  • Kaitlyn Ferrell, Product Innovation Coordinator
  • Mary Jo Johnson, 2nd Shift Team Lead
  • Harrison Creameans, Warehouse Team Lead
  • Rebecca Rath, Purchasing Administrator

In addition to these promotions, Fire-Dex continues to grow and has added three new hires to the team in 2023. This includes:

  • Allison DeCongelio, Sales Operations Administrator
  • Joe Hodge, Regional Sales Manager
  • Gary Schofield, International Sales Manager

Fire-Dex CEO Steve Allison commented: “We truly believe in recognizing and rewarding associates who are making a difference. Because their impact is felt well beyond their own respective teams and departments—it touches every aspect of our business and directly impacts our achievements as an organization. Each of these individuals has demonstrated their commitment and hard work and continue to be valuable assets to the Fire-Dex organization. Their promotions are much deserved.”

IFSJ Exclusive: Aiming for higher levels of competency

by Featured NewsPeople

IFSJ sits down with Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) International President, Dr Peter Wilkinson

In October 2022, the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) introduced Dr Peter Wilkinson CSci MIScT CEng FIFireE. the 2022 – 2023 International President. The handover was carried out by former 2020 – 2022 International President, Andrew Sharrad GradCert EngTech CFIFireE.

Wilkinson has been involved with the IFE for many years, representing the organisation on national and international professional forums, contributing to post-Grenfell initiatives in the UK and worldwide, driving the development and remit of the Technical Strategy Advisory Group and more recently leading the IFE in technical matters in the role of Technical Director.

IFSJ sat down with Dr Wilkinson to find out about his background in fire engineering and his plans for the IFE for the year ahead.

Congratulations on the appointment as International President – how did it come about?

I was pleased to be re-elected to the board in 2020, and I was chosen by my peers to take on the role of International President for 2022-23. This is a key role within the Institution and sees an individual take on the tenure for one year.

What is your background in the fire engineering industry?

My first degree was in Civil Engineering and I focussed on the design of buildings for fire safety in my final year. My career began as a graduate trainee at a leading fire detection and alarm company and I completed a part-time Masters degree in Fire and Explosion Engineering as my career developed. After a move into the engineering consultancy field and several years developing fire engineering and fire risk assessment services at a multi-disciplinary engineering consultant, I moved to the Fire Protection Association where I was able to undertake an Engineering Doctorate. This focussed my mind on resilient fire engineering building design and I took the step of founding my own practice after graduating.

Can you tell me about how you became involved with the IFE?

Even as an undergraduate in a department focussed on construction and engineering, I understood the importance of becoming registered with the Engineering Council as a mark of competence, and as an important career goal.

I joined the IFE in 1995 as a student and then a graduate, and kept an active interest in the Institution as a young engineer. I was one of the winners of the IFE’s Technical Paper Competition for young engineers and found myself presenting the paper at the IFE’s annual conference in 1999. I developed a portfolio of professional career episodes over a number of years and successfully became a Chartered Engineer with IFE in 2005.

I then began my volunteering journey with IFE in 2009 by becoming a member of the IFE’s Registrants Group Membership Committee (IFERG) for which I was chair from 2013 to 2018. IFERG assesses applications for Engineering Council registration in all three sections of the Register and accredits degree programmes for suitability in meeting the academic requirements of registration. I was elected to serve on the board as a Trustee Director for a three-year term in 2015 and was Chair of the Board immediately following the Grenfell Tower tragedy until the end of that term in November 2018 – the Institution’s centenary year. Being a Trustee Director in the time following the Grenfell Tower fire meant that I was ideally placed to contribute to the wide range of competence initiatives in the UK and worldwide.

Do you have any specific areas of focus as International President?

We must acknowledge that successful fire safety is a collaborative endeavour that relies on input from many different professions and trades. Examples include architects and building designers, surveyors, a range of contractors, engineers from allied disciplines, building managers, facility managers, and even end-users.

What is important is that each actor in the fire safety space understands the contribution they make and where they fit, the limits of their remit and competence, and how to ensure effective interfaces with others. Uniquely, as incoming International President for 2022-2023, I begin my term of office directly following a period of two years establishing and embedding the role of Technical Director within the Institution. The Technical Director role has enabled me to begin to grow meaningful links with some of the major bodies who all have a claim on some aspect of fire safety.

It is my aim, as International President for the next year, to strengthen the ties between IFE’s international presence and as many of the other players as possible. Naturally, this will include many UK-based organisations, but I will seek to exploit their global networks and links to fit with ours, as well as seek out other opportunities to liaise with key international bodies that play a role in fire safety.

Do you have any wisdom you would like to share with the readers of International Fire and Safety Journal?

Rightly so, there has been a major focus on competence since the Grenfell Tower fire. I have come to realise that being competent is a combination of acquiring knowledge, practicing experience and living by appropriate behaviours. I think, as an institution and as a profession, we’ve known this for some time now, but the important element in all this is the behavioural aspect.

It is about taking personal responsibility. Competence is not something that you can expect your professional body to do to you – you have to live it, show it, and – importantly – if you are acting as a professional, you have to be prepared to demonstrate it.

My words of wisdom are to my fire safety professional colleagues – I urge you to review your own professional body membership and registration status – is it still at the level at which you currently operate or should you be aiming higher?

This article was originally published in the January edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

Middle East and Africa sales team expansion for Advanced

by Featured NewsPeople

Fire protection solutions company Advanced has appointed Business Development Manager Sargunan Sellamuthu as part of its growth plans in the Middle East and Africa.

Sellamuthu comes to Advanced with nearly a decade of fire industry experience, most recently working as a Sales Manager, successfully handling UAE sales for a European safety systems manufacturer. Prior to that he worked in several engineering roles.

In his new position, he will draw on his sales experience and fire safety expertise to help grow Advanced’s presence from his base in the UAE, as part of its progressive expansion strategy across the Middle East and Africa.

Commenting on his new role, Sellamuthu said: “Advanced is always good at reading market needs and responding with technically sound innovations. This partnered with the longevity of our products provides the ‘X factor’ and I’m excited to show more customers the value our products add.”

Sellamuthu represents Advanced’s second appointment in the region, after Sasi Kumar, Commercial Manager – Middle East & Africa, launched the company’s plans to accelerate growth in the territory.

Speaking about the appointment, Kumar said: “I am delighted to welcome Sargunan to my team and continue our growth across the Middle East and Africa. As a company we are committed to expanding our presence in the region, working closely alongside our existing distribution partners in Oman and South Africa, and actively seeking new relationships in the rest of the area. Sargunan’s wealth of industry experience puts us in an excellent position to grow our market share.”

Duncan J. White appointed as IFSJ Managing Editor

by Breaking NewsPeople

Centurian Media Ltd. is delighted to confirm the appointment of Duncan J. White as Managing Editor of International Fire & Safety Journal (IFSJ).

Duncan – who joins the IFSJ team from MDM Publishing Ltd. where he spent the last ten years as Editorial Advisor – brings a wealth of experience, industry knowledge and relationships from over 35 years’ in the global fire sector.

Commencing his new role on 9 January 2023, Duncan will be working closely alongside Editor Iain Hoey, as well as the wider Centurian Media Editorial Department, to further strengthen IFSJ’s position as the market leading international publication for fire and safety professionals.

Discussing the new role and his plans with IFSJ, Duncan remarked: “I am delighted to join the team at Centurian Media Ltd as Managing Editor of International Fire & Safety Journal (IFSJ).

“This exciting opportunity will allow me to create new partnerships and explore ideas which will build on the amazing achievements which has seen IFSJ become a market leading publication in such a short space of time.

“I will be joining the IFSJ team at Intersec in Dubai and am looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues to discuss the exciting plans being developed to take the IFSJ brand to the next level.”

Commenting on Duncan’s appointment, Ian Stokes, CEO, Centurian Media Ltd. said: “We are delighted to welcome Duncan to the Centurian Media team.

“As we continue to grow as a business and invest more into each platform, we are delighted that the opportunity has arisen to bring in someone who has been recognised as one of the leading voices in the fire and safety industry for over ten years whilst at MDM Publishing.

“Duncan has an unrivalled knowledge, network and passion for the fire and safety market and is respected by industry leaders, associations and major manufacturers around the world. I believe we are appointing a true ambassador of the industry.

“Duncan’s decision to join Centurian Media as Managing Editor of IFSJ is a true reflection of our position in the market currently and once again shows our continued ambitions to grow both the print and digital publication, our social media community and our exciting conference portfolio.”

Duncan started his involvement with the fire service in 1987 at the age of 18 and his passion and enthusiasm for his chosen career was plain to see as he grasped every opportunity available to further his knowledge and understanding, while always taking the opportunity to raise awareness of fire safety. During his career he studied hard to attain the necessary qualifications for promotion and was promoted to Leading Firefighter in 1992, Sub Officer in 1996 and Station Manager in 2003.

Duncan has worked tirelessly raising money and promoting the work of The Fire Fighters Charity and was also responsible for editing and producing the fire service magazine. In 2003, Duncan became the first fully operational firefighter to wear hearing aids in the UK. Using his experience of disability, he founded The National Disabled Fire Association (NDFA), a UK registered charity which assists firefighters and fire services to ensure disabilities are dealt with in a ‘can do’ manner.

Throughout his tenure as Chairperson of the NDFA, Duncan devoted his time and energy to helping countless individuals with disabilities to become firefighters as well as working with UK fire and rescue services to put in place policies and procedures which ensured disabled people weren’t discriminated against.  

Duncan was also appointed the UK Event Safety lead for the Chief Fire Officers Association and oversaw the development of safety processes which were implemented across the UK. He held this position until his retirement from the fire and rescue service in 2016.

In early 2013, Duncan was approached by MDM Publishing Ltd, publishers of Gulf Fire, International Fire Protection, International Fire Fighter, UK Fire and Asia Pacific Fire magazines, who were interested in collaborating with him to enhance the quality, diversity and reach of its magazines.

Duncan accepted the challenge on the understanding that he had total control of all editorial content. Using his knowledge of the global fire sector he was able to draw upon his networking skills to build strong foundations.

Duncan has always worked to the belief that a good magazine should not be filled with press releases and adverts but a mix of feature articles that actually teach the reader something. This quality is something which will be extremely transferrable to his new role with IFSJ.

The creation of partnerships with national, international and voluntary organisations in the fire sector is an area where Duncan has excelled. The partnerships he has put in place range into the hundreds, however, some of the more high profile ones include: The Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE); The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Firefighter Behavioural Health Alliance.

Connect with Duncan by email: duncanj.white@intfireandsafetyjournal.com / Tel: 01622 476311

Raft of senior hires and promotions at Chubb Fire & Security

by Featured NewsPeople

Chubb Fire & Security (Chubb) has announced that, since the appointment of Andrew White as Chief Executive Officer, it has strengthened its Executive Leadership Team (ELT) with a number of senior hires and internal promotions.

The ELT has been established to provide greater levels of oversight to Chubb’s global sales and operational activity and to maintain its focus on its three key pillars of people, process and portfolio.

Appointments

Keith Mizen has joined Chubb as Chief Information Officer following four years in the same role at Vodafone Business working with multiple geographies and running IT platforms to support B2B sales and operations globally. He is expected to play a vital role in Chubb’s transformation journey as it looks to embed digitalisation into everything it does.

Rabih Najjar has been recruited to the newly created role of Global Vice President of Sales, leveraging more than 19 years of international sales experience in markets including Beirut, Doha, Dubai and London, most recently working for NYSE-listed business Vertiv.

David Jackola, currently Vice President Controller at APi Group, has taken on the new role of Chubb CFO & Vice President of Transformation. Jackola has significant functional and global experience that will bring many attributes to the Chubb Executive Leadership Team. He joined APi Group in October 2021 as Vice President Corporate Planning and Analysis before assuming the role of Vice President Controller in March 2022.

Additionally, Stephen Dowling has was appointed the role of Director of Quality, Environment, Health & Safety for Chubb globally, having previously held the role for the UK & Ireland exclusively. Dowling is a Chartered member of the Chartered Quality Institute and previously spent 28 years at BAE Systems.

Brendan McNulty has been promoted to the newly created role of Vice President – Europe. Reporting to McNulty will be the country leaders of UK & Ireland, Benelux, Spain, Germany and Switzerland/Austria. It is anticipated that this new role will enable Chubb’s European businesses to benefit from many of the transformation and optimisation models successfully adopted by Chubb UK & Ireland.

KT Yiu has been promoted to the newly created role of Vice President, Asia Pacific after more than 30 years’ experience working with Chubb in the region. His expanded business portfolio will cover Hong Kong, China, Macau, Singapore, India and Thailand. Finally, Dave Marven, previously Managing Director for Chubb Australia, is now responsible for all activity across both Australia and New Zealand.

Andrew White, CEO of Chubb Fire & Security Group, commented: “We are very excited to announce the bolstering of the Executive Leadership Team with both external and internal hires at an exciting time for Chubb. The acquisition of the business by APi at the start of this year marked an important turning point for the business, shifting focus to a model with a greater priority on digitalisation, as well as allowing us more penetration in the North American market where APi has historically always been strong. I have been working closely with the new team as we continue our transformational journey and prioritise the wellbeing of our people, the efficiency of our processes and the selective expansion of our portfolio towards new markets and solutions.

In January 2022, Chubb Fire & Security was acquired from previous owners Carrier by APi Group Corporation

Simon Banks steps down from BAFE Board

by Featured NewsPeople

Simon Banks has announced his decision to step down from the BAFE Board after eight years.

Commenting on his departure, Banks said: “It’s been a privilege to represent BAFE for the past eight years. Many organisations benefit from the good work that BAFE do to educate, protect, and save lives and protect property. We must continue to increase competency and training awareness whilst ensuring the best products, high standards, quality, and proficiency through our valued installers.”

Justin Maltby-Smith, Group Managing Director of BAFE, said: “In my first year with BAFE I can see that Simon has been an extremely supportive and valued member of the BAFE Board. Simon’s work, especially with driving new talent into the fire and security sectors, has been of great value, and with Simon’s support BAFE has been honoured to be part of this with our support of quality initiatives such as Apprentices for Fire and Security (A4FS), Engineers of Tomorrow and the World Skills UK competition.”

Banks recently launched the not for profit organisation The Banks Foundation, which supports young people entering the IoT, Security and Electrotechnical sectors.

Maltby-Smith added: “It is imperative that young talent is introduced into the sector to further establish a competent and capable workforce. Simon’s work will continue to aid BAFE regarding this issue and assist in upskilling people into more complex areas that require quality skills and knowledge to advance into these positions to keep people safe.”

The BAFE organisation, including Chair Douglas Barnett, Board/Council, and team gave their thanks to Banks for his service and continued support of competency and third-party certification adding that whilst no longer being a member of the BAFE Board, it expects the relationship will remain strong for many years.

Scott Vavra to take over Darley’s Pump Customer Support and Applications Engineering Team

by Breaking NewsPeople

Darley has announced that Scott Vavra will assume leadership of the Pump Customer Support and Applications Engineering Team effective January 9, 2023.

Vavra is an accomplished leader in global customer support. Before joining Darley, he spent over 15 years with Cummins, where he successfully held a range of customer support leadership roles with increasing levels of responsibility. He improved total customer support experience by developing and implementing innovative and comprehensive operations and training programs. He also received the Silver Drop Award for Outstanding Customer Service from the Cummins Engine Company in 2010.

Vavra is succeeding Lairy Normand, who is retiring on January 6, 2023, after 30 years of service. 

Greg Field, Pump Division General Manager commented: “We are thrilled Scott has joined Darley to lead one of the most vital parts of our business to put our customers first and exceed expectations.

“We’re confident our customers will be in good hands with Scott and his team as we continue to take the total customer care experience to the next level.”

He added: “On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Lairy for his many contributions to Darley over the past 30 years, and I wish him all the best.”

Vavra also serves in the Army National Guard and received a leadership award while stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Industrial Technology, Technical Sales and Service. He also earned an Automotive Technology degree from Chippewa Valley Technical College and a teaching certificate from Mount Senario College. He lives in Holcombe, WI, with his wife of 27 years, Holly, and his three daughters.

NVFC adds support to National Fire Registry

by Featured NewsPeople

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has issued a position statement in support of the National Firefighter Registry.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is in the process of starting their enrolment initiative for the National Firefighter Registry (NFR), a voluntary database that will help increase the understanding of the link between on-the-job exposures and cancer rates among firefighters.

Over the next month, NIOSH will be enrolling firefighters at select fire departments for a “soft rollout” of the NFR, followed by a full launch in January to align with Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month. The goal is to enroll at least 200,000 firefighters.

The NVFC’s position statement strongly supports the NFR and recommends that all members of the fire service enroll. The statement elaborates on the importance of the NFR, expressing that many existing studies showing potential links to cancer and firefighting lack participation from volunteer firefighters and contain other significant knowledge gaps. It also thanks NIOSH for making privacy and data security top priorities for the NFR.

View the NVFC’s position statement supporting the NFR here. Once it become active, the NFR may be accessed at https://NFR.cdc.gov.

SFPE names new President

by Featured NewsPeople

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) has named Jimmy Jönsson, FSFPE, its 2023 President, and Bob Libby, PE, FSFPE, its President-Elect.   

Jimmy Jönsson, FSFPE, is Director of JVVA Fire & Risk in Madrid, Spain. Jönsson has been an SFPE member for 20 years, has served as the first president of the SFPE Spain Chapter, was the first elected president of the group that became SFPE Europe, and currently serves as editor of the SFPE EUROPE magazine and as an officer on the SFPE Board of Directors. 

He holds a BSc in Fire Protection Engineering and an MSc in Risk Management & Safety Engineering – both from Lund University in Sweden. Jönsson is currently serving as the Program Committee Chair of both the SFPE European Conference & Expo on Fire Safety Engineering scheduled for March 2023 in Berlin, Germany, and the SFPE Annual Conference & Expo scheduled for October 2023 in Washington D.C./Bethesda, MD, USA.   

Bob Libby, PE, FSFPE, was elected President-Elect. Libby is Senior Vice President and Principal of Fire Protection Engineering at Coffman Engineers, where he has extensive experience in the specification, bid, award, installation, management, testing, and acceptance of fire protection systems in commercial buildings. He has been an SFPE member for 40 years and active in several SFPE chapters over those years.

Amanda Kimball, PE, FSFPE, has been re-elected to another year as Secretary-Treasurer, and Shaun Kelly, PEng, CEng, MIEI, PMSFPE, has been re-elected to another term on the SFPE Board of Directors. John Frank, PE, FSFPE, and Fang Li, PE, FSFPE, have been elected to join the SFPE Board of Directors. Each will begin their term on January 1, 2023. 

Nicole Boston, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Society of Fire Protection Engineers commented: “As SFPE continues to expand efforts to reach engineers across the globe, our membership has elected exceptional leaders to build off our strong programs and best position the Society for continued growth and impact. 

“SFPE’s 2023 elected leaders have the depth, diverse experience, and dedication needed to advance the Society, our strategic direction, and the profession of fire protection and fire safety engineering.” 

Nicole Boston, CAE, Christopher Butts, PE, AET, SET, CFPS, ARM, PMSFPE, Elizabeth Pennacchio, PE, PMSFPE, Shamim Rashid-Sumar, PE, FSFPE, Albert Simeoni, PhD, PMSFPE, Beth Tubbs, PE, FSFPE, and Michael Wojcik, PE, PMSFPE, continue their service on the Society’s Board of Directors. SFPE will be soliciting nominations for the 2024 leadership roles in the coming months.   

New CFO appointed at Rosenbauer

by Featured NewsPeople

The Supervisory Board of Rosenbauer International AG, has appointed Markus Richter, 60, as new Chief Financial Officer. Richter succeeds Sebastian Wolf in this function, who moved to the top of the Group as the new CEO in August and continued to manage the Finance Division on an interim basis.

Richter will join Rosenbauer’s Executive Board on December 1, 2022.

Markus Richter graduated in business administration from the University of Cologne. His professional career initially took him to the German industry, where he held various management positions.

In 2000, he moved to Austria as Head of Finance at RHI AG; further positions followed at Verbund, ÖBB Holding, Trenkwalder and Asamer. His most recent appointment was as commercial manager and Chief Financial Officer for the Upper Austrian Engel Holding and Engel Austria GmbH.

Christian Reisinger, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rosenbauer International AG commented: “We are delighted that in Markus Richter we have been able to win over a proven financial expert with international experience from industrial, service and engineering companies for Rosenbauer. I am confident that with his comprehensive knowledge, he will make a major contribution to managing the currently very challenging market environment and successfully implementing our long-term Group strategy.”