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Blazing trails for solutions and networking

Firexpo 2024, which took place with co-located Securex South Africa, A-OSH EXPO, and Facilities Management Expo at Gallagher Convention Centre from 11 to 13 June 2024, once again proved that there is a pressing need to bring together the suppliers/manufacturers of fire safety solutions with representatives from the market wishing to increase their fire risk mitigation profile.

“Organisations are becoming more savvy regarding the need for fire safety solutions. Cognisant of the resultant damage if fires are firstly, not detected, and secondly are not effectively addressed and prevented; safety, security, and facility managers attend Firexpo to speak to the knowledgeable and experienced exhibitors about feasible solutions,” says Mark Anderson, Portfolio Director at Specialised Exhibitions — a division of Montgomery Group.

Not only do the combined 10 115 visitors at the four shows have an opportunity to view and interact with the latest products and services available at Firexpo, but they are also exposed to two unique educational events — the one-day FPASA InFIReS Seminar, and the free-to-attend three-day Firexpo Seminar Theatre, powered by Carrier Fire and Security South Africa.

Firexpo Seminar Theatre

“On the back of four highly successful free-to-attend seminar theatres — Securex Seminar Theatre (in partnership with SMART Security Solutions), Facilities Management Seminar Theatre, Saiosh Seminar Theatre, and the Working at Height and Safety Seminar Theatre (powered by SafetyCloud) — we decided to launch the Firexpo Seminar Theatre this year. Powered by Carrier Fire and Security South Africa, the theatre was a big hit with visitors,” says Anderson.

Irene Fernandez from Carrier Fire and Security.

A total of 20 sessions drew a large crowd. Carrier Fire and Security South Africa took the opportunity to launch its Kidde Commercial EXCELLENCE series of fire panels, detectors, and public address and voice alarm (PAVA) units.

Carrier Fire and Security’s Irene Fernandez outlined the need to consider changing detection needs when designing fire detection and safety solutions. Three elements which she discussed are:

• New materials—The use of new chemical components accelerates the evolution of fires, reducing evacuation times in facilities. Additionally, the use of new retardants causes fires that evolve more slowly, making them more difficult to detect.

• Sensitivity of detectors—As detector sensitivity increases, more events generate false alarms. Apart from the economic impact, the increased frequency of false alarms results in people disabling detectors, leaving facilities unprotected.

• False alarms—Optical detectors tend to respond to the presence of dust or vapour. Changes in environmental conditions can also produce unexpected readings, leading to false alarms.

Part of the Kidde Commercial EXCELLENCE series.

The Excellence Series was designed to overcome these issues. The new Kidde Commercial 2X-A and 2X-AT panels include the new EXCELLENCE Series protocol, which offers the opportunity to use the new intelligent addressable devices in combination with Kidde’s legacy Aritech devices for easy migration.

The new panels include an improved user interface on the 2X-AT variant, with a 7-inch colour touch. The Kidde Commercial 2X-A and 2X-AT panels, together with the EXCELLENCE Series detectors, modules, and manual call points, provide a complete intelligent fire detection system, incorporating leading-edge technology.

FPASA InFIReS Seminar

Hosted by FPASA (Fire Protection Association of South Africa) on 12 June, the InFIReS Seminar shared seven interesting sessions by well-known industry specialists.

Nichola Allan from SAQCC Fire titled her talk ‘Extinguishing the fly by nights’, and focused on the need for and incorporation of fire safety in OSHA, the replacement of local bylaws with national legislation, and the creation of one simple fire safety regime applying to all workplaces and other non-domestic premises.

Nichola Allan presenting a paper at the InFIReS Seminar.

According to Allan, there is a dire global skills shortage because (1) fire is a niche industry, (2) experienced personnel are retiring, and (3) young talent is not entering the sector. She emphasised that formal qualifications need to be registered (four are in the process currently), training industries and industry need to aggressively market these qualifications to school leavers once the qualifications are registered, and students need to be afforded a career path in the fire industry.

The ultimate fire safety showcase

“Feedback from all stakeholders has been encouraging and enlightening, indicating that Firexpo should remain a prioritised annual event on everyone’s calendars,” says Anderson.

“This is our third year exhibiting at Firexpo, and it provides great exposure to the market we are trying to get into more aggressively, specifically end users. Our aim was to gain market share by getting to as many installers and end users as possible. We had a good response from those visitors who were interested. Already, on day one, we had three good leads. This is a great show for the market we are in. We’ve already signed our stand contract for next year,” says Imran Suleman from OTN Systems.

Organisations wishing to exhibit at Firexpo 2025 can contact the Firexpo team at zelda.jordaan@montgomerygroup.com or johan.vanheerden@montgomerygroup.com to book a space or capitalise on a sponsorship opportunity.

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