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From the editor's desk: Regulations, standards and skills, but poor enforcement

Andrew Seldon, Editor

The fire & safety market in South Africa is healthy, although some might say not healthy enough, given the number of fires that have occurred recently. Examining the municipal fire services, one might say the patient is in need of a booster shot, but we have seen various private fire services emerging lately, which is exactly what South Africa needs.

As always, public services will complain about the private services despite their inability to meet the needs of the communities they are supposed to serve. While SA is not America, where privatisation is the norm, years of ANC governance has shown us that private services are extraordinarily necessary.

It is challenging to accurately gauge the size of the local market, but one estimate suggests that the fire suppression system market generated revenue of $372,6 million in 2023, with an expected increase to $597,5 million by 2030. Another report suggests that in 2024, the active fire protection systems market was valued at $0,68 billion, while the passive fire protection systems market reached $0,46 billion. One takes these estimates with a pinch or two of salt, but there is limited local research on the market.

The South African market presents numerous opportunities, particularly in the integration of smart technology. The adoption of IoT in fire safety is also increasing, boosting real-time monitoring and integrated, automated response capabilities.

In the industrial sector, for example, fire is a significant concern, as incidents can cause people to be taken out of the workplace, disable machinery, and destroy stock. This takes fire safety from something you are supposed to do to a financial risk that must be addressed. It would be nice to think that people’s lives are a priority, but does that generally apply in South Africa (until something happens)? While corporate employees may have experience with annoying fire drills (one hopes they do), smaller companies often focus less on fire safety than they should, perhaps prioritising physical security measures instead – or simply staying in business.

The reality is that many do not take fire safety seriously enough. Even parliament burned down in 2022 and is still not back in action at the time of writing – referring to the building, not the politicians. The report on the fire noted that the sprinkler valve system (there actually was one) had not been serviced since 2017 and was closed at the time of the fire. Furthermore, fire doors were left latched open, which aided the spread of the fire.

That is not to say there are not enough or there are ineffective fire safety regulations in the country. As two articles in this issue demonstrate, standards and regulations are stringent. Unfortunately, the country generally relies on the carrot approach, where businesses do the right thing, rather than the stick (or enforcement of regulations), which is lacking. A hospital fire in Johannesburg in 2021 is another example of how regulations get lip service, but are not enforced, with a few exceptions here and there.

Then there is AI, which is also looking to establish a presence in the fire safety market, but I think people will be hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. If you are spending money on fire systems, you do not want to find out that AI made a mistake and your office or factory is now ash.

While this is a handbook about fire safety, we have also included other news and views related to the security market, especially cybersecurity, as the industry as a whole is continually moving onwards and, hopefully, upwards.

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