Conference Chairperson & Opening Remarks

Laurence Skelly, MSc. (Env. Health & Safety), BSc. (Health Science), MIES, Grad IOSH

Fire Safety Compliance in Occupied Buildings – What Duty Holders Need to Get Right in 2026

Speaker: Jensen Hughes

• The current legal and practical responsibilities for owners, occupiers, employers and persons in control
• Where responsibility sits in shared, managed and multi-occupancy buildings
• Existing buildings, historic compliance and current expectations
• Enforcement, accountability and where organisations are most exposed
• What “reasonably practicable” looks like in real building management

Fire Doors in Occupied Buildings – Inspection, Competence and Defensible Decision-Making

Speaker: John Tiernan, BEng (Fire Engineering), FEng.IIESMS, M.IFSM, Phoenix STS

• The role of fire doors in compartmentation, protected escape routes and the overall fire strategy.
• Understanding certified doorsets, fire door assemblies, nominal/notional doors and doors that should no longer be relied upon.
• What a competent fire door inspection can and cannot confirm, including why visual inspection does not “certify” a fire door.
• Common defects, legacy building issues and how to prioritise remedial works based on risk.
• Building a defensible fire door action plan through records, photographs, risk ratings, competent contractors, re-inspection and ongoing monitoring.

Compliance on Services Provider Appointment, Duties and Sign-Offs - Alarm Systems, Emergency Lighting and Inspection Regimes

Speaker: Paul Condron, Paul Condron Consulting Engineering Ltd - PCCE Training

• Practical issues arising in testing, maintenance and sign-off
• User duties, service provider competence and the evidence organisations should retain
• Common problems in retrofits, alterations and legacy systems
• Shared systems, landlord/FM/tenant responsibility splits and access to records
• Logbooks, digital records, zone charts and proof of ongoing compliance

Passive Fire Protection in Practice – Verifying Installations, Records and Ongoing Performance

Speaker: David O’Reilly CFIFireE, IAPFP (The Irish Association for Passive Fire Protection)

• Why passive fire protection is now an operational issue as well as a construction issue
• How building owners can verify what was installed
• Managing gaps in certification, product traceability and historic records
• Coordinating consultants, contractors and facilities teams
• Lessons from current remediation and defect investigations in Ireland

Fire Safety During Retrofit, Refurbishment and Building Upgrades

Speaker: Jensen Hughes

• Protecting fire safety during energy upgrades, M&E works and phased occupation
• Risks linked to penetrations, ceilings, roof works, plant replacement and service changes
• How retrofit and decarbonisation works can undermine compartmentation and escape strategy
• Temporary fire precautions during works
• Sign-off, handover and checking that the finished building is genuinely safer

Evacuation Planning for Irish Occupied Buildings, Why Stay Put Is Not the Irish Approach, and What Evacuation, Progressive Horizontal Evacuation and PEEPs Actually Require

Speaker: Paddy McDonnell, CEO, Phoenix STS. BEng (Fire Engineering)., F.IIESMS., MIIRSM,. M.IFSM., MIHEEM., CMIOSH., M.NFPA., MLDI., H.Dip. SHWW.

• Setting the Irish position straight: evacuation as the default policy here, rather than stay put, and where progressive horizontal evacuation applies in healthcare and care settings.
• PEEPs, assisted evacuation and planning for vulnerable occupants.
• Maintaining enough trained fire wardens with reduced and hybrid staffing.

Lithium Battery Fire Risk in Occupied Buildings – Charging, Storage, E-Bikes and Emergency Preparedness

• Why lithium battery fire risk is now a practical issue for occupied buildings
• Risks linked to e-bikes, e-scooters, mobility devices, laptops, battery banks, power tools and charging areas
• Safe charging, storage, segregation and supervision arrangements
• Managing staff, resident, tenant, visitor and contractor use of batteries and chargers
• Including battery risks in fire risk assessments, evacuation planning and incident procedures
• What facilities, estates and safety teams should review now
• Lessons from recent lithium battery fire incidents and near misses

Recent Fire Incidents and Case Studies – What They Are Showing About Existing Buildings and Escalation Risk

• Lessons emerging from major recent fires in the UK and Ireland
• Older buildings, dense urban sites and mixed-use premises
• Escalation risk, access constraints and business continuity impacts
• What recent incidents are showing about preparedness, containment and emergency response
• Turning incident learning into site-specific action plans