Leader in testing, inspection and certification services, Warringtonfire is celebrating 30 years of its FIRAS installer certification scheme. During this time, over 1,300 companies have been awarded FIRAS certification, resulting in over a quarter of a million projects completed under certification, to date.
FIRAS is a voluntary, third-party certification scheme for installation contractors of both passive and active fire protection systems, operated by Warringtonfire and accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012.
Launched in 1994, the FIRAS scheme aims to provide added assurance that the installation and maintenance of fire protection products have been conducted under an appropriate quality management system, using competent personnel and documented procedures. The FIRAS scheme allows individuals responsible for the fire safety of a building to verify that the necessary quality checks for installation and maintenance of fire protection products have been conducted based on the recorded information.
Warringtonfire has awarded FIRAS certification to companies providing installation and maintenance across a broad spectrum of passive and active fire protection systems and in total, FIRAS certified companies hold more than 2,700 individual modules of certification. Last year certified companies registered over 48,000 projects as completed under FIRAS certification for their clients.
For over 30 years, FIRAS has been the leading certification body for companies installing passive and active fire protection systems. The FIRAS scheme Rules & Regulations, which are now in their 18th edition, are continuously reviewed to make sure they are robust and in line with the latest requirements of the building regulations.
Nick Froggatt, FIRAS Manager from Warringtonfire said: “It’s great to mark the 30th anniversary of our FIRAS scheme, which has seen tens of thousands of satisfactory assessments of installers from hundreds of companies that hold FIRAS certification.
“We value the importance of the FIRAS scheme as it provides confidence that the installation of passive fire protection products is in accordance with a documented specification and the installed product or system is likely to be capable of the required level of fire performance, as evidenced by the manufacturer’s supporting documentation.”
To commemorate the anniversary and the milestones that have been reached, and to say thank you, Warringtonfire will be offering three free employee technician assessments and sending out a FIRAS 30th Anniversary Pack to all FIRAS certified companies in addition to any new companies awarded FIRAS certification during 2024.
The employee technician assessments are a fundamental part of the FIRAS scheme and evaluate the skills, knowledge and experience of the certified company's nominated employee based on an inspection of the quality of their workmanship demonstrated on-site.
Nick said: “We’re extremely proud that the FIRAS scheme continues to grow. Over the last 30 years we have had the privilege of working with exceptional clients and their loyalty and commitment to the scheme continues to play a crucial role in making the construction industry and others aware of the importance and benefits of third-party certification.”
Find out more information on the FIRAS scheme.
Andy Williams / Ricco Leung / Alex Murray
element@wpragency.co.uk
0121 456 3004
About Element Materials Technology
The Element Materials Technology Group is one of the world’s leading global providers of testing, inspection, and certification services for a diverse range of products, materials, and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains where failure in use is not an option.
Headquartered in London, UK, Element’s c.7,000 scientists, engineers, and technologists, working in our global network of over 200+ laboratories, support customers from early R&D, through complex regulatory approvals, and into production ensuring their products are safe and sustainable, and achieve market access.
In 2021, Element set out its new, industry leading environmental commitments, adopting science-based targets and committing to net zero emissions across its entire global business by 2035. These environmental commitments follow Element’s achievement of the highest ESG ranking in the testing, inspection and certification industry from Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG research and data.