The Fire Protection Association (FPA), the UK’s leading fire safety organisation, has announced that it has become part of the Certek Group.

As a leading international provider of Testing, Inspection, Certification, and Compliance (TICC) services, Certek specialises in helping organisations grow at the same time as maintaining high standards of quality, safety, and compliance. The support of Certek will allow the FPA to continue to develop its market-leading fire safety research, training, and testing offerings for clients across the UK.

Gavin Dunn, CEO of the Fire Protection Association, said: "This is a transformational moment for the FPA. Our partnership with Certek secures the organisation's future while preserving everything that makes the FPA unique. It provides the investment and scale to accelerate innovation, expand our services, and strengthen our role as the UK's leading fire safety organisation.

"Most importantly, it enables us to continue delivering independent expertise, research, and professional development that supports a safer built environment for generations to come.”

Alongside new growth opportunities, Certek are committed to protecting the future of the annually funded RISCAuthority research programme administered by the FPA on behalf of UK insurers. With its primary aim to raise resilience standards within the business community, RISCAuthority provides research, guidance, and best practice recommendations for managing fire and security risks and will continue to develop relationships with important insurance partners.

Collaboration opportunities

Being part of the Certek group will also allow the FPA to work closely with other businesses in the group, including PartB, with whom the FPA have an existing relationship through their joint fire resistance testing activities.

Looking ahead, the FPA and PartB will be able to build on their existing success and create much closer collaboration across the businesses, leading to a more comprehensive fire testing operation, alongside significantly strengthened laboratory capabilities.

Speaking about the closer ties now available to the two organisations, PartB Group Chief Technical Officer, Jamie Davis explained: “The FPA has spent decades leading the industry through research, testing, training, and publication of guidance, and together, our strengths complement one another perfectly. By working alongside the FPA, we can help drive higher standards, improve competence across the sector and ultimately have greater impact on public safety than either of us could on our own.

"We’re building something that has the potential to transform the fire safety landscape. We’ll do it carefully, thoughtfully and with a clear focus on maintaining the values, integrity and technical excellence that have made both organisations successful.”

Reacting to the investment in the FPA and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead, David Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of Certek, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Fire Protection Association into the Certek family. For over 75 years, the FPA has been the trusted voice of fire safety in the UK, and its reputation for independence, technical excellence, and market-leading research is second to none.

"Our partnership with the FPA will deliver investment into new research and educational projects and also enhanced testing services to better serve client and assessor requirements, all whilst safeguarding the FPA’s vital research into fire safety and the independence, rigour, and commitment to the highest standards that have defined the organisation throughout its history.”

The FPA will continue to provide its high-quality training and technical services for members and clients from its head office and Training and Education Centre in Oxfordshire, and its Fire Testing Laboratory in Gloucestershire.

Reflecting on the announcement, Dr Dunn added: “We have secured our future and protected everything that makes this organisation special by maintaining the independence, integrity, and public benefit role that has always defined the FPA. With the ability to create opportunities that simply were not available to us before, I genuinely believe today marks the beginning of a very exciting new chapter for the FPA."

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