Release date: 31 January 2025
West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has been appointed as the Primary Authority for Pilgrims’ Friend Society, helping provide key fire safety advice and guidance.
The new partnership will see WSFRS provide assured and consistent advice on fire safety regulations for the care provider, providing a single point of contact and advice to help ensure compliance with legislation across their portfolio of supported living properties and care homes.
Primary Authority Schemes are designed to give businesses greater confidence and consistency to reduce the risk of contravening legislation by having a single point of contact to work with.
On Thursday, Area Manager for Protection, Dave Bray, Group Manager Steve Buchanan-Lee and Station Manager Abi Link attended a ceremony at the society’s Koinonia Christian Care Home in Worthing, where they were joined by White Watch Worthing to sign the new partnership and meet residents living at the home.
The new partnership comes after WSFRS embarked upon its first Primary Authority Scheme with Churchill Retirement Living in March 2023.
Dave Bray said: “I am really pleased to be working as part of this partnership with Pilgrims’ Friend Society to help ensure their high levels of fire safety are maintained across their portfolio of care homes and supported living premises within the country.
“Fire safety regulations for multi-occupied residential buildings have changed enormously since the tragic events of the Grenfell Tower fire, and WSFRS is already busy working to implement the recommendations of the Phase 2 Report published last year. New legislation can sometimes be difficult to interpret and implement, which is why Primary Authority Schemes are such an effective method of helping organisations implement effective measures to ensure they remain compliant with fire safety legislation across their whole company, rather than piecemeal across different counties. We are now the single point of contact for all of Pilgrims’ Friend Society’s properties within West Sussex and beyond, offering consistent and accurate advice and guidance to ensure the safety of all of their residents.”
Neal Shelton Green, Assistant Director of Operations – Commissioning, at Pilgrims’ Friend Society, said: “The family members and staff of Koinonia Christian Care Home were delighted to welcome representatives of Pilgrims’ Friend Society and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s fire safety team into their home. An event was held to recognise the signing of the Primary Fire Authority agreement which promotes fire safety across twenty care homes and housing schemes in the charity. The visit included a wonderful opportunity for Koinonia family members and staff to speak with members of Worthing Fire Station over refreshments.”
Primary Authority is administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
If you are interested in finding out more about the benefits of a Primary Authority partnership and how West Sussex FRS could support your business, you can find more information on the WSFRS website.
More information on Primary Authorities can also be found on the Government website.