
Celebrate history of the FIA
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04 January 2016
The Fire Extinguishing Trades Association (FETA) and the British Fire Protection Systems Association (BFPSA) merged in 2007 to form the FIA. As FETA was founded in 1916 and BFPSA was founded in 1966, we have 100 + 50 years of history to learn from and be proud of.
At the Hampton office we hold the hand written ‘minutes’ books from the very start of both associations and we asked Mrs. Lynn Randle, who retired from Chubb having looked after their archives for many years, to read through them all and to dig out any and all pieces of interest. Throughout 2016 we plan to provide you with snippets and information gleaned from these minutes each week and hope they will be of interest. The sequence of the 52 comments jump from year to year but reflect the month that we will publish them in.
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Origins of BFPSA
Throughout 1967 and ’68 BSIA (British Security Industry Association) and SaFASA (Security and Fire Alarms Systems Association) had been considering joining forces to become a single body representing the industry. This had not worked well – mainly because each thought itself to be the more important organisation! BSIA thought that SaFASA ought to become a member of BSIA, whereas SaFASA thought BSIA ought to go into liquidation and its member companies join us. (Despite this, both organisations worked very successfully together on a big project to start using the national telephone landline system to carry alarm signals, and also aimed to present a united front to all outside organisations and departments.) Eventually it was decided to split fire and alarms into separate organisations. From 1.1.69 BSIA would represent security industries only, with SaFASA representing fire companies only; during the first month relevant member companies could move to the other side without entrance fee or ‘the usual formalities’ of joining. Each association would put a representative without voting rights on each-other’s council so that we would know what each-other was dealing with. At a 24.2.69 Extraordinary General Meeting, SaFASA agreed to a change of name, effective within days, and became British Fire Protection Systems Association Ltd as the Security firms would no longer belong.