Examination of Witness (Questions 60-64)
15 JUNE 2004
PROFESSOR ROSEMARIE
EVERTON
Q60 Chairman: Are there any points you
wish to add before we finish with you?
Professor Everton: Just one, please.
Fire policy is moving very fast, and that is one of my fears for
the long-term success of the RRO. It is moving towards a policy
of education which I think is good, and the attention is being
given to fire safety in the home, which is where the deaths are.
It is proper for the attention to be given there. It has led me
to ask the question: why has the focus turned to the home? Why
have the deaths been in the home? Why not so much on the commercial
and industrial front? Then I come back to the answer: could it
be perhaps because the Fire Precautions Act has done such a good
job? Burdensome and criticised, could it not be that it held the
fort? So, if we shift the focus from the industrial and the commercial
to the domestic, should we not explore the background and ask
why, before we throw out the baby with the bathwater?
Q61 Dr Naysmith: Could it not be because
most industrial premises are not occupied at night, whereas in
homes people are living in them for 24 hours a day?
Professor Everton: That would
be another reason.
Q62 Dr Naysmith: Would that possibly
have something to do with it?
Professor Everton: I think so.
I think again it is a mixture of reasons. All I am doing is highlighting
one possibility and phrasing it as a question. I do not know the
answer.
Q63 Mr MacDougall: What would be more
effective—good regulation or good practice?
Professor Everton: I would suggest
the good practice has to be carried by good regulation, because
good regulation stems from good law. That has got to be solid
and then the practice, hopefully, can follow if there are the
resources to do it.
Q64 Chairman: Could I thank you for coming
along, as I thanked all the witnesses. If there is anything you
want to drop us a note about please write as soon as possible,
because to influence our thinking we have to move along and by
the time we see the Minister in a fortnight's time our time is
rapidly moving on to bringing a report together. Thank you very
much for coming along.
Professor Everton: Thank you for
listening.
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