Platforming passive fire protection: Mike Ward talks the future of the ASFP
Iain Hoey
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Mike Ward, Managing Director of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, reflects on fifty years of the ASFP advancing competence, clarity and collaboration across the built environment
Passive fire protection often slips from view when project decisions are set.
It sits beside alarms, pumps and vehicles, yet its success depends on choices that begin at concept and run through design, installation and inspection.
In this extended conversation, Mike Ward, Managing Director of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, sets out how the ASFP is centring competence, earlier engagement and usable guidance, and why that now includes a defined platform at Intersec.
Why passive needs its own platform
Ward begins with a clear observation about how passive fire has been presented at large shows and inside multi-topic project teams.
“Last year we took a bit of a fact-finding trip and then met with Messe Frankfurt,” Ward says.
“My point to them was that on the fire side of Intersec everything gets mixed together.
“You can have a small sprinkler stand next to NAFFCO’s big airport fire engines, next to a box that goes ping, next to a tube of something that claims to solve all ills on a construction site.
“Passive fire is different from boxes that go ping or tanks painted red.”
The platform ASFP sought is about timing and responsibility: “It’s about bringing the passive sector into the design and construction conversation far earlier,” Ward explains.
“Using the new golden thread tools linked with BIM brings the sector front and centre in its relationship with the principal designer and principal contractor.”
ASFP has confirmed plans for Intersec in Dubai that reflect this approach.
The association will lead a Passive Fire Protection zone within the UK Pavilion, positioned near the Fire Safety Theatre, with a programme focused on practical design decisions and clear routes to evidence.
The intention is to make passive fire visible as a defined set of responsibilities and to point visitors to content they can apply on live projects.
Competence, the register and the Pass Mark
Professionalisation in practice starts with role clarity and proof of knowledge.
The ASFP pathway maps expectations across manufacturers, installers, testers, certifiers and designers, then sets out how competence is demonstrated and recorded.
“This is about bringing together the competency framework for manufacturers, installers, testers, certifiers and designers so they can evidence competence through a framework and register,” Ward says.
“That links to more robust schemes here and tracks through to the ASFP Pass Mark.
“The Pass Mark is an independent mark run by ASFP that sits above standard membership.”
The structure is designed to support duty holders, clients and contractors.
It simplifies selection, helps designers understand that specifications can be delivered as drawn, and builds a consistent record along the golden thread so approvals and maintenance stand on firm ground.
“The goal is for the passive sector to be seen as professional, to be brought into the design and construction conversation earlier, and to use golden thread tools linked with BIM so the sector is front and centre alongside the principal designer and principal contractor,” Ward says.
“There’s a whole story to tell here.”
Guidance that supports daily decisions
A framework is only useful if teams can reach for documents that work under time pressure.
ASFP has advanced a pipeline of publications that shift attention to early planning and whole-system thinking.
At the centre is the Green Book for fire doors, drawn from TG10 and set out to treat door sets as systems through the life of a building, not as isolated products at handover.
The approach encourages early engagement with users, mapped responsibility across disciplines, and digital records that support inspection and maintenance.
It recognises the range of door types and components now in use and the way poor specification or reactive upkeep can turn essential assets into liabilities.
Closing the gaps at interfaces
Some of the most persistent problems appear where trades meet.
The space behind the façade is a frequent source of uncertainty because duties overlap and change as products are substituted.
ASFP is convening a new technical group to examine this zone alongside façades, windows and fit-out specialists.
The scope includes movement, junctions and the downstream effects when a product is swapped without checking its neighbour.
Guidance will include straightforward details and a focus on recording decisions so inspectors and future maintainers can see what was installed and why.
“We’re entering the external envelope space and creating a new technical group for passive measures behind façades,” Ward says.
“We’ve got the Centre for Window Technology, FIS and several members engaged.
“The first meeting is planned for the end of January.
“It’s a missing piece in passive – the space between inner walls and the outer wall.
“What does that look like from a passive fire point of view?”
Ward’s stance on materials is direct: “We just want to make sure it works.”
People, culture and outreach
Competence also relies on people, wellbeing and entry routes.
The ASFP Academy now spans Awareness, Introduction, Diploma and Foundation levels, with new courses in development to address gaps.
Work is underway with SFJ Awards on an independent assessment service that can provide credible evidence of competence, beginning with design and specification then expanding to other roles.
The association has launched a mental health pack that sets out simple, practical steps employers can take, encourages open conversation and signposts to specialist support.
The Young Leaders Group features in Council activity, reflecting the need to attract new entrants.
ASFP has joined Climate Action for Associations to embed sustainability aims in its operations and in the guidance it promotes.
The communications approach mirrors how people learn and share now.
ASFP TV and short-form clips translate theatre sessions and site lessons into two-minute explainers that can be watched on a phone and used in toolbox talks.
“I’m handing the reins of social media over because I’m old and no one wants to see old people on social,” Ward says.
“If you go to TikTok and search ‘everything PFP’ you’ll see our channel.
“Others are starting to do similar things, which is fine.
“How people consume information is different from ten or twenty years ago.
“It takes three times the effort to stay ahead of the pack, but we’re happy for people to follow.”
Reece Goodman has returned as PR and Membership Engagement Officer to drive this activity, oversee the EverythingPFP channel and develop member-facing content that supports recruitment and outreach alongside the Young Leaders Group.
A year of touchpoints, with Intersec in view
The calendar provides a rhythm that runs from regional rooms to international halls.
Through the year ASFP has appeared at national trade shows with theatre activity, paired its AGM with a London technical seminar, and run regional days including Scotland and London.
Webinars and Academy sessions support those who cannot travel, and the ASFP Awards Lunch will round out the year.
On awards, Ward sets out what they represent.
“The ASFP is proud to represent all those in the passive fire community who look to evidence their commitment to improving quality, standards, and competency within the built environment by virtue of their membership of the association,” Ward says.
“The pinnacle of this is those members who put forward their nominations for the ASFP awards, knowing their nomination will come under scrutiny, but having the confidence in themselves to put it forward all the same.
“Whether being shortlisted or winning, the mere confidence and commitment to apply is what makes the ASFP awards such a great event.
“The quiet, meaningful morality of ASFP members is the loudest voice in the industry; this one fact alone is never lost on me, thank you to all those who applied, good luck to all nominees on this, the fiftieth anniversary of the ASFP.
“It’s going to be a very special event indeed.”
Those touchpoints lead into the Intersec plan.
ASFP will lead the Passive Fire Protection zone within the UK Pavilion near the Fire Safety Theatre and run theatre content focused on competence and early design decisions, supported by a show brochure and daily media.
Rather than presenting passive as a catalogue of products, the programme concentrates on decisions that change day-to-day work.
Ward’s team expects short interviews on the stand and in the theatre to run across social channels during the show so the message reaches people who are not on site.
“We’ll run a full ASFP TV social media campaign across the three days,” Ward says.
“Reece is coming to do on-stand interviews with exhibitors, film at the theatre, talk to presenters and panellists, and speak with Emirates Safety Laboratory.”
The pavilion set-up follows the same logic of clarity and access.
ASFP will host a small pavilion of exhibiting members, each with its own branding, promoted by Messe Frankfurt as the ASFP pavilion, with an ASFP stand integrated with or adjacent to the space.
The third day includes a full programme in the Fire Theatre on professionalising passive fire.
Sessions will include the latest work on competency frameworks, the forthcoming ASFP Design Guide, and the Green Book for fire doors.
Panel sessions will include employers from exhibiting members so visitors can hear directly from teams applying these approaches in practice.
A longer horizon sits behind the show plan.
“This is baby steps for the first one,” Ward says.
“We have a five-year plan with Messe Frankfurt to develop passive as a distinct consideration – not siloed, because everything is interdependent, but visible.
“Unless you break it out and shine a light on it, it gets lost in the noise.”
Asked what readers should take from the year ahead, Ward returns to first principles:
- Early involvement creates clarity.
- Role-based competence gives confidence.
- Documents that show tested detail reduce friction from concept to sign-off.
“Bringing the passive sector into the conversation earlier is what changes outcomes,” Ward says.
“The calendar is set up to keep that message in front of designers, contractors and clients throughout the year.”