BAFE Board of Directors

The BAFE Council were pleased to elect Douglas Barnett, Director Mid-Market and Customer Risk Management - AXA Insurance (UK) plc, as their Chairman in February 2014. Douglas chairs both the Council and Board and actively supports the staff team in BAFE’s development. Douglas has over 25 years’ experience in risk management with an extensive global background. He represents the Association of British Insurers and other commercial groups in consultations with Government bodies and technical groups. He has a number of technical qualifications including the Post Graduate European Diploma in Fire Safety Management and is a member of a number of professional bodies.

Justin Maltby-Smith joined as Group Managing Director of BAFE and FireQual in January 2022 having previously worked within the electrical installation, education, and life safety sectors. As of April 2025, Justin became the Group Chief Executive Officer of BAFE Holdings, incorporating BAFE and FireQual.

Prior to joining BAFE his previous roles included Technical Scheme Development Manager at NAPIT, and before this a long tenure at Certsure/NICEIC leaving as Head of Schemes and Operations. Justin represents BAFE on multiple national level committees to support the development of British Standards/Codes of Practice and competency frameworks to support/provide a safer fire and life safety sector.

As an individual who has owned an electrical installation and consultancy business - and later transitioning over to the regulation and third-party certification side of the sector, Justin’s skills, knowledge, and experience enables him to lead both BAFE and FireQual and to develop competency in a pragmatic and achievable manner.

Justin supports BAFE’s Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign: “From my experience in the electrical industry I am confident that any organisation with appropriate credentials will be extremely forthcoming and approachable if you request to validate this. At present UKAS Accredited Third-Party Certification remains voluntary to the fire safety industry, and therefore demonstrates any organisation that chooses to go through this process is committed to competency and to evidence their ability to deliver quality work. I strongly believe in BAFE and continue to stress the importance of UKAS Accredited Third-Party Certification. If you want to evidence your due diligence in sourcing an appropriate fire safety organisation to help fulfil your requirements, don’t just specify – verify their Third-Party Certification and BAFE Registration.”

Iain Cox retired in June 2013 following 34 years of service for Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with the last ten of these years serving as Chief Fire Officer. Alongside Iain’s role on the BAFE Board, he remains active within the fire safety sector currently as Chair of the Business Sprinkler Alliance (BSA) and Vice Chair of the National Fire Sprinkler Network (NSFN). Iain was also heavily involved with the work of the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council (FRACC), which introduced important information for the Fire Risk Assessment sector. He was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Fire Service medal in 2009.

Iain supports BAFE’s Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign: “In my time spent serving the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, I too often witnessed preventable fires. This is not only a major concern for people’s safety, but it causes potential ongoing damage to their livelihoods and the building itself. Mitigation through a suitable Fire Risk Assessment is paramount, performed by appropriate experts, and in addition keeping systems well maintained can assure everyone the building is as safe as possible. The Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign highlights the importance of selecting appropriate third-party certificated organisations to help meet your fire safety obligations.”

Derek Harrington works as a consultant, former roles including Service and Contracts Director for Caradon Gent and Chief Executive for Novar Project Limited. Derek remains active within the fire industry with an ongoing commitment to the BAFE Board, and his recent role as Chair of the Euralarm Finance Committee was also to influence the need for Third-Party Certification in Europe. Derek decided to step down from Euralarm in 2022 after many years of activity. However, Derek continues to provide valuable support to BAFE, particularly with financial matters to guide BAFE and the team appropriately. In 2020, Derek received the FIA's prestigious Lifetime Achievement award.

Derek supports BAFE's "Don't Just Specify, Verify" campaign. He says, "I have been championing quality within the fire industry for many years, and my actions speak for themselves with the amount of work I have carried out for multiple organisations in support of this. BAFE's campaign promotes the value of UKAS Accredited Third-Party Certification, which is the primary evidence for a fire safety organisation's eligibility to be listed on BAFE's register. I fully support the campaign and its attempts to raise awareness of appropriate Third-Party Certification for fire safety organisations, including the introduction of stronger requirements such as regulated qualifications for relevant personnel of said organisations."

Graham Newman sits on the BAFE Board with technical expertise in fire extinguishers and gas cylinders. With this expertise, Graham also participates with the appropriate British Standards Technical Committees to provide input. Graham has his own business, primarily focusing on cylinder manufacturing. Alongside Graham’s commitments to BAFE and the British Standard Technical Committees, he is also President of the British Fire Consortium.

Howard Passey has worked for the FPA since 1992, undertaking multiple operational and leadership roles during his tenure. This includes varying roles from Training/Information Officer to Principal Consultant, in recent years as Director of Operations and currently Deputy Managing Director. Prior to joining the FPA, Howard trained as a land surveyor and subsequently worked 8 years in the construction industry. He has extensive experience working in the FPA’s fire advisory division and is a well-respected and skilled Fire Risk Assessor. Howard’s experience brings a wealth of knowledge to BAFE, who assists in steering decision making to achieve BAFE’s goals and provides suitable guidance where it is required.

Howard supports BAFE’s Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign: “I was aware of the Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign prior to accepting the invitation to join the BAFE Board in 2023. What is most valuable about the campaign is that Third-Party Certification is the clear focus, not just promoting BAFE but the whole competency sector. It is crucial to help educate the wider public on their options in choosing a suitable fire protection company, with Third-Party Certification evidencing their capability.”

Lewis Ramsay is the former Assistant Chief Officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) as the Director of Response and Resilience. Lewis’ well-respected career and experience provides BAFE with an excellent resource of information, including a thorough understanding of appropriate conduct and behaviour of individuals concerning fire and life safety. Lewis acted as Interim Managing Director when this was required in 2021/2022, providing crucial guidance to the BAFE team and became Chief Operating Officer in October 2025.

Lewis supports BAFE’s Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign: “Competency is such an important element when it comes to fire safety and protection. From my career in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service competency is the first and foremost aspect of being permitted to perform any work. This is pertinent for the whole fire safety industry, where demonstrating evidence of said competence and the management of this is something I support wholeheartedly. The Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign is an important initiative to educate people on the importance of this evidential competency, and subsequently evidencing their own conduct in choosing an appropriate provider to meet their fire safety obligations.”

Nigel Walton is the owner of Abbot Fire Group. Nigel’s position as a Board Director provides valuable insight from an active fire safety organisation. Abbot Fire Group are BAFE Registered for the BAFE SP101 fire extinguisher scheme, BAFE SP203-1 fire detection and fire alarm systems scheme and was the first organisation to achieve BAFE SP206 Registration for kitchen fire protection systems (for Ansul R-102 systems). Nigel is also heavily involved in BAFE’s marketing strategy, supporting the BAFE team to benefit all BAFE Registered Organisations. In addition to this, Nigel is also a Director of the trade association IFEDA which offers a route for feedback concerning the fire safety industry and BAFE Schemes. This provides quality information for the BAFE Board for consideration.

Nigel supports BAFE’s Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign: “As a BAFE Registered Organisation, I am proud to say that I practice what I preach as a BAFE Board Director. In recent years I have witnessed the stronger requirements of evidencing competency, which my organisation has had in place with suitable third-party certification for some time now. Whilst requesting third-party certification and BAFE Registration is excellent, the Don’t Just Specify, Verify campaign really highlights the necessity for people to check this is valid and relevant for the work required to aid your fire safety requirements.”