Prison Governors’ Association and fire safety experts to give evidence to Peers on fire safety in prisons

Tomorrow, the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee will be questioning two panels of witnesses as part of its inquiry into fire safety in prisons.  

The sessions will take place on Tuesday 23 June 2026 and can be followed live on Parliament TV. 

Giving evidence at 10:30am will be: 

• Tom Wheatley, President, Prison Governors' Association 

• Mark Icke, Vice President, Prison Governors' Association 

Possible questions include:

• How do prisons currently manage fire risk, and what happens when there is a fire? 

• What training is currently provided to prison staff in relation to fires and fire safety? How do fire drills in prisons work? 

• Do prison governors currently have the powers they need to manage fire safety risks effectively? What additional powers or levers, if any, would governors need to improve fire safety? 

• How effective are the current inspection and oversight arrangements for fire safety in prisons? 

• What are the main barriers to improving fire safety infrastructure across the prison estate?  

• What steps can be taken to reduce the number of fires started deliberately by prisoners?  

• With respect to fire safety, what are the main differences between public and private prisons? 

Giving evidence at 11:30am will be

• Alasdair Perry, Chief Eecutive, British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA)  

• Richard Cebreiro, Technical Committee Chair, BAFSA  

• Derek Killaspy, Managing Director, Fireworks Fire Protection Ltd 

Possible questions include: 

• How do prisons currently manage fire risk, and what happens when there is a fire?  

• What fire suppression equipment is used in prisons?  

• What are the key challenges with fire safety equipment in the prison estate? 

• What are the main barriers to improving fire safety infrastructure across the prison estate?  

• What happens in the aftermath of a fire to get a prison back to full operational efficiency?  

• What sort of fires are prisons equipped to deal with? What can they not deal with?  

• The majority of injuries come from smoke rather than fire. How do prisons deal with smoke suppression?