Fire Industry Association - Experts & Thought Leaders

During the 2024 General Assembly of Euralarm in Prague, the members chose Peter Mita as the new President of Euralarm. He succeeds Jon Könz who was President for the past three years. Peter Mita is the Southern Europe Commercial leader of Honeywell Fire.  ​2024 General Assembly The 2024 General Assembly was held in Prague where the outgoing President praised among others the work that was done in information sharing, supporting members with regulatory expertise, and guiding standardisation processes with the work in technical committees and liaisons. Euralarm succeeded in aligning opinions and developing clear priorities shared across the whole scope of the industries represented by Euralarm: product and system manufacturers, installers, integrators, service providers, and national associations from all over Europe. Under Euralarm’s umbrella model, different industry disciplines are represented by distinct sections with separate memberships, but they work together in their high-level dialogue with institutional players and other European stakeholders. Board of Euralarm The General Assembly also elected Christian Schmitz (Honeywell) as chair of the Fire section, Brian Cunningham (Drax 360) as vice chair of the Services section, Victoria Ferrera Lopez (Verisure) as chair of the Advocacy Committee, and Rodger Reiswig (JCI) as chair of the Horizontal Compliance Committee.  The full board of Euralarm consists of Alan Elder and Gerd Hülsen (chair and vice chair Extinguishing section), Christian Schmitz and Neil Budd (chair and vice chair of the Fire section), Oscar Feijo Jimenez and Milan Ceeh (chair and vice chair of Security Section), Robert Thilthorpe and Brian Cunningham (chair and vice chair of Services section), Victoria Ferrera Lopez (chair Advocacy Committee), Rodger Reiswig (chair Horizontal Compliance Committee), Anja Schäfers (chair Marketing Committee) and Nikolaos Stamoulis (chair Finance Committee).

Ajax Systems has officially joined the Fire Industry Association (FIA). The FIA is the largest fire protection trade association in Europe, and its membership provides access to a wide network of industry professionals and resources that play a crucial role in improving fire safety standards. By joining the FIA, Ajax Systems develops credibility, visibility, and opportunities to collaborate with more than 1,000 industry members. Enriching the fire safety community "Ajax Systems is committed to investing in the UK fire safety market. As a pioneering global manufacturer, partnering with such a major contributor to the fire safety industry is essential. With over 200 working groups and extensive education initiatives benefiting 40,000 professionals, the FIA’s influence is indisputable," said Paul Pope, Global Head of Fire & Life Safety Business at Ajax Systems and board member at the FIA. He adds, "Our partnership with the FIA is not just about mutual benefit; it signifies a shared commitment to enriching the fire safety community with cutting-edge technology and knowledge. Together, we are shaping a better industry that prioritises safety and excellence." FireProtect detectors The company gained valuable experience from the wide application of FireProtect detectors Ajax Systems entered fire safety in 2016 with the release of the first Ajax fire detector, FireProtect, which was later evolved into a new model with an added CO sensor, FireProtect Plus. Over the years, the company gained valuable experience from the wide application of FireProtect detectors, which sparked the idea of revolutionising the industry. Ajax Systems studied the industry players who do not risk changing their products for years. The company came to realise that professionals tend to work with outdated equipment, while users receive fire protection with minimal features passing the requirements of the standard. FireProtect 2 series In 2022, after a year of devoted development, the FireProtect 2 series was introduced, with next-gen fire detectors featuring innovative patented detection technologies, easy installation, minimal maintenance, and remote configuration and testing via Ajax apps.  The FireProtect 2 series is already available in 17 models with different sensor combinations and power supply options. The detectors are already certified according to various fire safety standards: EN 14604:2005/AC:2008 EN 50291-1:2018 EN 54-5:2017+A1:2018 BS 5839-6 (Grade F1) BS 5839-6 (Grade D1) AS 3786:2014 UL 268 CAN/ULC-S529 UL 2075 CAN/ULC-S588 And more certifications are on the way: BS 5446-2:2003 (in progress) BSI Kitemark (in progress) Recognition in the fire safety industry Ajax Systems entered the UK market at the end of 2018 and quickly gained recognition in the British professional security community. In 2023, the company won Security or Fire ESG Initiative Of The Year at the Security & Fire Excellence Awards, the most prestigious British award in the industry. In March 2024, Ajax Systems appointed Paul Pope as the new Global Head of the Fire & Life Safety Business.

During the 51st General Assembly of Euralarm, the European association representing the fire safety and security industry, the members have chosen Jon Könz as new President of Euralarm. He succeeds Martin Harvey, who was President for the past three and half years. Before being elected President, Jon Könz was Chair of the Services Section of Euralarm. He is Head of Industry Affairs, at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. Euralarm’s 2021 General Assembly The 2021 General Assembly was held in Brussels, Belgium, where the outgoing President praised the work that was done in fostering internal communications, in times when more and more people were bound to their (home) office and much of the communications takes place via online communication platforms. Nevertheless, the Euralarm association succeeded in aligning opinions and developing clear priorities, shared across the whole scope of the industries, represented by Euralarm, including product and system manufacturers, installers, integrators, service providers, and national associations, from all over Europe. New members added to Euralarm Having added more than 10 new members, over the past years, Euralarm now represents a bigger share of the industry Having added more than 10 new members, over the past years, Euralarm now represents a bigger share of the industry, allowing the association to exert more influence at European level. Under Euralarm’s umbrella model, different industry disciplines are represented by distinct sections with separate membership, but they work together in their high-level dialogue with institutional players and other European stakeholders. The General Assembly also elected Anja Schäfer (JCI) as Chair of the Marketing Committee, whereas Dominique Taudin (Carrier) will remain as Chair of the Advocacy Committee. Section Chairs and Vice Chairs elected On the following day, Section Chairs and Vice Chairs were elected or re-elected, by their respective section members. Neil Budd (FIA) was elected Vice Chair of the Fire Section, Milan Ceeh (AGA) will be the Acting Chair of the Security Section, with Oscar Feijo Jimenez (Verisure) as the Vice Chair. Robert Thilthope (FIA) will succeed Jon Könz as Chair of the Services Section, with Victoria Ferrera Lopez (Verisure) as Vice Chair. Alan Elder (JCI) and Tornbjörn Laursen will remain as Chair and Vice Chair of the Extinguishing Section.