Left to right: Raj Baksi, Graham Gray, Tony McCord
Making sure our campus a safe and sustainable place to work drives our Fire Safety team. Based in Bramber House, they are part of the wider Health and Safety team, and work closely with colleagues from Estates to advise on campus projects and tackle safety issues quickly.
The team also provides the University with a strategic overview of fire safety to help ensure it complies with legislation, supporting compliance through inspections and fire risk assessments and communicating with the Estates team and building users about actions needed to improve safety. Training is key, and an important element of their work is making sure staff are trained around fire wardens, evacuation chairs and stair climbing equipment. You can meet the team and find out more at the Sussex Safety Day on Thursday 5 October.
Read more about the Fire Safety team in their own words below, and meet their new member Raj who joined the team on 25 September:
Graham Gray, Fire Safety Manager, has been with the University for over four years, having worked for Bedfordshire and East Sussex fire and rescue services. Graham says: "Our University is extremely varied in terms of how students learn and the buildings we use, which means my role is equally challenging and rewarding. In the morning I could be collaborating with somebody from the Student Centre about how many people can be in a single room, and in the afternoon dealing with an architect on a multi-million pound project to ensure fire safety measures are met. And occasionally, during my lunch hour, I can find myself looking at the ceiling during a yoga session!
"One of our greatest achievements has been to significantly improve the take-up of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for students and staff and I’ve worked with some really inspirational students through this process. Many of our buildings were designed before modern design codes came into force, so often we need to look backwards before we can look forwards. It has been said that we are a little village here on campus, which means we all play an important role in making sure our community is safe. Our team is here to help with this – and sometimes this does mean I have to say you can't have a toaster in your office!"
In June 2022, Tony McCord, Fire Safety Advisor, joined the University from East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, in a part-time role. Tony says: "I give fire safety advice and training and complete fire risk assessments for the many buildings on campus, which means that I have had the pleasure of meeting many people across the University. I work hard to identify fire safety hazards and provide solutions to Estates team and Sussex Estates and Facilities.
"Collaborating with colleagues from Health and Safety, I make sure annual fire evacuation drills are carried out for all campus buildings, including the residential accommodation on and off campus. I also provide PEEPs for staff and students, and liaise with contractors and the Fire Service to ensure access for the emergency services is maintained at all times. Working closely with the Security team, I help make sure emergency response issues are prepared for and issues investigated. In my spare time I am a keen cyclist and musician and was recently part of the band providing some deafening entertainment for the AURPO conference at the University. Always happy to help with your fire safety-related matters, musical entertainment and cycling anecdotes!"
Raj Baksi, Fire Safety Advisor and Trainer joined Sussex on 25 September from East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, in a part time role. Raj says: "I really enjoy my role of raising awareness of fire safety in people’s lives, both at work and home, through training, education and the proactive management of fire safety. In my career I have delivered training at many interesting places across all sectors to staff, volunteers and operational fire fighters. I enjoy building relationships, collaborating on projects, and helping to make people’s lives safer.
"I’m not afraid to address a crowd and have for many years worked at public-facing community safety events. Some of you may have already seen me ‘in action’ here at the annual University Safety Day where I have on many occasions provided the spectacular ‘hot oil’ chip pan fire demonstration. Another reason staff may recognise me is that for the past two decades I have been providing practical fire extinguisher training for staff that work in high-risk areas across the campus. I’ve lived in the Lewes and Brighton area all my life, I regularly mountain bike across the Downs and through Stanmer Park, and most days I am either out biking or open water swimming. I am also an ambassador for the health charity the Klinefelter’s Syndrome Association. I look forward to meeting you at your fire training! Bring your questions and plenty of enthusiasm."
If you would like to contact a member of the Fire Safety team, view their contact details on the Health and Safety webpages.