Theresa Griffin is a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Northwest England (2014 to 2020), during which time she was strongly involved in Fire Safety and Energy Poverty and was very supportive of FEEDS concerns. She will now bring her experience to the Forum to amplify its voice in a context where legislative processes, boosted by the Energy Transition, have never been so crucial for the safety of all citizens.
FEEDS is a project founded in 2001 by the European Copper Institute (ECI). FEEDS is a think-tank and a do-tank that brings together organisations aiming to improve electrical safety in dwellings. The FEEDS secretariat is managed by ECI with the support of members. FEEDS members contribute to the Forum on a voluntary basis with their time and expertise. The Forum aims to contribute to a safe, just and ambitious Energy Transition mainly focused on electrification by:
- Providing harmonized data on domestic fires from electrical source at European level and contributing to improve data collection in each country,
- Promoting proven solutions at European level to reduce electrical fires from electrical source in dwellings,
- Putting electrical safety as a pre-requisite to the deep renovation and deployment of decentralized production (e.g., PV), energy storage and increased electrical demand of 132 million dwellings across Europe with obsolete electrical installations,
- Drawing attention at all policy levels on the close connection between energy poverty and electrical safety for vulnerable communities,
- Participating in the achievement of the Green Deal targets.
Theresa Griffin: “FEEDS has done excellent work on data collection and sharing best practice, publishing key reports in this field. I’m looking forward to working with its members comprising fire officers’ organisations, consumer representatives, professional associations together with policy makers and legislators to share the unique expertise FEEDS has developed to keep all citizens fire safe.”
Krzysztof Biskup, former Deputy Director of the Scientific and Research Centre for Fire Protection, Chair of The European Fire Safety Alliance and FEEDS Vice-Chair: “Fire kills around 5,000 citizens in the European Union every year and marks many more for the rest of their lives. Most fires occur in homes and almost all, including fires from electrical sources, are preventable. With the minimum of effort, we can protect thousands of people in Europe against fire. Theresa always paid great attention to fire safety and vulnerable people and we are looking forward to working with her to take the necessary steps forward.”
Olivier Tissot, FEEDS Secretariat: “Electrical safety is not fatality, it can be addressed by prevention. With Theresa onboard, we will have the opportunity to put our main ask for regular electrical domestic inspections at the top of the political agenda.”
