Quick Fire – Pete Davies

June 2, 2023

We are delighted to sit down with Pete Davies, Business Development Manager at Fireco, and hear about his unique observations on the fire industry, as well as how the music industry’s loss is the fire industry’s gain!

What does ‘fire protection’ mean to you?

In a nutshell, I think fire protection means exactly that; protection from fire. Using risk assessed, common sense practices and applying relevant technology to not only minimise the risk of fires starting in the first place, but to ensure that people and property are safe and suffer minimal amounts of damage should a fire occur.

What made you want to work in the industry?

I actually fell into the fire industry. Previous to Fireco I had 10 years experience in sales, selling everything from white goods insurance to discount coupons for restaurant chains. It was only when I snagged a position as a sales executive at Fireco that I really felt like the things I was selling actually made a lasting impact. Fireco took my development seriously and I found the whole industry fascinating. That was 11 years ago and I’ve not looked back.

If you could talk to your younger self, what would you say?

“Don’t do it that way! You’ll never make it that way!!”. In all seriousness, I’d probably just tell myself that everything will work itself out and not to beat yourself up too much. That was always a big thing for me when I was younger, taking on all the responsibility and worrying about the things that were out of my control. It led to some mental health problems that I’ve been lucky enough to live through and resolve. But without the journey I’ve been on I wouldn’t be where I am so I wouldn’t try and change too much.

Describe a funny thing that happened to you recently?

After years of teasing my wife that I was likely to father twins, having had them in my family on my mother’s side, we actually had twins.

What three items would you take to a desert island?

My Swiss Army Knife, a fully loaded MP3 player and my solar-powered battery pack.

What’s the most important trend you see today?

Cloud services. With much focus on, and the obvious benefits of, the concept of a golden thread of building safety information, cloud services offer the perfect platform to digitally store and share critical information. They also enhance products and services to make them more functional and easier to manage.

If you didn’t work in the fire industry, what would you be doing?

I’d probably still be a struggling musician. I used to write and perform a lot when I started in fire safety but I came to a fork in the road and decided to put all the energy and effort that I expended on music into my day job. It seems to be paying off! I still love music but there are lots of incredible talents out there and mine was a tiny voice in an ocean of sound. I guess I figured I could help more people working in fire safety.

What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your CV?

That’s a tough one. I guess it would probably relate back to music again. I had a publishing contract at 18 years old and I was on The Voice a few years back (I was in way over my head and whilst I was glad for the experience, it was a relief not to go through and sacrifice my *checks notes* artistic integrity. I did meet Kylie tho’).

What is one thing you would make compulsory in the office and one thing you would ban?

Compulsory: I think music should be compulsory in the workplace. It helps create an atmosphere and there’s plenty of research that indicates that it can improve productivity and morale.

Ban: Arguments about what music you should listen to at work. It took me a very long time to learn this but music is subjective and what I think is a bad song might not be the same for others.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

If I’ve done my job properly, I’ll still be at Fireco, continuing to help our customers to make compliance easy. It’s such a great company to work for and they’ve invested so much in me that I intend on doing the same. It would take an exceptional offer to steal me away, and in all honesty, a lot of it is to do with the amazing, incredibly clever people I work with.

To read more news and exclusive features see our latest issue here.