Brent Teirney lives and breathes fire safety. You only have to talk with him for a few minutes to see how knowledgeable and passionate he is. From the first moment our team met Brent as a fire suppression consultant on one of our projects, they were impressed with his diligence and attention to detail—and knew he was the ideal person to help build our in-house BESS fire systems expertise.
“I oversee everything relating to fire safety within our BESS containers. That includes gas suppression, aerosol systems, fire extinguishers, and fire alarms,” Brent tells us. “It’s an intense job, but I love it.”
“My knowledge and experience mean I know the systems inside out. I work to a high standard and won’t sign off on a job unless I’m satisfied it meets UK fire safety standards.”
When Brent first joined SEO, he was away on sites for weeks at a time, carrying out all the servicing and maintenance himself. That was manageable when we had just a handful of sites, but it became more of a challenge as the business grew.
“That growth has been amazing to see, but it did present some workload challenges,” Brent admits. “So, I’ve been transitioning from servicing and maintaining all the systems myself to managing and coordinating the team handling that day-to-day work.”
“I’m also getting more involved with the design and Factory Acceptance Testing of new installations so that compliance with UK fire safety standards is confirmed before they’re shipped to this country—that’s something I’m committed to, as it avoids a lot of problems further when equipment arrives at the site.”
Brent also maintains SEO’s BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Equipment) certification. “BAFE is the gold standard in the UK for fire systems service providers, and I’m really proud we achieved it – but it does mean a lot of work for me.”
Brent makes it his business to keep his skills and knowledge current. “I’d already done a lot of courses when I joined the company, but they’ve helped me to continue my training and learning. I’ve just done an IOSH course, for example. There are also some courses coming up on new fire alarm system regulations, and I’m going to take those too.”
“Beyond that, I’m a regular at Fire Institute Association meetings. I always have one eye on the future of fire safety, so I know when new regulations are coming into force and what changes might have to be made. In my profession, you can’t be on the back foot; you’ve got to keep one move ahead.”
It’s a philosophy that’s also served Brent well outside of work. “I won the UK light heavyweight cage fighting championship a few years back and was ranked third in the world in Thai boxing—after winning a Bronze medal in the amateur championships and coming first in the European championships. I’ve also dabbled in jujitsu,” he tells us.
Brent admits that he doesn’t train as often as he’d like these days: “I used to train three and a half hours most days a week, but that’s almost impossible with a growing family and more responsibilities at work. I’ve got three kids and another on the way, so I don’t get a chance to relax—it’s all go, go, go. Still, I think, all things considered, I have a good balance between work and home life.”
Looking to the future, Brent will be taking on more strategic responsibilities and providing more direct fire safety consultancy to support BESS site investors, owners and battery manufacturers.
