The Fire Disciplinary Advisory Panel is pleased to report another eventful year for Session 2007/2008. The Panel met six times to deal with applications for Founding Members, refinement for academic qualifications for Normal Route Applicants, including top-up requirements for applicants with non-fire engineering degree programmes, drafting and submission of the model training guide to the Training Committee, admission requirements for Associate Members in Fire Discipline, review of appeal cases and other associated matters. All Panel members have been kept busy in vetting applications as well as conducting professional assessments. Up to the time of writing, over 290 Founding Members have been accepted into the Fire Discipline.

In support of the HKIE Engineering Series in the Classified Post of the South China Morning Post, several members of the Panel were interviewed by the media to introduce the work of fire engineering in Hong Kong. The article entitled "Professionals Who Keep Hong Kong Safe" was published on 29 March 2008.

With a view to keeping the Discipline au fait with international development, the Panel supported and provided advice on a proposal of "Reciprocal Recognition Agreement between the HKIE and the Institution of Fire Engineers, UK (IFE (UK))." An appropriate response has been sent to IFE (UK) in March 2008 and their reply is awaited.

On a number of occasions, the Panel supported the Institution in offering technical advice to enquiries from Government departments, one of which was the response to a consultation paper from the Fire Services Department on the proposed enactment of legislation for Registered Fire Engineers and the Third Party Fire Safety Certification. This subject matter could have a major impact upon the role of fire engineers in the fire safety community, and the Panel is taking an active interest in offering professional views and will closely monitor the progress.

Parallel to the Panel activities, many Panel members have also been assisting in the set up of the Steering Group for the formation of a new Fire Division. Members worked tirelessly against planned milestones in preparatory work after the endorsement of the Learned Society Board and approval of the Council in September 2007. The first Annual General Meeting of the Division took place successfully on 3 June 2008. In addition to the normal recruitment drive for Division members via the Hong Kong Engineer and the HKIE website, two promotional seminars were held in March and April 2008, resulting in the enrollment of over 310 members, which was a remarkable achievement indeed.