Women in Fire Safety Awards 2025: Celebrating Excellence and Inspiring Change

Diamond Systems was proud to be part of the Women in Fire Safety Awards 2025 in London – an evening dedicated to celebrating the incredible achievements of women across the fire safety industry.

Our Joint Managing Director, Angela Bennett, was delighted to be a guest of Gavin Skelly of Fire Aware, and honoured to speak at the opening of this year’s ceremony. Having won UK Woman of the Year in 2024, Angela was invited back to reflect on what the award had meant to her, to the team at Diamond Systems, and to the wider industry.

She shared how the recognition pushed her to grow in three ways:

• Upskilling herself – by stepping into the technical space, enrolling on the FIA’s Fundamentals course, and passing the Level 3 exam with 96%.
• Helping others – launching Diamond’s education and compliance division, training over 150 delegates, and hosting a seminar on BS 5839-1:2025 to raise standards. She also praised organisations such as Fire Aware and the FIA for leading the way in raising competence across the industry.
• Putting herself in the spotlight – mentoring young women, contributing to podcasts and blogs, and showing visible female leadership in fire and security.

Speaking about her experience of being the only woman in the room at many industry events in Northern Ireland, Angela reminded the audience:

“Representation matters. We belong in the room. Step forward. Use your voice. Don’t wait to be perfect before you speak up. Be a lamp, a lifeboat, or a ladder — light the way, lift others up, and help lead this industry forward.”

Angela also spoke passionately about the importance of raising competence across the sector. From engineers to directors, she stressed that “if we are serious about raising standards, every one of us has to keep learning, keep challenging ourselves, and keep pushing forward.”

The evening was a celebration of talent, dedication, and leadership – qualities that will shape the future of fire safety. Angela added:

“The Women in Fire Safety Awards shine a light on the people driving real change in our industry. It was inspiring to see so many women recognised, and I’m proud that Diamond Systems continues to play its part in promoting female leadership within the sector, raising standards, and keeping people safe.”

At Diamond Systems, this commitment is at the core of everything we do. Based in Belfast, we are one of the few independently owned NSI Gold-accredited companies remaining in Northern Ireland, with a 37-year track record of protecting people, buildings, and businesses. Our engineers hold the latest FireQual qualifications, and we continue to set the bar for competence and reliability across the UK and Ireland.

We would like to congratulate all the winners and nominees for their outstanding contributions, congratulate the organisers Chloe and Kate, and to thank organisations like the FIA and Fire Aware for continuing to champion competence and collaboration across the sector.