Ridge appoints two leading fire engineers

Ridge, the leading UK multidiscipline property and construction consultancy and Reeves Media client, has appointed two eminent fire engineers to lead fire safety and fire expert witness.

Keith Todd joins Ridge from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where he was head of fire safety. Last year, he won Fire Safety Manager of the Year for his work in the borough following the Grenfell Tower fire.  

He also scooped Research Project of the Year from the Worshipful Company of Firefighters for his research on fire modelling and human behaviour in heritage buildings in 2022.

Keith now leads the fire safety consultancy team at Ridge.

With 17 years’ experience in fire risk assessment and fire safety design in a range of sectors, Keith is also a third-party registered fire risk assessor, fire risk assessment validator, a chartered building engineer and an incorporated engineer, with a first-class Honours degree in fire risk engineering.

Also joining Ridge is Steve Manchester, a renowned fire safety and explosion expert, with 33 years’ experience. A chartered fire engineer specialising in fire safety engineering, fire risk assessment, and fire and explosion hazards of industrial premises, processes and materials, he joins the Ridge established expert witness team.

He assesses design, specification, workmanship and construction defects; the impact of design and workmanship defects and physical building defects, their causes and remediation. Steve also investigates fires and provides independent advice to parties involved in disputes.