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Russ Porteous - CEO, Firewize

Russ is the CEO of Firewize with over 30 years of broad industry experience Russ is sought after for his technical abilities, on subjects including fire safety, reducing false alarms and the built environment.

Contact
Title: CEO, Firewize
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Professional Summary
Scan the QR Code for the Business Card for Russ Porteous

Russ Porteous is the founder and CEO of Firewize an innovative fire safety design, installation and maintenance consultancy located in Melbourne, Australia.

With over 30 years of broad industry experience and an avid geek Russ has successfully blended the two to grow and leverage his business investments to cover trade and building services, property investment, e-commerce, online learning and software development.

Capitalizing on his knowledge and understanding of technology, Russ has developed a customer lead generating pipeline that operates without him, generating hundreds of qualified leads per (mostly based on work he did over 9 years ago).

Russ works with his wife of 25+ years and high-school sweetheart alongside his highly capable son who both help oversee their family business interests. In his spare time, Russ is found working with guys in his local community to help them find purpose and connection.

Experience & Recognition

In 2019, Russ was recognised for his 30+ years of industry experience by his peers within the fire protection industry, receiving the prestigious “Meritorious Service Award”.

FPA Australia, Meritorious Service Award 2018 - Russ Porteous
  • 2023- Elected Director, Fire Protection Association Australia (3rd term)
  • 2019-2022 Elected Director, Fire Protection Association Australia (2nd term)
  • 2018+ Member of Standards Australia Committee LG007, Emergency Escape Lighting in Buildings
  • 2017 - FPA Australia, Finalist - Fire Protection Project of the Year
  • 2009-2012 - Member of Standards Australia Committee FP001, Routine Servicing of Fire Protection Systems & Equipment
  • 2009-2012 Elected Director, Fire Protection Association Australia (1st term)
  • 2006+ Founder of the Special Interest Group (SIG) for the maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment within Fire Protection Association Australia. This group later became the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC-001) for the maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment.
  • 2012 - Presenter at Fire Australia - Environmental Cost of Maintenance
  • 2010 - Presenter at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria - Legislative Requirements of Maintenance
  • 2010 - Presenter at the Aged Care Association - Essential Safety Measures Compliance in Healthcare Facilities
Latest Articles
  1. NSW Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025
    The Product Lifecycle Responsibility Act 2025 (NSW) imposes new environmental obligations on all products supplied in NSW, including fire protection equipment. Brand owners must implement stewardship plans, report annually, and support circular economy principles. Fire industry professionals must adapt practices to meet these requirements and support sustainable compliance.
  2. BC-200 Honeywell Fire Alarm Control Panel - Obsolete
    In September 2023, Honeywell Fire & Security (Pacific) announced the the BC-200 fire alarm control panel had been discontinued, providing an upgrade path for a replacement SMX+ Intelligent Addressable Fire Alarm Control System. According to the ActiveFire listing (afp-2964) the BC-200 was first listed in December 2014 giving it a 9 year market lifecycle.
  3. Chief Officer's Consent for Building Works (r129)
    When applying for a building permit in Victoria, certain fire safety matters that do not comply with the Deemed-to-Satisfy (DtS) provisions of the National Construction Code (NCC) require special approval. Regulation 129 of the Building Regulations 2018 (Vic) sets out the consent process.
  4. Bushfire or Wildfire detection using Home Assistant
    Exploring bushfire detection beyond standard systems, this article investigates using the open-source Home Assistant IoT platform for inexpensive ember attack sensing. Leveraging publicly available weather and alert data, combined with affordable IoT sensors (temperature, humidity, particulates), and integrating with outputs for notifications or actions, a rudimentary early warning system can be built by enthusiasts.
  5. Check & test your smoke alarms
    A smoke alarm is a vital warning device, necessary in homes to warn people in the event of smoke and fire. It is generally agreed to test your smoke alarm monthly with particular focus when daylight savings changes two times (Daylight saving time begins on the first Sunday in October and again the first Sunday in April). Despite this reminder, there are many smoke alarms that are not working, placing people and property at risk of fire.