Agenda item

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

Craig Parkin, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, presented the report which updates the Committee on service delivery performance for year Quarter 3, between 1 October and 31 December 2018.

The following points were highlighted and questions from the Committee responded to:

(a)  It should be noted that the Service not only attends incidents but also undertakes significant prevention work, which may be reflected in the 13 incident decrease in accidental dwelling fires;

(b)  A total of 2,565 incidents were attended during Quarter 3, which is an increase of 77. The breakdown of incidents is contained within the report, but most notably there were 8 fire fatalities compared to 4 during the same period in 2017;

(c)  All data is scrutinised for patterns, which can then be addressed however, some relate to the time of year such as exceptionally hot dry weather;

(d)  Now that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspections are taking place, it will be possible to compare on-call availability of NFRS to other fire services. Appendix A to the report provides comprehensive availability data for each station including movements on the last quarter’s data, with nine of the 16 stations achieving 90% availability or more;

(e)  With regard to Retford Fire Station and mixed crewing, transitional support will be needed whilst more on-call officers are recruited but the focus on recruitment has attracted five more applicants resulting in the size of the section doubled within a year;

(f)  The Service has historically struggled to recruit on-call firefighters in the area of Southwell Fire Station, which has a low availability of 45.58%. This is possibly down the assumption of demographics where financial incentive is not enough to attract recruits. However, in addition to financial incentive, the Service relies on community support within an area, which can make recruitment difficult. Focused recruitment campaigns will continue within the Southwell area;

(g)  The exceptionally high availability of 99% at East Leake Fire Station reflects the admirable commitment of the staff and community;

(h)  Following the sad incident at Collingham, officers undertook comprehensive ‘community reassurance and engagement activities’. It is a huge concern that a substantial number of properties did not have smoke alarms, but also that where smoke alarms were fitted, some were fitted incorrectly and others were not regularly tested and maintained. The importance of having an escape plan should a fire occur was also heavily promoted;

(i)  The Service and Nottingham Health Care Trust has been shortlisted for an ‘Advancing Health Award’ for reducing risk of harm from fire. The awards event will take place on 12 April 2019;

(j)  With regard to fire safety inspections, the Service does take enforcement action but it is proportionate and the likelihood of not only winning a prosecution but also achieving the award of costs is considered due to the substantial cost of progressing legal proceedings. As different services have different approaches, it is expected that the HMICFRS inspection will enable a national comparison. It is anticipated that following the Grenfell Tower incident, there will be a stronger focus on regulation and enforcement in future;

(k)  With the introduction of business safety checks, when not attending incidents, fire crews will undertake lower risk premises inspection, which will leave specialist inspectors available to undertake inspections of higher risk businesses. Firefighters will need to be trained but overall, long-term benefits are predicted;

(l)  The full impact of the Grenfell Tower incident will not be known for some time yet, but it is anticipated that there will be changes to evacuation procedures and policies, particularly in properties where there is only one staircase. The ‘stay put’ policy for medium and high-rise properties relies on being safe within a compartment, but this was not the case withGrenfell Tower, so the policy is under review.

Members of the Committee expressed concern at the lack of interest shown by residents of the Southwell area in the role of retained firefighters, suggesting that community engagement is required for the benefit the Southwell community and the communities of surrounding villages to ensure that the fire station remained viable, open and operational. 

It is noted that the demographic of the area maybe a contributory factor and that Southwell is a significant commuter town where residents are not available and working within the immediate area to be available as on-call firefighters. In addition, firefighters need to commit to training time. Although there is pride in being a firefighter, as incident prevention improves there are fewer incidents which results in less pay and engagement.

RESOLVED to note the report.