Minutes:
Councillor Michael Payne, Chair of the Authority, made the following announcements:
Ukraine
a) with regard to the horrific circumstances as Russia invades Ukraine, our thoughts as an Authority and a Service are with those people in Ukraine, including the emergency services, and also those with friends and family in Ukraine at this time;
b) Members of the Authority agreed that the current situation is horrendous and requested that not only should a strong message of support and solidarity be sent to the firefighters of Ukraine with a joint statement of the Chair and Chief Fire Officer, but constructive, practical firefighting resources should also be provided if at all possible, either now or at a later stage, with a meeting of political group leaders to discuss this in more detail.
COVID -19
c) all restrictions have been removed and the Service is delivering all services as usual, with just one member of staff remaining deployed assisting the NHS;
d) during the pandemic, Service staff provided support which included, but was not limited to;
i. a total of 495 urgent care shifts for East Midlands Ambulance Service, transporting 1,666 urgent care patients;
ii. delivering 12,687 medicine and food parcels;
iii. delivering 75,394 vaccinations;
iv. participating in 3,598 signposting and befriending telephone calls;
e) the Chair requested that the Chief Fire Officer ensure that everybody in the Service is thanked for their work, help and support during the pandemic.
Joint Headquarters
f) The Vice-Chair and Chief Fire Officer attended a formal handing over of the keys event in January and some staff have now moved over to the new Joint Headquarters site. Refurbishment of the existing buildings continues but during the next few months all remaining Fire Headquarters staff will also transfer to the new site;
g) Fire Authority meetings will continue be to be held at the current Fire Headquarters until after the AGM, with the exception of a Community Safety meeting. Members will receive a full introduction to the site and an opening ceremony is proposed, the details of which will be circulated once confirmed.
LTGTQ + History Month
h) The Service is supporting the LTGTQ+ history month with lots of small events and social media posts being created. It is understood that the support of the Service and visibility of staff on stations is greatly appreciated by the LTGTQ+ community in the City and County;
i) The Chair thanked the entire Service, but particularly to the Equality and Inclusion Team and staff for securing the gold award for the Equality Work Place Index of the Stonewall 100, for which the Service is currently ranked 6th of all emergency services in the country. A remarkable and outstanding achievement.
Councillor John Clarke
j) Councillor John Clarke was congratulated for being awarded the MBE in the New Year’s Honours List. This is well deserved for all his good work within the County, nationally and for the Service.
Chief Fire Officer - Gold Award
k) Congratulations also to Chief Fire Officer John Buckley for receiving the Queens Fire Service Medal, which is thoroughly deserved.