Looking back: progress report November 2021

Progress against the 2018-2022 Integrated Risk Management Plan

• Reduce the risk of fire to households through delivery of home fire safety visits using new working arrangements, improved staff (awareness) training, vehicles and technology to deliver in excess of 20,000 targeted home safety visits across our Service area every year with particular emphasis on residents aged over 85.
  • Progress continues – targeting 18,000 home safety visits for 2021/22 although there is a reduced capacity due to Covid-19 restrictions.
• Development of a heritage property fire reduction policy.  
• Expanded collaboration work with the Police and other partners including health and social care to ensure the highest risk individuals can receive our support.e
  • Various projects established including Community Responders and data analyst embedded with Police.
• Reduce the impact of fire through development of a strategy to support the installation of domestic sprinklers in the highest risk households. 
  • Approved funding now in place and partnerships established with housing providers.
• Reduce the impact of fire through development of a strategy to support the installation of domestic sprinklers in the highest risk households. 
  • Approved funding now in place and partnerships established with housing providers.
• Expected outcomes from the activities.
• New reporting mechanism established. 
  •  A reduction in the number of accidental dwelling fires. 
  • A reduction in fire related injuries, particularly in the ageing population. 
  • A decrease in the number of fires in commercial premises. 
  • A reduction in the number of deliberate fires. 
  • A decrease in the number of fires involving heritage properties. 
• Improve control of fire risk through investment in training for business safety officers to expand our capability in enforcing fire safety legislation. 
  • Career progression scheme now in place to allow staff to move from apprentice to fully qualified business safety officer following a recognised qualification accreditation framework.
• Use of new firefighting technology, enhancing incident skills and knowledge of operational personnel and attracting new skills to improve outcomes of incidents and firefighter safety.
  • Introduction of new breathing apparatus sets including fire ground communications, introduction of fog spike and increased hose size to support compartment firefighting.
• Isolate known high risk collision sites through sharing data with partners and using predictive analysis to target interventions with road users. 
• Support our partners in the control of risk by contributing data and experience to influence change and improvements in road design. 
• Ensure that our staff are provided with the latest technology, equipment and training to effect casualty extrications and a rapid transfer to medical care where necessary. 
  • Full extrication equipment provided on all major and light rescue pumps and combination tools on rapid intervention vehicles.
• Reduce risk through community engagement working with partners to support health messages.
•  Development of a suicide prevention strategy to reflect, raise awareness and limit the impact of suicide on society and our staff.
• Review where present co-responding arrangements could be improved. 
  • -  Regional review undertaken and proposed future collaboration with ambulance service imminent.
• Eliminate risk through delivery of Safe and Well visits by highly skilled staff who are sensitive of community needs to make people safer from a wider range of risk, such as falls within their own home.
• Identify alternative methods of responding to emergency medical incidents through consultation with staff and the community.
• Reduce the risk to our staff by providing specific training to ensure they are prepared to deal with flooding, hazardous material and counter terrorism incidents. 
  • Specific training package designed and delivered.
• Develop our relationships with partners who manage high risk sites to control risk through legal compliance and integrated response plans ensuring effective use of all available resources.
• Reduce incidents through further targeted campaigning and education, identified and developed following engagement with relevant communities.
• Control risk through exploring the idea of a rural/farming safety team.
• Review our special appliance distribution and technology to ensure our resources match the risks presented. 
  • Not yet progressed – carried forward to new Community Risk Management Plan.
• Collaborate with other emergency services to share resources and response to resolve incidents effectively and efficiently. 
  • One example of this is our firefighters driving ambulances during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Develop stronger relationships with voluntary agencies to understand capabilities to resolve incidents effectively and efficiently.
• Review how we reward our on-call staff for their availability in order to acquire and retain their specific experience and knowledge. 
• Develop an Operational Resource Centre to redistribute surplus capacity to meet forecasted crewing needs. 
  • Established and functioning.   
• Explore demand led crewing options to match resources to risk, ensuring that an intervention occurs as quickly as possible at any emergency incident. 
  • Progress continues – linked to the Networked Fire Control Project. 
• Relocate resources to match changing risk profiles. 
  • Relocated Topsham and Budleigh Salterton crews to Clyst St George and Exmouth, moving fire engines and creating new on-call sections at Middlemoor and Clyst St George stations, and removing nine fire engines whilst maintaining operational cover and reducing costs. 
• Complete the rollout of our tiered response appliances. 
  • Fleet replacement plan now in place reflecting revised location of fire engines.
• Review our response times for different incident types. 
  • Emergency Response Standards for dwelling fires and road traffic collisions updated.
• Invest in technology to ensure we are able to work effectively with our emergency services partners. 
  • Progress continues with partners through Networked Fire Service Project. 
• Explore the use of new equipment and ways of working to keep our staff safe when attending incidents by investing in research and development.
• We will ensure that operational staff gain and maintain the correct skills and knowledge from acquisition through to maintenance of skills and combat the potential for skills-fade over time. 
  • Training for Competence rolled out providing risk-based training and development that is centred on safety-critical elements.
• Review skills and requirements for the role of on-call firefighter and adjust recruitment process accordingly. 
  • Recruitment process reviewed and positive action in place to encourage recruitment.
• Give a realistic job overview, with career opportunities, to ensure we attract the talent required for the role.