Pre-engagement for our Community Risk Management Plan

Pre-engagement for our Community Risk Management Plan

Feedback from our communities

Thank you to everyone who completed the pre-engagement survey and told us about the risks you face in your community. Just under 1,700 responses were received to the survey which ran throughout April and May 2021. An independent third party analysed this feedback and provided us with a findings report. They also conducted online forums with some specific communities.

Here is a short summary of some of the findings from this engagement.

• One-third of respondents said they felt anxious about some of the risks in their community, with people in rural areas more likely to feel anxious than urban or coastal communities. The most mentioned risks causing anxiety are road traffic collisions and limited firefighter availability.
• When asked how we may reduce anxiety, having enough staff, no more cuts, and community engagement were most mentioned. 
• Our staff and the public have different perceptions about future risks. The public was more likely to mention road traffic collisions or climate change. Our staff were more likely to mention residential or commercial developments, increases in population and road infrastructure.
• There was a strong sense that individuals should take responsibility for reducing their own risk – although this was held much more strongly by members of the public and Council representatives (27%) than by our operational staff (17%).
• The most significant additional comments focussed around thanks for the work that we do (17%) and expressing concerns around perceived station closures or staffing reductions (18%).
• You want more engagement with us.
• Businesses tend to feel less connected with us than the public.

This feedback, alongside feedback from our staff, partners as well as our incident data, helped us develop our draft CRMP. (https://www.dsfire.gov.uk/about-us/community-risk-plan)

If you have any questions or would like to know more about the CRMP process, please email Comments@dsfire.gov.uk (mailto:CRMP@dsfire.gov.uk) or call 01392 872200 (tel:01392 261287).

Read the findings report