Putting innovation at the heart of fire prevention Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has seen a 70% decrease in fire injuries over recent years. Interventions and prevention have been a major factor in that decrease. Head of Community Fire Safety, Evan Morris, explains how… CFRS believes that prevention is better than cure and over a number of years we have pushed the boundaries working in partnership to improve outcomes. In March we were extremely proud to be awarded by iESE, winning their prestigious ‘Fire and Rescue Service of the Year’. The ceremony focused on innovation and efficiency and allowed us to showcase our groundbreaking work across the UK.
We are also working with the Deafness Support Network to ensure Cheshire’s 150,000 deaf people are educated and fitted with specialist smoke alarms and we sit on the MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) for domestic violence enabling the offer of advice and liaison with the appropriate agencies with concerns when visiting certain homes.
Over time, our strategy has been to develop a range of interventions designed to significantly reduce risk as well as the need for emergency intervention. So far we’ve managed to achieve a reduction of 70% in the number of injuries in fires and a 41% reduction in house fires. In the most recent Audit Commission report, we were judged as one of only five fire services in the country who were ‘performing strongly’ – a judgment that we work tirelessly to maintain.
And when the snow and ice hits, the ‘Snow Angel’ scheme ensures that the most vulnerable residents are still assisted with their health problems, get a hot dinner and have their prescriptions picked up.
With a budget of £1.4m and a dedicated team of 92 working on a range of community safety activity, we are constantly aiming to reduce deaths and injury and concentrate on investment in prevention. But we cannot do it alone. We have an excellent working relationship with our local police force, ambulance service and probation service as well as local charities and community groups. Joining up our working practices mean we can achieve the results we need and it’s more cost effective as we’ve been able to shift funding from frontline emergency responses to early intervention. Much of our firefighters’ time is now spent providing on-location advice and help such as giving Home Safety Assessments to the over over-65s. 370,000 assessments have already been carried out and thanks to a shared agreement with Age UK, they’re not only raising fire awareness but are able to assess their possible up and coming needs, for example mobility aids, meals on wheels, personal care and even the possibility of the onset of dementia. www.iESE.gov.uk
Our firefighters truly provide role model status for the county’s young people. Educating them about the dangers of arson and being able to communicate with the area’s ‘hardest to reach’ groups is a significant achievement. ‘Respect’ courses are run in local schools, providing a number of courses designed to work with younger people and there are 24 Prince’s Trust twelve week programmes facilitated each year. Additionally there are Fire Cadet Units at each of the 24 fire stations that not only provide young people with an insight into working within a uniformed service but also encourage young people to develop while promoting self discipline, team work and citizenship. And when they aren’t putting out fires or educating the public, they are training in the high-tech Incident Command Training Suite. Believed to be one of the most advanced in Europe when it first opened in 2010, it incorporates a multiuser 3D simulation environment using virtual reality software that is capable of recreating any type of fire or major incident within a classroom environment. Its multi-screen display creates a 360 degree view of any incident and allows the training facilitators to observe proceedings via CCTV along with playback to educate firefighters on the results. For more information, please visit www.cheshirefire.gov.uk
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