20/9/2005 - Future of the Fire Service outlined

Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet were considering proposals that will shape the future of Cumbria’s Fire and Rescue Service today.

Cabinet approved the second draft Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) and the third year action plan for the existing IRMP, both to go out for a 12 week period of public consultation. They also approved the service’s CPA action Plan.

All Fire and Rescue Services are required to produce Integrated Risk Management Plans (IRMPs) that improve community safety and allocate resources to promote fire prevention. Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service are committed to community-based work that reflects the changing role of the modern fire service. 

As part of the process Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service is undertaking a major exercise, mapping risk and emergency call patterns across the county. This will help the service to identify how staff, equipment, and stations can be used most effectively to respond to the specific needs of local communities.

Geoff Hodgson, Cumbria County Council spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Service says:

"The service, both nationally and locally, is embarking upon major changes. Work is continuing within Cumbria to make communities across the county safer and prevent incidents. Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service are working in partnership with other organisations to identify and protect the people we know are most at risk.

The service will have more flexibility to use resources to respond to local risks, ensuring that they have the right people and equipment in the right place at the right time. The IRMP and action plan reflect that."

Bernard Dolan, Cumbria’s Chief Fire Officer says:

"The IRMP sets out a path of change but we want to know how the public will receive the proposals. That is why we went out to public consultation with both the IRMP and first and second year action plans in 2004 and are doing so again now. 

The fire risk profile of Cumbria is explained in this document, together with an assessment of our performance historically and our intervention standards for the future in order to deliver a safer community.

The risk modelling we are carrying out as part of the IRMP will help us develop new standards of fire cover that reflect the risk and needs of local communities but equally reflect the need for improved prevention especially in rural areas."

IRMPs are delivered via yearly action plans and the third year action plan for the Fire and Rescue Service existing IRMP proposed today identifies:-

- 3 additional community safety advisors appointed to work with rural communities.

- 2 additional civilian staff to further develop community safety work with young people and elderly people.

- Increased resources to raise awareness of community safety and accident prevention issues across the county.

Copies of both document will be available at all libraries throughout the county, as well as mobile libraries, and an electronic version will be available on line at cumbricc.gov.uk/fireservice.

Cabinet also approved an action plan to further improve the Fire and Rescue Service following the CPA assessment published in July. The CPA report assesses how well the Fire and Rescue Service is being run on a corporate level. Of the 9 areas assessed, 5 were considered to be performing well, and consistently above minimum standards. None were below minimum standards expected of all fire authorities.

The Action Plan approved today highlights a programme to develop external communication and improve risk assessment for forward planning.

Bernard Dolan continues:

"The positive CPA report was a major achievement for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service given that the majority of our Firefighters are part time and, as the Audit Commission stated, we have scarce resources when compared to other fire services. 

This action plan details how we will develop in the coming years. In particular we will work to engage local communities. As outlined earlier, we have already built in a much more advanced risk modelling system to our latest IRMP which was an area identified for improvement.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service has achieved consistent improvement in the last ten years and this action plan will help us continue that."