The public are being asked for their views on a package of Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service measures designed to preserve life and landscape in the county.
The Fire and Rescue Service’s fifth Draft Annual Action Plan, which went before the county council’s Cabinet today, is being put out for public consultation over the next three months from tomorrow (5 September).
The main proposals in the plan agreed by Cabinet for consultation today are:
* The introduction of a new deadline for the completion of free Home Safety Checks which any Cumbria resident can currently request by calling the freephone number 0800-358-4777.
* The installation of a new Community Safety Room at Kendal fire station to help the town’s firefighters get across important fire and accident prevention messages;
* More investment in a new strategy to combat wildfires and protect the county’s precious landscape.
Figures show that two in every three people who die in fires do so before the Fire and Rescue Service is even called - making it a priority for Cumbrian firefighters to help people prevent fires from happening in the first place.
Since 2003, Cumbrian firefighters have carried out more than 30,000 free Home Safety Checks which are designed to make sure people have working smoke detectors and basic fire prevention advice. Over the same period, the number of people injured in accidental dwelling fires in the county has fallen by two thirds (65 per cent).
The new Home Safety Check standards will give people a much clearer understanding of what to expect when they request the free service with new unambiguous completion deadlines.
Prevention also lies behind plans for a new state of the art Community Safety Room at Kendal fire station. The £20,000 high-tech community classroom will enable firefighters to invite community groups into the station and provide them with important safety information. It will also be available free of charge to local schools, clubs and neighbourhood groups who in return will receive a basic fire or road safety message.
The need to preserve the county’s environmental heritage - and the thousands of jobs that depend upon it - from the ravages of wildfires, lies behind the proposal to invest £20,000 in new equipment and training to combat fell fires which can leave the countryside blackened and devoid of wildlife for decades.
From tomorrow, people across Cumbria will have the chance to comment on the proposals before councillors are asked to approve or amend the final plan later this year prior to its implementation in 2008/09.
Copies of the full plan will be available in the county’s libraries and online at: www.cumbriafire.gov.uk
Councillor Elizabeth Barraclough, cabinet member responsible for Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, said: “The county council's Cabinet has today agreed to put out for consultation a plan that builds upon the Fire & Rescue Service’s efforts to put fire and accident prevention on an equal footing with cure.
“The new investment we are proposing will pay dividends in lives saved and landscape protected over the coming years.”
Cumbria’s Chief Fire Officer Dominic Harrison said: “The proposal to invest more in wildfire fighting is all about preserving Cumbria’s priceless environmental heritage and the jobs and livelihoods that depend upon it.”
“Taken as a whole, the plan underlines our determination not to rest on our laurels and instead to continue innovating in our drive to help make Cumbria a safer and securer place for everyone to live.”
People have until 12:00noon on 28 November 2007 to comment on the plan by one of the following methods:
By post to: Community Risk Management - IRMP Consultation
Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters
Station Road
Cockermouth
Cumbria CA13 9PR
Telephone: 01900-820221
Fax: 01900-820249
Email: irmp@cumbriafire.gov.uk
Website: www.cumbriafire.gov.uk
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337
Follow this link to view a copy of Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service's fifth Draft Annual Action Plan