Grenfell Tower Update

Transcription

1 OFFICIAL Grenfell Tower Update Community Safety Committee Date: 27 October 2017 Submitted By: Director of Service Delivery Agenda Item: 5 Purpose To update members of the Community Safety Committee on the ongoing activity following the Grenfell Tower fire in London on 14 June Recommendations That Members of the Community Safety Committee note the contents of this report. Summary This paper provides a further update on the work being taken locally within West Yorkshire and nationally following the incident and details how West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is continuing to support local authorities, housing providers and residents of tower blocks across West Yorkshire. Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972 Exemption Category: Contact Officer: None Chris Kemp, Senior Fire Protection Manager T: E: christopher.kemp@westyorksfire.gov.uk Background papers open to inspection: None Annexes: 1 WYFRS Response to The Call for Evidence for the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety. 9

2 1 Introduction 1.1 Since the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, which is being reported as one of the worst fire tragedies in modern British history, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has undertaken a significant amount of work with local authorities, housing providers and private landlords to support them in maintaining the safety of residents in their premises. 1.2 The aggressive external and internal spread of flames up the tower block created massive challenges for London Fire Brigade. The days, weeks and months since the event have led to unprecedented demand being placed on all Fire and Rescue Services with raised concerns from many government departments, local authorities, housing providers and residents alike. 1.3 This report aims to provide members of the Community Safety Committee with an update on the current local and national picture following the incident and detail how West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is supporting local authorities and housing providers to reassure the residents of tower blocks across West Yorkshire. 2 Information 2.1 The fire was first reported in a 4 th floor kitchen at the 24 storey residential high rise block in North Kensington, West London at 00:54 on 14 June The block contained 120 flats and was built in The situation rapidly escalated in to a major incident with an attendance of 40 pumps and supporting appliances with more than 200 firefighters tackling the blaze. 2.2 It took until 01:14 the following day (24 hrs later) to finally bring the smouldering tower structure under control, with the fire having severely involved most floors of the building and destroyed 151 homes in the tower and the surrounding area. 2.3 The Metropolitan Police continue to provide the families with updates on the progress of the search and recovery operation, the identification process, the coronial process and the police investigation. 2.4 A total of 60 people who died in the fire have now been formerly identified, the number of people who are believed to have died still remains at about 80. The final figure will not be known until the end of the search, recovery and identification processes, but met police officers believe the final figure may not be as high as Everyone identified to date is a person officers sadly anticipated to find within Grenfell Tower and their families are all being supported by trained family liaison officers. It is expected the search and recovery operation will be complete by the end of the year. Following structural work inside the tower, the Met Police have been able to double the number of search teams to help finish the search as soon as possible. So far a fingertip search has been completed in around half the flats, with those prioritised where it is believed people died. About 15.5 tonnes of material is being searched through on every floor. 2.6 The police investigation continues, uniquely at the same time as the public inquiry, with which the Metropolitan Police is co-operating. 2.7 The investigation is focussing on the construction, refurbishment and management of Grenfell Tower as well as the emergency services response. The types of offences that may be discovered could range from fraud, misconduct, health and safety breaches, breaches of fire safety regulations or manslaughter on a corporate and/or an individual level. 2.8 Around 200 officers from the Met are working full-time on the Grenfell Tower investigation in a variety of roles including family liaison, search teams, statement-takers and exhibits officers. So far the investigation has identified 2,400 different people who need to be interviewed, including residents, firefighters, police officers and other witnesses. Grenfell Tower Update Page 2 of 20 10

3 2.9 Officers previously said they had identified 60 companies that had been involved in the construction, refurbishment or management of Grenfell. That number has now grown to 336 different organisations So far, in excess of 31 million documents have been recovered and it is anticipated that number will increase. Specialist software will be used to enable officers to process and search those millions of documents in order to find any relevant material that may be used evidentially at a later stage The forensic examination of the tower is ongoing and will continue into the New Year. This includes photographing and documenting every room on every floor, paying particular attention to fire safety provisions such as fire doors, the standards of construction work, the routing of pipework and smoke extraction systems. After that, there will be a series of further forensic tests including reconstructions. Only after that work is compete will officers be in a position to fully understand what happened, what went wrong and what questions need to be answered. Fire Protection 2.12 On 19 th June the Department for Communities and Local Government wrote to all social landlords setting out the process they should follow to submit samples of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) for screening testing. If the panel core does not meet the test for limited combustibility DCLG would inform the local Fire and Rescue Service via NFCC and expect a visit to be carried out within 24 hours to ensure the landlord introduced immediate interim fire safety measures The result of these screening tests indicates the performance achieved for the core material in terms of three categories which relate to the three types of ACM panel available: Category 1 means that the result is in line with the definitions of materials of limited combustibility. Category 2 means that the result does not achieve the definitions of category 1 but does have some limited flame retardant properties. Category 3 means that the result does not achieve the definitions of materials of limited combustibility and has no flame retardant properties Following this DCLG and the Expert Panel issued a set of interim measures that should be considered when it is identified that cladding does not meet the requirements of Category 1 as detailed in 2.13 above Seven further large scale tests have been undertaken to understand whether and when it may be safe to use ACM as part of a full wall system in high rise buildings, in line with current Building Regulations guidance. The Expert Panel s advice following these tests is that ACM with an unmodified polyethylene filler (category 3 in screening tests) with any type of insulation presents a significant hazard on buildings over 18m and where installed should be removed and replaced It is possible ACM with a fire retardant filler (category 2 in screening tests) could be used safely with non-combustible insulation (e.g. stone wool), but this is highly dependent on the insulation used, and how it is fitted ACM with limited combustibility filler (category 1 in screening tests) can be used safely, although this is also dependent on how it is fitted Building owners have been advised to obtain their own professional advice on any further action, with regard to their cladding system, reflecting their own particular circumstances. 11 Page 3 of 20

4 The government plans to provide further advice on the issues building owners may need to consider as they undertake remedial work, and will work with building owners to ensure buildings are made safe The government, through the building safety programme is working with the Expert Panel to consider whether there are any heightened risks linked to other cladding systems and broader fire and building safety issues in high rise buildings Alongside this work, the government has established an Independent Review of building regulations and fire safety, led by Dame Judith Hackitt, which will aim to ensure that buildings are safe in the future. A call for evidence for this review has been published and officers from WYFRS have provided a detailed response to the call for evidence which is attached to this report as annex The focus for attention is now steering towards the private sector and this is where a significant amount of work may be generated for our Fire Protection team. The Director General of the Building Safety Programme, Tamara Finkelstein, together with the Secretary of State wrote to all local authority Chief Executives stipulating that they are required to engage with private landlords to ensure all private blocks of flats greater than 18m in height have their cladding systems tested. The letters provide detailed guidance on the powers under the Housing Act in which local authorities should utilise to ensure compliance WYFRS have written to all 5 local authority Chief Executives in a bid to share data which we have already collected as a result of our visits and to offer support in identifying additional privately owned properties. Copies of data in relation to all high rise residential premises within West Yorkshire have been distributed to each local authority Although the initial scope of the testing process via DCLG was to identify social housing blocks of flats, now that scope has extended to privately owned premises, the involvement of WYFRS in providing an initial visit to advise and support landlords will continue. We will also continue to work with local authorities and housing providers to assist and support them in their enforcement capacity and are attending various meetings such as private sector housing group meetings, strategy meetings and scrutiny panels. Operational Impacts 2.24 Clearly, since the Grenfell Tower fire, residents of high rise blocks have understandably been more concerned over their safety and in the first few weeks following the fire, WYFRS attended minor incidents in high rise accommodation where residents had decided to evacuate. This evacuation is not always necessary and in some cases was triggered by the smell of smoke from a nearby skip fire The additional resource requirement to facilitate and support mass evacuation demanded an additional level of appliances to attend and so the pre-determined attendance was increased for confirmed flat fires in high rise blocks. The standard response to a high rise fire is four pumping appliances, including an aerial appliance. This was increased to six due to the additional resources required to support the evacuation In the majority of high rise accommodation, where there is no external cladding, this has now been reviewed and there is more awareness of the residents to the issues due to ongoing communications from housing providers and WYFRS to raise awareness about building and fire safety. As such, the spontaneous mass evacuations that crews were experiencing in days after the Grenfell Tower fire are no longer being experienced. As such, the standard pre-determined attendance of four appliances has been re-introduced. 12 Page 4 of 20

5 2.27 Where there is external ACM cladding and we have had confirmation that it has failed the tests as described above, our pre-determined attendance will remain at an increased level of eight appliances including two dedicated aerial appliances If we receive notification of a cladding failure, through the NFCC, then we carry out an immediate fire protection inspection, within 24 hours. This is then followed up by increasing the awareness of the local operational crews so they become more familiar with the structure, internal layout, access arrangements and firefighting facilities WYFRS operational crews have increased the visits to high rise accommodation for familiarisation and training purposes and continue to maintain their knowledge and readiness to respond to high rise incidents across the county All of the high rise buildings within West Yorkshire are within the inspection dates as prescribed by the national Provision of Operational Risk Information Systems guidance. Local water supplies have been wet tested to ensure the local water supplies are adequate and this has been supported by Yorkshire Water Since June, 93 high risk buildings have received an Operational Risk Visit, including the buildings which have failed the cladding tests. The records for these inspections and relevant risk information are contained within the Premises Risk Database which is available to commanders during any incident through the Mobile Data Terminals The daily report that Control operatives generate now includes attendance at high rise premises and it can be seen that although we attend high rise flats on a regular basis, the vast majority of incidents within such premises are minor in nature and contained to the flat or room of origin as per the fire design standards of such buildings. Fire Prevention 2.33 All Local Authorities have issued guidance and advice on building and fire safety to residents and WYFRS have supported this by producing advice leaflets specially targeted to residents of high rise blocks. This leaflet has been distributed across the fire stations for operational crews and prevention staff to issue if they are carrying out prevention visits in high rise blocks An easy read version of the booklet is also being designed and will add to the suite of leaflets that we can use during the home visits Since the Grenfell Towers fire, WYFRS have attended a number of public meetings and held a series of events for residents of high rise blocks. This has provided an opportunity to deliver simple fire safety messages. Freedom of Information Requests 2.36 One of the unforeseen work streams from this incident has been dealing with a succession of Freedom of Information requests. These have predominantly been around the number of high rise fires we have attended in recent years and how many have had cladding. We have also had requests around the number of inspections we have carried out and the number of inspecting officers that we currently and previously employed. 3 Financial Implications 3.1 A grade 10 Manager from the Operational Risk Management team was taken off his current duties to co-ordinate all work relating to the Grenfell Tower incident. He was also supported by a Grade 5 clerk. There has also been an uplift in the number of Inspecting Officers that we have on call on evenings and over the weekend. This has been so that we can react promptly to notifications of 13 Page 5 of 20

6 cladding failing the BRE tests. There is an on-going cost to this increase in provision. Much of the work of the Fire Protection team has been directed to work associated with this incident. These costs have been met from existing budgets 4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 In order to provide the best possible service to residents, more information is required about occupants to help the Service tailor its Prevention messages and media. This is an ongoing piece of work in conjunction with the Diversity & Inclusion team. However, both the English Indices of Deprivation in the Chelsea and Kensington area, and research carried out locally on vulnerability and accidental dwelling fire deaths, show that the level of socio-economic disparity should be taken into consideration when assessing vulnerabilities to fire. 5 Health and Safety Implications 5.1 Following the Grenfell incident we have prioritised a number of Operational Risk Visits to high rise residential premises; ensuring crews have the most up to date operational intelligence to best manage an incident. This, along with an enhanced PDA to any premises which has cladding that has not met the limited combustibility test should ensure sufficient resources and information are available to effectively command and deal with a fire in a high rise building. 6 Service Plan Links 6.1 This report demonstrates how the work of individual teams supports WYFRS s overarching ambition to make West Yorkshire Safer by ensuring we deliver a proactive community safety programme whilst delivering a professional and resilient emergency service. 7 Conclusions 7.1 The Grenfell Tower incident has been unprecedented both in terms of the operational demands that it placed on London Fire Brigade and also in the wider national implications it has had for Fire and Rescue Services, Local Authorities, the Private Housing Sector and residents. 7.2 Personnel from across a range of departments have worked tirelessly since this incident occurred and continue to do so to ensure that we can support local authorities and private sector owners of high rise tower blocks in keeping them as safe as they possibly can be. We also continue to provide reassurance and guidance to residents through the media, our own internet site and through local visits to address any and all concerns they may have. 7.3 It is fully anticipated that this work will remain as we continue to be notified of premises that have cladding that fails the BRE tests. WYFRS will follow closely the subsequent enquiry as well as maintaining our own links with London Fire Brigade officers and the NFCC. Any lessons that come to light will be thoroughly analysed and acted upon. 14 Page 6 of 20

7 Annex 1 Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety Call for Evidence West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service Response It is noted throughout the call for evidence that reference is made to high-rise multi occupancy buildings. West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has assumed that for the purpose of this document, this description refers to a tall purpose built block of flats. The term multi occupancy generally has a different meaning in relation to Fire Safety and specifically those within the fire industry might assume that this is making reference to a building that contains different purpose groups e.g. commercial and residential elements or indeed flats in multiple occupation. The Overarching Legal Requirements Q1 To what extent are the current building, housing and fire safety legislation and associated guidance clear and understood by those who need to follow them? In particular: Response What parts are clear and well understood by those who need to follow them?; and, if appropriate Where specifically do you think there are gaps, inconsistencies and/or overlaps (including between different parts of the legislation and guidance)? What changes would be necessary to address these and what are the benefits of doing so? There is a wide range of competencies of user in relation to current legal requirements and therefore the extent to which the current legislation and guidance is clear and understood will be highly dependent upon the individual user. Building Regulations In terms of the Building Regulations there is sometimes a lack of appreciation that satisfying one element of the Regulations can jeopardise another, for example satisfying requirements for Part L needs to be considered in conjunction with Part B such that there is no conflict. Hence the need for competent application in considering the overall design in a holistic manner. It is our opinion that the Building Regulations are clear to us; however this may not be the case for other parts of the industry. One of the key advantages of the functional requirements of the Building Regulations is that they allow for innovation within the design development and we are not of the opinion that this should change. The functional nature does however rely on them being competently considered and applied and we are aware of alternative interpretations being placed upon them even amongst Building Control Bodies. Fire service access and facilities Building Regulations and the FSO An issue that requires consideration is in relation to firefighting facilities and the scope of both Building Regulations and FSO. Article 38 of FSO can only ask for maintenance of firefighting facilities and cannot require improvements to them due to firefighters not being considered relevant persons under the FSO. 15 Page 7 of 20

8 Therefore when designs are approved in relation to ADB B5, which we don t believe offer the correct level of protection for firefighters, we have little further legislative power to require changes. If we consider this in context of an expected building s life span, which depending on the building, can be anywhere from several years to several hundred years, this is a long time for the building to have potentially inappropriate firefighting facilities. Consultation process and procedural guidance There are many occasions where we are often consulted too late in the design development to have any meaningful influence on the design, however it is noted that procedural guidance suggests that BCB s should consult only once they are minded to approve (unless preliminary design advice has been sought). This late consultation often manifests itself in issues such as inappropriate fire service access which may have been agreed at planning and is therefore very difficult to change at building regulations stage. More use of the pre-consultation informal advice or consultation at planning stage would be beneficial, and/or perhaps the planning and building control process be more closely aligned. Approved Document B Volume 2 Buildings other than dwelling houses There appears to be a desire from architects in particular, to simplify Approved Document B (ADB) to make it more accessible such that it can be used by someone with limited fire safety knowledge. In our opinion fire safety is such a complex area that it should only be undertaken by individuals with the right level of competence and simplification of the guidance is not the right approach. To use ADB you have to have a full appreciation of the principles of fire safety design such that you understand how the guidance has been developed and should be used. There are areas already identified within ADB which have been identified as being either misunderstood or miss-applied, section B4 for example, however we feel further clarification rather than simplification of those areas is more appropriate. ADB is often considered to be the standard that has to be achieved to meet the Building Regulations and is often deemed to be the maximum in terms of benchmarking a comparative assessment. It is our view that this is the wrong approach and ADB should be considered the minimum reasonable standard.. Whilst many of concerns in relation to ADB can be linked to the competency of those using the document, a review of ADB could have the scope to partially address areas of misunderstanding and provide appropriate commentary. Other industry guidance Bodies such as LABC, LDSA, NHBC and BCA publish their own technical guidance which appears to represent an interpretation of ADB and suggests routes to compliance. We are unclear as to the technical review process for these policy notes and what status these have. A more regular review of the Approved Document might be needed if BCBs are regularly finding a need to fill a potential gap in guidance. There also needs to be consideration about the process of cherry picking between standards and guidance. While this can be positive leading to a fire safety design that has considered multiple sources of information it can also be a negative drive towards a lesser standard of safety. We would therefore suggest that wording used in the foreword of BS9999 is considered in relation to this matter as it advocates a method where the impact of a pick and mix approach needs to be evaluated. Regulation 38 The Building Regulations require fire safety information to be passed to the user of the building upon occupation however in our experience this is often not done well, and there is little if any evidence of enforcement action taken when it hasn t been undertaken appropriately. We recommend consideration as to whether the legislation could be made to interact in such a way to make it an offence under the FSO 16 Page 8 of 20

9 not to pass suitable and sufficient fire safety information, or alternatively encourage more enforcement to force the industry to comply with Regulation 38 of the building regulations. We are aware that the BCB, in many cases, does not review or see the content of the Regulation 38 package of information. Their approach is to get a signed undertaking from the person carrying out the work that they will pass this information to the responsible person. We are not currently convinced that the process is sufficiently robust and that there is the appropriate level of compliance with this particular Regulation. It is also our view that the fire safety information provided under regulation 38 of the Building Regulations should stay with the building for its life. We would therefore welcome consideration of a requirement within the FSO to ensure that such fire safety information is passed on at the point of sale for any premises. Planning The Fire Authority are not statutory consultees for planning applications, however often schemes are approved at planning stage which have inherent issues regarding fire service access. These inherent issues are then accepted by the design team when seeking building regulations approval, and ultimately presented to the Fire Authority very late in the design stage with little scope for design changes. A solution might be to have further alignment with planning and building regulations stages, or alternatively make it a requirement to consult the Fire Authority during planning approval stage. Any change to the current process would have obvious implications in terms of resources required by the authorities concerned. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (FSO) The FSO has undoubtedly created a safer built environment than the previous legislation such as the Fire Precautions Act This view is supported by the clear downward trend in non-dwelling fires since 2002 and a clear downward trend in fire fatalities since around It could therefore be interpreted that the introduction of the FSO has not reversed or slowed the downward trend in the numbers of fires. Indeed, since the significant downwards slope for non-dwelling fires has occurred from 2001, and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations were introduced in 1997 (and ran seamlessly into the FSO), it might be presumed that the FSO is continuing the work of the Workplace Regulations in reducing fire losses. It is worth noting that in 2001, Fire and Rescue Authorities were authorised by the Home Office to cease the light touch enforcement that had been in place for the first few years of the new regime which indicates the benefit of effective enforcement. The legislation is deliberately written so you do not have to be competent to carry out a fire risk assessment (the fundamental underpinning of compliance) as it was aimed to allow the operators of small business, who were familiar with their premises and business operations to carry out their own assessment. However, certain premises due to their risk and complexity need suitably competent people with the appropriate fire safety expertise to be involved. Since the introduction of the FSO in 2006, we have seen a shift in the rise of better regulation. This has seen successive Governments drive to reduce red tape with the aim to not allow Regulation to hinder growth. In fact the development of the FsO was on the back of red tape and the focus being on reducing the burden on business. However this could be seen to have weakened the FSO enforcement as the drive has been to work together rather than enforce. This coupled with the reduction of fires and fire deaths, have, in our opinion, led to complacency amongst both business and in some cases fire services and the Government. Care must be taken to ensure this complacency does not lead to a reversal of the reduction in fire deaths/injuries trend. 17 Page 9 of 20

10 We believe that it can be difficult for Fire Authorities to carry out two separate roles simultaneously, that of the enforcer and advisor. Unlike other regulators such as the HSE, fire authorities are required to provide advice to businesses. It can be extremely difficult to balance these two hats when officers are carrying out audit inspections. The issue of a lack of Regulation is discussed in a briefing by Professor Tombs for the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies dated April This briefing note, entitled Better Regulation : Better for Whom?, highlights the experience of enforcing authorities in terms of regulation of pollution, food safety and workplace health and safety standards and that parallels with the experience of the fire service. However, the biggest gap in legislation, that has been widely identified, but which is an inevitable outcome of workplace legislation, is in the protection from fire of those in residential premises including tower blocks, sheltered accommodation, extra care schemes, or vulnerable persons in their own homes. Most people die or are injured from fires in their own homes, i.e. premises which are not covered by the FSO (and as demonstrated by the fire statistics). Even within blocks of flats (and similar properties) it is very rare for people to die in flats other than the flat of fire origin. However, certain fire incidents have demonstrated that if there are failures in compliance then multiple deaths, within, and beyond, the original point of fire origin, can occur. Housing Act The Housing Act is the primary fire legislation for domestic premises however, in our experience, Local Authorities rarely use the Housing, Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) for fire safety on anything but a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO). This is often because they have very little experience and expertise in fire. There is therefore a need to ensure the overlap and distinction between Housing Act and FSO is much clearer. This will be significantly assisted by the inclusion of a clear definition of what is meant by used in common. There should also be much better collaboration between Regulators including Housing, BCBs, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). There should also be more formal arrangements established to ensure adequate enforcement takes place. There may also be a need to consider that certain premises should have a single enforcement regime for fire (i.e. not having the overlap between the FSO and the Housing Act). We have also noted a reluctance by Housing Authorities to act and an apparent misunderstanding of their powers which, for several years. There has also been a reluctance to use the HHSRS due to the view that all 29 hazards must be addressed rather than being able to act in a thematic way. This results in the HHSRS being considered cumbersome, time consuming and bureaucratic. FSO Associated Guidance The original HM Government issued suite of Fire Safety Guides are now over 10 years old without having been reviewed which has not been supportive to either the Responsible Person (as defined in the FSO) or other parties that utilise this guidance. Within the period since the guidance was first published, the fire sector has had to produce its own guidance on Housing. These include: LACORS fire safety, Fire safety in purpose built blocks of flats and the National Fire Chief s Council (NFCC) guidance on specialised housing. This raises concern over whether these industry produced guidance is classified as guidance under Article 50 of FSO and if not, do people have to follow them? The Purpose Built Blocks of Flats Guidance were published by the Local Government Association following the tragic Lakanal House fire. We are aware that they have considered withdrawing this 18 Page 10 of 20

11 document after Grenfell which would have left the tower block sector with potentially no guidance. If this had been Government issued guidance, rather than industry sector lead, then this could not have been done. It is our opinion that HM Government should have the resources to review and brand all current guidance for premises that the FSO applies and that this should be done in conjunction with all sector users. In addition, HM Government need to have fire experts to call on either in house or if there is a need to outsource there is a clear need for those engaged to be independent. This could potentially be the role of the new Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) or a specific in house team. Roles and Responsibilities Q2 Are the roles, responsibilities & accountabilities of different individuals (in relation to adhering to fire safety requirements or assessing compliance) at each key stage of the building process clear, effective and timely? In particular: Response Where are responsibilities clear, effective and timely and well understood by those who need to adhere to them/assess them?; and, if appropriate Where specifically do you think the regime is not effective? What changes would be necessary to address these and what are the benefits of doing so? The Building Regulations provides clarity on what type of work needs to comply with schedule 1 however in our opinion there is a lack of clarity around the responsibilities for compliance. Other legislation such as The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 appears to provide a better framework for detailing roles and responsibilities which could be considered for comparison. Building (Approved Inspector etc) Regulations 2010 (as amended): Regulation 9 There is a growing concern amongst the fire engineering industry about the independence of Approved Inspectors relating to the possible design and approve scenario which we understand Regulation 9 of the Building (Approved Inspectors etc) Regulations 2010 seeks to avoid. We are of the opinion that stronger guidance/better clarification is needed to ensure the independence of the approving authority. Design responsibility and independence The concerns are primarily related to the grey area which exists when the line between design and approval has been crossed. In this, and the case of a one stop shop scenario, the question becomes how robust the overall approval process has been and whether the integrity of the process has been maintained. This is of paramount importance when considering life safety systems and ensuring the integrity of the process. We would question the level of scrutiny applied to design submissions that have been produced by fire engineering consultants that form part of a one stop shop with the Approving Authority and whether this is effectively moving towards a process of self-certification. 19 Page 11 of 20

12 Building Performance Standards The risk assessed approach to reviewing consultations appears to be advocated for the Approving Authorities and while we appreciate that the level of knowledge and scrutiny of designs will vary from project to project it is clear to us that the Building Performance Standards are not being adhered to in all cases. In particular we have had direct experience on numerous projects where the Approving Authority clearly does not have the expertise to understand complex design proposals yet fails to employ a suitably competent/qualified third party to support them. Common examples are the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or structural fire protection which requires high level technical understanding to enable an appropriate level of scrutiny. The expectation is then placed on other bodies such as the Statutory Consultees i.e. the fire and rescue service for advice and guidance. There is a need to consider if the effectiveness of the Building Performance Standards is impacted by the self-regulation of both local authority building control and approved inspectors. Those setting the standards are also responsible for their own enforcement and we believe this should be reviewed to check if this is an effective process. While competition in the sector was welcomed there are clear difficulties that arise where one party, Local authority building control, are limited to cost recovery which creates a starting point with little scope for efficiency savings other than to, potentially, reduce the amount of time spent on a project. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order Even though the introduction of the FSO was to reduce the burden of regulation on business, there is a widespread view that the FSO has resulted in responsibilities being correctly assigned since it is widely considered that those in control of the day-to-day running of a building should also be responsible for its fire safety, which is a day-to-day activity. However, there is now further feedback that identifying the person in control can be complex when having to examine contracts and leases. There is now widespread evidence that people are still not aware of their responsibilities and do not understand the requirements. This is, is our opinion, because there was a lack of Government investment on advertising the legislation when it came out. This, coupled with the fact that the published guidance, meant for the responsible person, is, in general terms, difficult to understand for the non-technical recipient. We also believe that the regime is not effective in terms the role of the fire risk assessor as this is a completely unregulated life safety function. As this underpins the demonstration of compliance this is, in our opinion, unacceptable in high risk premises or where there is greater life risk. FSO Article 5(3) is to ensure that when a Responsible Person do not have the requisite skills to undertake a task to ensure compliance with the Order (e.g. to maintain a fire alarm system) they engage appropriate persons to undertake those tasks. A fire alarm maintenance contractor therefore has a responsibility to maintain the system correctly and the enforcing Authority can in theory require them to rectify any deficiencies in the works rather than placing that obligation directly on the Responsible Person. That is not fully understood by all contractors in our experience. Q3 Does the current system place a clear over-arching responsibility on named parties for maintaining/ensuring fire safety requirements are met in a high-rise multi occupancy building? Where could this be made clearer? What would be the benefits of doing so? Response Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order Although the current system appears clear to those who are well informed, we are of the opinion that it is not clear to those who have the duty to comply. In high rise, multi occupancy buildings there is no clear 20 Page 12 of 20

13 way of identifying all the people who have responsibilities around compliance. This includes co-operation and co-ordination, maintenance, reporting, vulnerable people etc. In our experience there is even confusion between those who are responsible, on occasions we as an Enforcing Authority have had to identify and inform those responsible of their duties, this is not specific to just private owners/landlord but includes local authorities and social housing providers. We are of the opinion that in high risk premises there should be a legal requirement to produce a document detailing who has the responsibilities for life safety this is not necessarily only related to purpose built blocks of flats. There are clear benefits in this approach whereby are responsible persons would be clear on who is responsible, and for what, and enforcing Authorities will easily identify those responsible if things go wrong. An alternative to this could also be in a requirement for the Responsible Person to register their status under a licensing scheme with a requirement to display a certificate of registration on the premises. This could extend to detailing the competency standard which has also been achieved so that it can clearly be established that they are competent to operate in this field of public safety. Operating without a licence would need to be made a criminal offence. Competencies of key players Q4 What evidence is there that those with responsibility for: Response Demonstrating compliance (with building regulations, housing & fire safety requirements) at various stages in the life cycle of a building; Assessing compliance with those requirements Are appropriately trained and accredited and are adequately resourced to perform their role effectively (including whether there are enough qualified professionals in each key area)? If gaps exist how can they be addressed and what would be the benefits of doing so? In terms of compliance with the Building Regulations, since the early 1990 s the introduction of Approved Inspectors has, in our view had an impact upon the safety of buildings. Whilst we are not in a position to comment on any one individual s level of training or competence, we can confirm that we have had many issues where an Approved Inspector has been encouraged and placed under pressure by building owners to sign the building off as complete, when in fact it was not. Fire Protection Officers Those that enforce the FSO should be able to demonstrate they have the required competencies to enforce the law and this would improve consistency of enforcement. They should also have sufficient fire safety design knowledge to fulfil the role of reviewing the fire safety consultation submitted as part of the Building Regulations process. In terms of the fire protection officer role, the NFCC developed a competence framework entitled Competency framework business fire safety regulators which specified recommended levels of qualification. Given that since 2012 many Fire and Rescue Services including WYFRS have not actively recruited in to Fire Protection due to carrying out a fundamental reviews and implementing a smaller structures, there has not been a huge take up as the framework does not cross map existing qualifications for existing staff. 21 Page 13 of 20

14 Historically FRS s utilised the services of the Fire Service College to train fire protection officers. The college provided a suite of courses designed and delivered to ensure that attendees gained all relevant knowledge that would then be applied back in their local FRS. Since the privatisation of the Fire Service College, the course quality and content has deteriorated drastically. FRS s are now sourcing their training to external providers which in itself introduces a level of inconsistency. We would welcome input in to the Fire Service College to ensure that it can be utilised by all Fire and Rescue Services as a centre for excellence in the training of fire protection officers. Building Regulations Building Control Bodies While the fire service has introduced a competency framework detailing expectations on their own officers, the changes in the competence standard for the rest of the industry are sometimes difficult to identify. A recent report produced by Meacham Associates and commissioned by the Building Standards Division considered the current situation in Scotland. Many of the issues raised in that report are also relevant to the process within England in terms of the concerns over competence levels of those undertaking and reviewing fire safety designs. In relation to building performance standards, we have real concerns about the level of expertise of BCBs, particularly in relation to the more complex fire safety designs. The level of fire safety knowledge is hugely variable between BCBs dependent on their experience and qualifications. Building fire safety design At present there is no restriction on who can develop a fire safety design. Submissions can be developed by architects or a Chartered (fire) engineer and there is no stipulation as to when a differing level of competence should be expected. If we were to consider the more complex design strategies you might expect that these should be undertaken by someone who is both qualified and professionally registered as a fire engineer. However, there is presently no protected title for a fire engineer and there is no requirement for checking of experience and/or qualifications of individuals carrying out even complex fire engineering design. We have seen a significant increase, in the last 5 years or so, of complex strategies being submitted from parties where we are unaware of their level of competence. This needs to be addressed by introducing tighter controls and more robust checking of competence as part of the compliance process. Reference to BS7974 could assist with this (it is currently under review and will be shortly issued for public consultation). Competence of contractors (build and maintenance) There is widespread concern over the competency of contractors which is at least partially responsible for identified failings in compartmentation in public and private buildings throughout the country. This can be a contracting company issue whereby for example cost/time savings are realised by either not installing the correct products or not installing products correctly, or by not investing in appropriate training of staff. This, coupled, with a failing quality assurance system on site for ensuring compliance with the Building Regulations is of major cause for concern for us at present due to the failings seen in relation to critical life safety elements. Fire safety systems designers, installers and maintainers In many of the areas of life safety fire systems (e.g. complex smoke ventilation systems) there is no requirement for formal qualification. 22 Page 14 of 20

15 An example of the potential consequences is whereby a contractor is charged with maintaining a complex system with little appreciation of the design parameters and limitations of the system and little understanding of the cause and effect analysis originally applied. This has resulted in maintenance contractors not maintaining key components, or detrimentally changing or reconfiguring the system without understanding the repercussions. Within WYFRS we have first-hand experience of this in relation to the installation and testing of ventilation systems installed to protect the means of escape in blocks of flats. The issues highlighted had a significant impact on the safety of firefighting crews and as a result a national action notice was issued by NFCC. This was as a direct result of systems being installed incorrectly but then maintenance testing being routinely carried out incorrectly not utilising the full cause and effect process. It should be noted, however, that these contractors could be FSO Article 5(3) Responsible Persons and therefore competence is a critical issue to demonstrate compliance. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order Risk assessors As previously stated there is no legal requirement to be competent to carry out a fire risk assessment. The Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council (part of the Fire Sector Federation) set up a requirement following the Lakanal fire which details the competencies required for a fire risk assessors. We also believe that the regime is not effective in terms the role of the fire risk assessor as this is a completely unregulated life safety function. As this underpins the demonstration of compliance this is, in our opinion, unacceptable in high risk premises or where there is greater life risk. There is a need to consider a register for competent persons to assist those responsible for the fire risk assessment and the prevention and protection measures for certain high risk premises. Enforcement & sanctions Q5 Is the current checking and inspection regime adequately backed up through enforcement and sanctions? In particular Where does the regime already adequately drive compliance or ensure remedial action is always taken in a timely manner where needed? Where does the system fail to do so? Are changes required to address this and what would be the benefits of doing so? Response Independence as part of the Building Regulations process Independence as part of the Building Regulations process has been highlighted earlier but in terms of enforcement we are of the opinion that the review should consider the appropriateness of a Building Control Body e.g. a Local Authority approving work within their own enforcement jurisdiction whilst receiving payment for the process. This could also be extended to include fire service trading arms who offer fire engineering design services within this own enforcement area also. Primary Authority Partnerships 23 Page 15 of 20

16 Greater clarification around enforcement in Primary Authority partnerships in terms of the separation between our enforcement role and our partnership working agreements and potential for conflict of interest should be provided. Industry enforcing their own standards The development of the performance standards and the licencing/ongoing auditing of Approved Inspectors are all undertaken by those within the industry. This should be reviewed to consider if this is an effective process or not. Currently there are no mandatory checks for any fire safety elements, and items such as cavity barriers are difficult to ascertain if they are present or fitted correctly once the construction is complete within invasive investigation. Due to the significant concerns relating to the quality of current construction serious consideration should be given to a more robust process of inspection during the building phase and once complete. The impact on fire safety measures of follow on works also need careful attention e.g. where compartmentation is completed and then breached by later utility installation. The FSO order relies heavily on the building being built appropriately this allows the Responsible Person to engage a risk assessment with some assumptions in terms of things like suitability of the construction. However when the construction is inadequate there is little support for a risk assessor to identify hidden issues. There are several ways to address this with the most obvious simply ensuring buildings are built correctly, however a requirement for more intrusive risk assessments of enforcing authority inspections might be solution. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order WYFRS operates a FSO risk based inspection programme. Estimates show there are some properties where the FSO applies in West Yorkshire. WYFRS on average carried out 2000 audits per year. The FSO is a self-regulating piece of legislation but this needs to be backed up with robust enforcement and those who do not comply need to know there will be consequences. For those who are prosecuted, the courts have unlimited powers to deal with them so this is considered to be adequate. However the legislation only has three formal notices that allow enforcers to ensure compliance. These are: Prohibition/Restriction notice: This can only be used if the risk to life is so serious the premises needs to be prohibited. Enforcement Notice: The only formal mechanism to ensure non-compliance found by enforcing officers is recorded and remedied. Alteration Notice: This is for a serious risk or where any change could create a serious risk Prosecution: There have been historic issues with taking a prosecution against those undertaking building work or against BCBs due to a lack of historic case law. Before the introduction of the FSO, NFCC (CFOA) issued guidance to Fire services which included the introduction of informal notices and or action plans however fire services have introduced this in different ways. These notices have no legal standing and therefore are only used for minor non-compliance. We believe there should be clearer notices that are under the legislation but are dependent on risk to relevant persons. 24 Page 16 of 20

17 Housing Act As detailed in the response to question 1, there is a need to ensure the overlap and distinction between the Housing Act and FSO is much clearer. This will be significantly assisted by the inclusion of a clear definition of what is meant by used in common. There should also be much better collaboration between other Regulators including Housing, BCBs, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). There should also be more formal arrangements established to ensure adequate enforcement takes place. There may also be a need to consider if certain premises should have a single enforcement regime for fire. Tenants & residents voice in the current system Q6 Is there an effective means for tenants and other residents to raise concerns about the fire safety of their buildings and to receive feedback? Where might changes be required to ensure tenants /residents voice on fire safety can be heard in the future? Response WYFRS investigate any referral or complaint of fire safety concerns, where there is serious concern this is carried out as a priority. Other referrals are dealt with on a risk based approach. We publish contact details of our Fire Protection Team on our website. Whilst with the majority of the queries we deal with are genuine concerns, some of those are not appropriate for the Fire 7 Rescue Service to deal with, and in these cases we will direct the complainant to the appropriate person/body. From those queries which are reported to us we consider this an effective means; however we are conscious that there might be many instances of fire safety issues which are spotted and not referred to us. A similar system, if well publicised, might be useful to allow members of the public to report fire safety issues, although that should not necessarily be restricted to tenants/residents but more widely available for members of the public to report fire safety issues. Any such system would have to interact with both Fire Authorities and Local Authorities IT systems to be effective which in itself may be a barrier. In most cases for existing blocks the first contact should be with the managing agent of the property who should rectify issues causing concern. Quality assurance and testing of materials Q7 Does the way building components are safety checked, certified and marketed in relation to building regulations requirements need to change? In particular: Where is the system sufficiently robust and reliable in maximising fire safety and, if appropriate Where specifically do you think there are weaknesses/gaps? What changes would be necessary to address these and what would be the benefits of doing so? Response Certain fire protection products (e.g. fire doors) are covered by specific British Standards which require identification through labelling and certifying as having passed the appropriate fire test. However many 25 Page 17 of 20

18 other products used within building construction don t which causes a significant inconsistency within the industry. It is believed by us that where certain products are marketed with claims of passing various fire tests there is often a lack of detail around scope, applicability and the limitations on the testing undertaken. We are aware that fake products such as fire resisting glazing, fire doors and insulating panels are known to have been produced. To determine if a product is legitimate or not would usually require removing a product and subjecting it to extensive fire testing and it is unclear if Trading Standards have the capacity to consider such concerns. Fire tests should be undertaken on complete assemblies (e.g. a fire door with associated frame and all door furniture) therefore a small change in door furniture in theory negates the certificate, although that doesn t necessarily mean that the small change renders the assembly as not fit for purpose. It is unlikely (and costly) for a manufacturer to test with all possible door furniture, however significant changes (such as installation in an inappropriate frame) will not only negate the certificate but might compromise the fire integrity of the door. It is significant to note that even with the most robust product testing regime in place, there is still a heavy reliance on the product being installed correctly. We are aware of poor workmanship and knowledge in the building sector where the importance of building elements designed for the protection of life are not fully understood has led to placing individuals at significant risk. Differentiation within the current Regulatory system Q8 What would be the advantages/disadvantages of creating a greater degree of differentiation in the regulatory system between high rise multi occupancy residential buildings and other less complex types of residential/non-residential buildings? Response What specifically do you think further differentiation might assist in ensuring adequate fire safety and what would be the benefits of such changes? Building Regulations In terms of the building regulations we do not see a benefit or need in providing a differentiation between high rise residential buildings and other types of residential or non-residential buildings. The functional nature of the building regulations provides a suitable framework upon which the designs should be developed for any type of building and if done correctly should afford the right level of safety. Purpose built blocks of flats can be a relatively straightforward design dependent on the approach yet a lower rise, multi-purpose group building could pose more complex considerations in terms of the fire safety design. We do however feel that more guidance on super high rise buildings (including residential) should be considered as Approved Document B Volume 2 provides little guidance for buildings over 30m in height. While Approved Document B makes reference in its introduction to being applicable to more common building situations we regularly see the guidance being used beyond what we consider to be the limitations of certain aspects of the guidance. We would therefore recommend that the scope of Approved Document B is considered and limitations on its use being clearer. 26 Page 18 of 20

19 Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order There are other types of premises that also require a greater level of scrutiny and WYFRS does not believe you can highlight only high rise multi occupancy residential buildings. These other premises types include premises that have some of society s most vulnerable e.g. Hospitals, residential care homes, specialised housing, hostels and HMO s. The advantage of having a different regime is that there will be a stronger emphasis on protecting the most vulnerable by ensuring those who are responsible for any life safety elements of these premises are suitably qualified and registered. The disadvantage would be the extra burden on some business who are already facing financial hardship. NHS, Charities and social services. A potential solution would be for all those persons engaging in preventive and protection life safety measures in high risk premises to demonstrate competence through qualification and or registration. There could also be an annual sign off of these buildings to demonstrate compliance however it would have to be determined as to whom would undertake this role as it is felt the at present Fire and Rescue Services do not have the staffing resources to carry this out. International comparisons and other sectors Q9 What examples exist from outside England of good practice in regulatory systems that aim to ensure fire safety in similar buildings? What aspects should be specifically considered and why? Response Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and Housing Act The reduction in fire deaths and fire injuries in the UK over the past 30 years show that UK fire safety has been successful, however tragic events show we cannot be complacent. The FSO is predominately drafted to meet two European directives; 89/654 workplace regulations, and 89/391 Framework directive. Therefore legislation and standards throughout Europe should be similar but there are distinct variations. For example; the FSO was introduced primarily to protect employees from fire, and the interpretation applied when drafting the FSO was that an employee (e.g. a cleaner) could be within the common parts of a block of flats, therefore the legislation needed to consider those areas also. However both Scotland and Northern Ireland do not have the common areas of blocks of flats included in their regulations although it is unclear if that stance is actually in accordance with the expectations set out in the European directives. The current regime has the flexibility to be a successful system however it needs to ensure the most high risk premises have robust scrutiny to ensure the chance of tragedies are greatly reduced, and it needs to be clear regarding the overlaps of the two pieces of legislation (FSO and HA). Other countries Whilst we do not have extensive knowledge of regimes or guidance in other countries, we have some observations which might assist: Northern Ireland through their Care Quality Commission only allows those who are on a fire risk assessors registration scheme to carry out a fire risk assessment in a care home. Such an approach goes a long way towards appropriate competence and may be worth considering for higher risk occupancies. American standards use prescriptive codes which can be inflexible, however they have been adopted in several countries. 27 Page 19 of 20

20 Some countries (e.g. Australia and New Zealand) require the design of a building to be agreed (and approved) with regulatory bodies at an early design stage. This type of approach may alleviate many of our concerns relating to the timing of the consultation/approvals process. Some countries such as New Zealand require the evacuation strategy to be formally agreed with the fire service as a regulatory requirement. A change such as this removes the self-regulation for fire safety (which is similar to other H&S requirements) and places additional workload on fire and rescue services, however it does place a greater emphasis on persons to have an appropriate strategy in place, and one which is externally verified. Some countries also have defined points in a build which have a formal site inspection requirement, such as foundations complete, or roof on. Under these regimes it is common that works cannot progress without the formal site inspection. In Europe, there are three basic types of plan approval and site inspection regimes: Public authorities are responsible for plans approval and site inspections (e.g. Ireland and the Netherlands). This is what used to be in place in England; Public and private authorities share responsibilities: usually one for plans and one for site inspections; The applicant can chose to have plans approval and site inspections conducted by either a public or private authority (e.g. as is the case in England). Whilst there are benefits and drawbacks to each of the three regimes, there might be changes to the current financially competitive process between those who can deliver these services. As described above, that financially competitive process inevitably leads to a reduction in services (e.g. frequency of site visits) to cut costs and therefore gain business. Q10 What examples of good practice from regulatory regimes in other industries/sectors that are dependent on high quality safety environments are there that we could learn from? What key lessons are there for enhancing fire safety? Response The Health & Safety At Work Act has been the pillar of H&S legislation for over 40 years, however in that time subordinate legislation has been introduced to make risk critical stages clearer e.g. working at height or confined spaces. In the same way, Article 24 of the FSO gives the Secretary of State powers to introduce such Regulations. Subordinate legislation could therefore be introduced but only within the confines of the original Order. That subordinate legislation for example could not change the extent the Order could be applied for example it cannot change the FSO to include the inside of a flat. Nonetheless clarification might be provided in respect of matters such as the application for compartmentation between flats and the external façade of a residential building. The national agencies such as Food Standards Agency and HSE which sit above LA enforcers may be a process worthy of exploring to ascertain if something similar is appropriate for fire safety enforcement. 28 Page 20 of 20

21 OFFICIAL Attacks on Firefighters Working Group - Update Report Community Safety Committee Date: 27 October 2017 Submitted By: Director of Service Delivery Agenda Item: 6 Purpose To inform Community Safety Committee of the progress of the Attacks on Firefighters Task and Finish Group Recommendations That Community Safety Committee note the content of this report and continue to support the group in its work. Summary An Attacks on Firefighters Working Group was set up by the Community Safety Committee in January The Working Group made 7 recommendations to the July meeting of this Committee, each aimed at working towards one of the 3 objectives of the Working Group. These objectives being to identify ways to reduce the risks to firefighters from attacks whilst they are undertaking response duties by: 1. Maximising community engagement to prevent attacks happening in the first place. 2. When attacks do occur, introducing procedures which best ensure firefighter safety during the attack. 3. Adopt procedures, equipment and partnership working to maximise opportunities to bring the offender to justice when attacks occur. Good progress is now being made against these recommendations and this paper will detail that progress. Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972 Exemption Category: Contact Officer: None Chris Kirby Area Manager Service Delivery Background papers open to inspection: None Martin Speed Bradford District Commander Annexes: None 29

22 1 Introduction 1.1 The Attacks on Firefighters Working Group made seven recommendations to this Committee at the July 2017 meeting. These recommendations were: 1.2 A memorandum of understanding be agreed between WYFRS and WYP around attacks on FFs. This MOU will outline what action WYFRS can expect WYP to take following an attack on one of our staff. In return WYFRS will undertake to gather and present evidence to WYP at a timescale and in a format which allows WYP and the CPS to effectively pursue and prosecute the person/s who have carried out the attack. 1.3 WYFRS make changes to Policy, specifically Operational Procedure 24 (Public Disorder), to ensure that attacks on staff are properly recorded and passed on to WYP in a way that maximises the chances of prosecuting the perpetrator of the attack. Specifically, WYFRS to adopt an Attacks on Firefighters reporting form which ensures attacks are recorded immediately following an attack and evidence is captured in a way which is most effective for WYP and the CPS. 1.4 District Commanders contact their West Yorkshire Police counterpart to ensure that local arrangements are in place to minimise attacks in areas / neighbourhoods of particular concern. These measures may include, among others, key individual networks and direct community action involving WYFRS, WYP, Local Authority or third sector employees/volunteers. 1.5 WYFRA authorise WYFRS senior management to consider a trial of the use of body worn cameras in particular station areas in West Yorkshire, subject to a full business case being submitted to WYFRS Executive Committee detailing: costings; benefits; lessons learnt from other Authorities; and consultation with representative bodies. 1.6 WYFRS to invest in threat assessment training delivered by WYP specialist staff, with the aim of equipping WYFRS operational staff with the skills to recognise the threat of violence from a member of the public and to defuse the situation where this threat becomes apparent. 1.7 Bradford and Leeds Districts to agree their Bonfire Plans with WYP and their respective Councils by 30th September to ensure bonfire period prevention and response arrangements in both Districts are joined up between organisations and sufficient to meet the needs of the period. 1.8 WYFRS and WYP agree a media strategy and policy for appropriately responding to attacks on firefighters and how and when they are reported in the media. 1.9 Following that July meeting of this Committee the then AM Operations Response tasked the DC Bradford District, Martin Speed and the manager of the Occupational Health and Safety Unit, Mark Dixon, to reform the Attacks on Firefighters Working Group into a task and finish group. This Task and Finish Group can now report on progress against the recommendations above. 2 Information 2.1 Significant progress against the recommendations has been achieved. This progress is detailed in Recommendation 1 MOU between WYP and WYFRS. This MOU has now been written in draft form and will be presented to the November meeting of the Tri Service Collaboration Board where it is expected it will be agreed and to be adopted by both services. This MOU will provide the framework within which WYP s response to attacks on WYFRS staff will occur. Attacks on Firefighters Working Group - Update Report Page 2 of 4 30

23 2.3 Recommendation 2 Changes to WYFRS policy to facilitate earlier and better reporting of attacks on WYFRS staff to WYP. Following meetings with our Operations Policy department changes to WYFRS Policy around attacks on staff has now been agreed. These changes will not be enshrined in Ops Policy 24 (Public Disorder) as was suggested in the original recommendation. Following discussions with Ops Policy it is felt that the new policy for reporting attacks should be encompassed within the existing Lone Working and Violence at Work Policy. The process will involve the Attacks on FFs reporting form being completed immediately following the incident and Control and / or the 1 st Call Group Manager contacting WYP to ensure that a timely response is made to the incident by them. 2.4 Recommendation 3 District Commanders to meet with their WYP counterparts to ensure local arrangements to prevent attacks on fire-fighters. As part of the specific bonfire plans each District is working closely with their WYP counterparts to ensure robust measures are in place to prevent attacks on FFs generally. 2.5 Recommendation 4 Trial of body worn cameras. A business case for a trial of body worn cameras has been drafted. This paper will be taken to the Executive Committee of the Fire Authority in due course and the outcomes of this meeting will direct the development of this objective. 2.6 Recommendation 5 Conflict management training to be delivered to WYFRS by specialist WYP officers. On 9 th and 30 th November four crews, from Odsal, Halifax, Fairweather Green and Leeds fire stations will attend training, delivered by trainers from the WYP Public Order Unit at the WYP training facility at Carr Gate Wakefield. The training will focus on giving crews the skills to engage with a difficult person in such a way to enable them to safely retreat from a situation which might escalate to violence should they remain. The feedback from the attending crews will then be evaluated and any amendments felt necessary to the training will be made. The training will then be rolled out to identified stations across WYFRS. 2.7 Recommendations 6 Bonfire Plans. The WYFRS Bonfire Plan, including the specific arrangements for Bradford and Leeds Districts, has now been finalised. Significant resources, both WYFRS and partner resources have been committed to both prevention and response activity prior to and during the bonfire period. 2.8 Recommendation 7 Media strategy. Following agreement on the MOU the media departments of WYFRS and WYP will be meeting to decide the media strategy for dealing with attacks on fire-fighters. 3 Financial Implications 3.1 Some of the work streams being progressed by the task and finish group, specifically the potential trial of body worn cameras and the conflict management training to be delivered by WYP may have financial implications for the Authority. 3.2 Some additional resources will be made available over the bonfire weekend and this will be funded from within existing overtime budgets. 4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 The overall aim of the on-going work of the task and finish group is firefighter security which is of course in line with our HR policies and core values. Moreover, the work of the task and finish group demonstrate due regard to our duty to foster good relations in the community (Equality Act 2010). Any trials will involve an Equality Analysis and the relevant specialists will be consulted throughout. Data from attack reporting will provide a clearer picture of any trends in attacks that are motivated by or related to any particular protected characteristic. 31 Page 3 of 4

24 5 Health and Safety Implications 5.1 The safety of Firefighters responding to emergency incidents is a key priority for WYFRA and the recommendations and activity of the working group all aim to contribute to making our firefighters safer. 6 Service Plan Links 6.1 Provide a safe and skilled workforce that serves the needs of a diverse community. 7 Conclusions 7.1 The need for firefighter safety is at the heart of all response activities undertaken by WYFRS. The Attacks on Firefighters Task and Finish Group is progressing and enacting the recommendations of the earlier Working Group. 7.2 The work being undertaken by the task and finish group should bring about changes to policy and procedures which will have a significant positive impact in decreasing the number and severity of attacks on our firefighters. 32 Page 4 of 4

25 OFFICIAL District Risk Reduction Targets - Progress Report 2017/18 Community Safety Committee Date: 27 October 2017 Submitted By: Director of Service Delivery Agenda Item: 7 Purpose To inform the Community Safety Committee of the progress against the 2017/18 District Action Plans and performance targets. Recommendations That the Community Safety Committee notes the content of this report Summary This report provides information on the performance of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in each District, against the targets detailed in District Annual Action Plans for 2017/18, including a commentary from each District Commander on performance against the agreed outcomes targets and an update against their planned activities. Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972 Exemption Category: Contact Officer: None Chris Kirby, Area Manager Service Delivery Background papers open to inspection: None Chris.kirby@westyorklsfire.gov.uk Annexes: Service and District Performance Management Reports and District Action Plan Updates 33

26 1 Introduction 1.1 The attached performance monitoring system (PMS) reports detail the Authority s progress against key performance targets across the five Districts. This information allows Service Delivery Board and each District Commander to measure, monitor and evaluate performance against annual targets that are set as part of the District annual action planning process. 1.2 The PMS reports cover the period from 1 April 2017 to 31 August Only five months of data is displayed due to the time lag for validating the incident reporting system and the committee meeting date. The reports use a colour system to give a visual indication of performance against targets. For comparison purposes it shows the 3 year average performance from 2013/14 to 2016/17 and the actual data figures taken from the benchmark year of 2009/ In addition to the service wide and district PMS reports, there is a commentary provided by each District Commander in relation to their respective performance against the individual district targets. There is also a summary of progress against the individual District Action Plans. 2 Information 2.1 The process for reporting against individual District Action Plans has now been consistent for six years. The process is well embedded and the systems used to monitor performance are not only used by managers. All employees have access to the performance management system so they can also monitor the incident trends and see the details of our performance in real time using the WYFiremap function. 2.2 The targets are set every year taking account of a rolling 3 year average and applying a methodology that delivers challenging targets for each district to deliver against. The aim is to reduce risk as much as possible by directing prevention resources into the correct areas to have the greatest impact. 2.3 The individual district commentaries show which areas are performing well (currently meeting target) and where improvements are required (currently not meeting target). 2.4 The Service Delivery Framework and the subsequent local ownership of delivering the outcomes has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of incident types over the past six years. All prevention and protection activity aims to support the service ambition of Making West Yorkshire Safer. 3 Financial Implications 3.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report. 4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 Prevention activities and a range of partnership working continue to target communities at risk. There is the potential for those with protected characteristics who are considered low risk to not receive additional support from WYFRS but the risk filtering process determines what risk factors are present to justify if a home visit is required, or not. The decision to carry out a home visit its therefore taken on the risk of the individual/s living in the property. 4.2 The Safer Communities Programme Board has been established to oversee the prevention activates across the Districts. The Diversity and Inclusion team sit at this forum and have an District Risk Reduction Targets - Progress Report 2017/18 Page 2 of 3 34

27 opportunity to give advice and guidance on the best ways in which prevention initiatives can engage with underrepresented groups across the communities of West Yorkshire. 5 Health and Safety Implications 5.1 Targeted risk reduction activities reduce the risks to the health and safety of firefighters and the community by reducing the incidents of fire which can cause harm to individuals and responders. 6 Service Plan Links 6.1 The District Annual Action Plans, activities carried out as a result of the plans and the performance monitoring process support the following Service Plan priorities: Delivery of a proactive fire prevention and protection programme. Delivery of a professional and resilient emergency service. 35 Page 3 of 3

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29 Agenda Item 7(a) All Local Authority Data - WYFRS Definitions Actual Data: Performance from baseline year. 2009/10 is used as a baseline 3 Year average target: Average performance from the previous 3 financial years is used as the target for current year Total so far: Cumulative total for current year so far Against 3 Year Avg: Comparison of activity so far against the target Red (Outside 10%); Amber (Within 10%); Green (Target achieved or exceeded) End of Tear Projection: Projected value at the end of the financial year based on Total So Far and the number of days remaining Actual Data 3 Year Avg Target (2009/10) (2014/17) Total so Far Against 3 Year Avg End of Year Projection (2009/10) (2014/17) (2017/18) (2017/18) (2017/18) Arson % 8645 Arson (Primary) % 1765 Arson (Secondary) % 6880 Actual Rescues % 720 Total Activity % Dwelling Fires % 1128 Non-Domestic Building Fires % 427 Prevalence of False Alarms % Fire Related Injuries % 219 Road Traffic Collisions % 575 Malicious False Alarms % Page 1 of 1

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31 Agenda Item 7(b) Bradford Definitions Actual Data: Performance from baseline year. 2009/10 is used as a baseline 3 Year average target: Average performance from the previous 3 financial years is used as the target for current year Total so far: Cumulative total for current year so far Against 3 Year Avg: Comparison of activity so far against the target Red (Outside 10%); Amber (Within 10%); Green (Target achieved or exceeded) End of Tear Projection: Projected value at the end of the financial year based on Total So Far and the number of days remaining Actual Data 3 Year Avg Target Total so Far Against 3 Year Avg End of Year Projection (2009/10) (2014/17) (2017/18) (2017/18) (2017/18) Arson % 2743 Arson (Primary) % 506 Arson (Secondary) % 2238 Actual Rescues % 157 Total Activity % 7009 Dwelling Fires % 303 Non-Domestic Building Fires % 115 Prevalence of False Alarms % 2638 Fire Related Injuries % 64 Road Traffic Collisions % 138 Malicious False Alarms % Page 1 of 6

32 Agenda Item 7(b) Bradford District Performance Monitoring Report 1 st April 31 st August 2017 The District performance in the following areas either meets or exceeds the set target: Actual Rescues Up to 31 st August there have been 66 rescues, this is a 14% improvement on the target and reflects the lower than target figures for dwelling fires and road traffic collisions. This figure is a testament to the hard work on fire and other prevention work that crews have carried out in recent years. Dwelling Fires There were 127 dwelling fires in the period which is nearly 6% below the target. In the last financial year there were 312 dwelling fires in Bradford District, which was the lowest total since the present recording system began. There have actually been less dwelling fires so far this year than there were for the same period last year. This further reduction for the year so far is excellent news and we will continue to work hard to reduce as far as possible dwelling fires within the District. Fire Related Injuries Fire related injuries, standing at 27 for the year so far, were nearly 4% better than the target. This category covers everything from death to slight smoke inhalation requiring a precautionary checkup. By continuing to target and reduce all fires through our Prevention and Protection work these figures should continue to reduce along with the fires that cause them. Road Traffic Collisions There have been 58 road traffic collisions requiring action by FRS crews in the year so far. This is a 6.5% improvement on the target set at the start of the year. As with dwelling fires a comparison with the same period last year is also favourable. We will continue to work with all partners to try to reduce this figure further in the coming year. The District performance in the following areas has not met the target: Arson: Primary Arson both primary and secondary is significantly above the target in Bradford District as it is in most other Districts in the County. There were 212 primary arson fires during the period. A major contributor to primary arson fires within the District is the increase in car fires in recent years. We will be working with our Police and Council colleagues, through action days and other initiatives, to target this vehicle crime in order to try and reduce these primary arson figures during the rest of the year. Arson: Secondary These are deliberately set fires where property is not destroyed and this figure includes bonfires and fires where waste is set alight. There were 938 secondary arson fires in the period which is 59% above the target. Bradford District supports the Police Camps, which are run in the spring, summer 40 Page 2 of 6

33 Agenda Item 7(b) and autumn School holidays and which see approximately 1200 identified children attend the camps. We use these camps to, among other aims, warn children of the dangers of firesetting. The autumn camp will focus on bonfire and firework safety. In the run up to the bonfire period WYP Schools Liaison Officers have also been trained by WYFRS to deliver bonfire and firework safety advice to school children in the schools for which they have responsibility. Total Activity Largely due to the increase in arson fires we have seen a significant increase in total activity in the District. We will continue to target arson reduction in an effort to reduce these figures. Non-Domestic Buildings Fires The non-domestic building fire target is a particularly challenging one as it such a low one and Bradford is a large District with many commercial and industrial risks. Compared to the same period last year there have actually been less of these fires this year. We will, as always, continue to target non-domestic building fires with the aim to reduce them ever further. The revised ORV process which allows us to target visits on where the greatest risk of fires exists should help us in this aim. Prevalence of False Alarms This area is 3.6% above target for the period. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the Protection department and directly with businesses with the aim to bring this figure back within target by the year end. Malicious False Alarms There has been a significant rise in the numbers of malicious false alarms standing at 60 for the period which is over 23% above target. We will continue to work with young people in the community and our partners to target malicious false alarms to reduce this figure in the coming months, whilst staff in the Control centre will continue to call challenge where it is perceived a false call is being made. 41 Page 3 of 6

34 Agenda Item 7(b) BRADFORD DISTRICT ACTION PLAN West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME We will: Our action Progress Ensure the authority s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur Continue to undertake familiarisation visits at sites previously categorised as Very High, or High risk and to train against the risk posed by those sites. Identify and undertake familiarisation visits and training at other sites of significant risks identified by station personnel. Maintain a programme of inspection and information gathering to assure the knowledge of surrounding stations on those risks. Work with partners within the District to identify and take action to reduce the risks from arson presented by derelict and unoccupied buildings. The refreshed Operational Risk Visit programme has allowed us in the District to concentrate our attention on the highest risk premises within the District, commercial, industrial, unoccupied or derelict. A very specific risk that has emerged in the District is the old Yorkshire Martyrs school off Tong Road. A multi agency / partners meeting has been held and actions agreed to try to reduce incidents at this site as the risks on the site become more pronounced with every fire that occurs there. Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being Implement the new Safer Communities Strategy, whilst continuing to prioritise fire prevention across the district. Specifically, targeting safe and well visits on areas and individuals identified as being at greatest risk from fire. Provide support and development for the District s crews in implementing and delivering against the new Safer Communities Strategy. Make effective use of data and intelligence to plan and target Safe and Well visits for the most vulnerable members of the community. Monitor information to support the implementation of the new Safer Communities Strategy in line with the development of service performance reporting standards. Promote innovation at local level in terms of engagement with vulnerable groups. 42 Partnership referrals are extremely effective within Bradford District. Due to the nature of these partner organisations (e.g. drug and alcohol groups, Bradford District Care Foundation Trust and West Yorkshire Police) we can be confident that we are targeting our fire prevention and safe and well activity at the groups at most risk of fire. With the adoption of the Assistant District Commander model within the District two of the District s Station Managers have been assigned specific responsibility for fire prevention. Added to the existing District Prevention Manager role this has provided much more support from the District Team to station based crews. No progress made. Safe and Well training modules are being delivered to all watches in the District. As soon as the training has been delivered then that module of Safe and Well becomes live in the District e.g. crime prevention which is now delivered by all watches in the District as part of a Safe and Well visit. An example of this is the falls prevention exercise class, led by health professionals from Bradford District Care Foundation Trust, which is now operating out of Shipley fire station. Page 4 of 6

35 Continue to support the Road Safety Partnership to develop and deliver education programmes aimed at improving the awareness of road safety issues, particularly amongst young and inexperienced drivers. Agenda Item 7(b) Bradford District supports the Police Camps where up to 1200 young people receive education during the various school holidays throughout the year. In spring and summer this year the focus of our input was road and vehicle safety. In addition Road Safety Roadshows are now delivered. This involves the delivery of road and vehicle safety advice to a whole 6 th form from a targeted school. DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE We will: Our action Progress Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response Ensure a focus on training to the principles of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP), to ensure the District is ready to respond to major incidents. Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand Organise joint training between West Yorkshire Police Sergeants in Bradford District and Watch Commanders. Ensure the smooth introduction of the Fog Spike equipment on to the District s fire appliances and ensure crews are well trained in its use and consider it as a tactical option at incidents. Evaluate the Emergency First Responder pilot scheme at Ilkley station. Continue to run the District exercise programme, where by all stations attend a 4 5 pump District exercise twice per year. Develop the Bonfire Plan ahead of the bonfire period, working with West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Council to provide an effective and safe response to calls during the bonfire period. Work with colleagues from Leeds District to maximise the cover provided at Silsden, Ilkley and Otley fire stations. Implement the outcomes of the Retained Duty System Review. Ensure a smooth transition to other front line appliances of the calls which were attended by the Fire Response Unit. Ensure a smooth transition from the current Shipley and Idle stations to the new Shipley station in June. Fire Cars and Bonfire Pumps will again be in use this year in Bradford District. This year, for the first time, the Police Sergeants and WYFRS Watch Managers who will be staffing these vehicles over the bonfire weekend have trained together prior to the period so as to understand each other s role on the night. This training has been delivered by the WYP and WYFRS JESIP leads. All personnel within the District have now been trained on the fog spike equipment and it is carried on all front line appliances within the District. This scheme is now temporarily suspended as per the ongoing discussions at NJC level and also YAS have indicated the trial will cease at the end of November. The District exercise programme continues to run in a successful manner, allowing all crews within the District to attend at least two multi-pump exercises every year. Plan written and is currently being put into action. The WC at Silsden now works out of the Silsden station for a few hours five days a week (Silsden has no LRSO). The WC can provide cover at Ilkley or Otley should their availability drop below minimum if Silsden has the numbers on duty to still be available without the WC. Awaiting outcomes of the review. This action now complete. The calls that were attended by the FRU are now taken by other crews. This action now complete. The new station was occupied in May this year and is running smoothly. 43 Page 5 of 6

36 Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences Utilise command competence criteria during Performance Management Visits to assure a standard approach to commanding incidents. Introduce training days into the District whereby three or four watches will be brought together for a morning / afternoon update training. Organise joint training between West Yorkshire Police Sergeants in Bradford District and Watch Commanders. Continue to encourage employees to use the debrief outcomes facility to share their experiences with others, and ensure that common themes are shared. Command competence criteria are applied to a number of exercises which form part of the PMV. Agenda Item 7(b) This has now been implemented. The first training days took place in May with the second programmed in before the end of the year. Fire Cars and Bonfire Pumps will again be in use this year in Bradford District. This year, for the first time, the Police Sergeants and WYFRS Watch Managers who will be staffing these vehicles over the bonfire weekend have trained together prior to the period so as to understand each other s role on the night. This training has been delivered by the WYP and WYFRS JESIP leads. Debrief outcomes are monitored by the District Support Officer to ensure the District is drawing the full value from this resource. PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY We will: Our action Progress Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees Continue to support employees to maintain fitness and well-being. All fitness assessments are carried out on time. New gym equipment is now being delivered to all stations within WYFRS. This new equipment will better equip our FFs to maintain their role related fitness. Ensure understanding within the district of the new Absence and Attendance policy. Ensure continued availability of Welfare Officers within the district to support the rehabilitation of employees. Instruction has been given to all staff on the new policy. WYFRS now has a trained cadre of level 1 and level 2 welfare officers, some of which work within Bradford District. Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce Support the recruitment, selection and training of whole-time and retained duty system firefighters during 2017/18. Support the outcomes of the review of district based training. Continue to run the District exercise programme, where by all stations attend a 4 5 pump District exercise twice per year. Also the multi pump drill schedule whereby each watch takes part in 2-3 pump mini exercises quarterly. Identify new off-site training venues and where these sites are identified organise multiple, realistic, exercises so that maximum benefit can be gained from the venue. Members of staff from the District were part of the recruitment team. Awareness days were run out of Bradford District stations. The District exercise programme continues to run in a successful manner, allowing all crews within the District to attend at least two multi-pump exercises every year. The quarterly 2-3 pump mini exercises programme also continues to operate successfully with all watches in the District attending a 2-3 pump small exercise quarterly. All watches in the District attended a 4 pump high rise exercise at the unoccupied Jacobs Well site in Bradford City centre in June. We are currently working to identify an unoccupied property in which to carry out fog spike training. Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change Implement the Command, Leadership and Management functional structure within the District. Consider the findings of the Culture and Values Review to propose improvements to ways of working. We began to run the ADC model in the District in April. This model is proving successful as we now have extra SMs to concentrate on Prevention work, ORVs and a HR lead. This work is on-going. Actions such as the training days have been implemented in part as a response to the survey as a means to improve communications in the District. 44 Page 6 of 6

37 Agenda Item 7(c) Calderdale Definitions Actual Data: Performance from baseline year. 2009/10 is used as a baseline 3 Year average target: Average performance from the previous 3 financial years is used as the target for current year Total so far: Cumulative total for current year so far Against 3 Year Avg: Comparison of activity so far against the target Red (Outside 10%); Amber (Within 10%); Green (Target achieved or exceeded) End of Tear Projection: Projected value at the end of the financial year based on Total So Far and the number of days remaining Actual Data 3 Year Avg Target Total so Far Against 3 Year Avg End of Year Projection (2009/10) (2014/17) (2017/18) (2017/18) (2017/18) Arson % 599 Arson (Primary) % 134 Arson (Secondary) % 465 Actual Rescues % 93 Total Activity % 2097 Dwelling Fires % 95 Non-Domestic Building Fires % 31 Prevalence of False Alarms % 806 Fire Related Injuries % 21 Road Traffic Collisions % 45 Malicious False Alarms % Page 1 of 8

38 Agenda Item 7(c) Calderdale District Performance Monitoring Report - 1 April 2017 to 31 August 2017 District performance in the following areas either meets or exceeds the required target: Actual Rescues - Most of Calderdale s rescues continue to follow road traffic collisions and dwelling fires. Some are however, necessary following a variety of other circumstances, for example rescues from water and from height. Currently, the District is surpassing its target for actual rescues by 13%. Multiple rescues from road traffic collisions can sometimes skew performance against this indicator. A reduced number of road traffic collisions in the District will have had a positive impact on the performance against Actual Rescues. Dwelling Fires Last year the number of dwelling fires in Calderdale fell to their lowest ever level. This is a fantastic achievement but it does present a real challenge for the District Team to maintain similar performance. It is therefore pleasing that current performance is outstripping the 2017/18 target by 9.1%. Performance is testament to the hard work taking place to deliver finite prevention initiatives where they have most benefit. Non-Domestic Building Fires Historically, Calderdale has struggled to meet the target set for non-domestic building fires. It is therefore refreshing that current performance is on track to beat the 2017/18 target by 18.4%. The number of non-domestic building fires for this reporting period is the lowest recorded for fiveyears. There is no room for complacency though and the District Team will continue to work in partnership to reduce the risk of fires in commercial properties. The main focus will continue to be Halifax town centre, which has the highest incidence of non-domestic fires. Road Traffic Collisions Public surveys indicate that residents believe that road safety is getting worse. It is therefore pleasing that the number of road traffic collisions attended by WYFRS continue to reduce. Performance in the District is currently surpassing the target by 33%. The District Team is delivering several initiatives to help improve road safety. The District Commander also chairs the Road Safety Partnership Board in Calderdale. This Board is implementing a framework of road safety initiatives that reflect four main themes; education, engagement, enforcement, and engineering. 46 Page 2 of 8

39 Agenda Item 7(c) Performance in the following areas fall outside the required target: Arson Calderdale District is behind the target set for deliberate fires. Performance is currently falling short of the overall target by 20.7%. Further analysis shows that performance against deliberate primary fires is falling short by 39.2% and for deliberate secondary fires by 16.3%. The District suffered particular poor performance during April with a spate of deliberate fires occurring in Central and North East Halifax. Current performance is similar to last year for the same period though, during which the District managed to meet its annual target. There has been an increase in the number of deliberate vehicle fires in Calderdale, and this has impacted upon performance. Failure to meet the secondary fire target is seasonal and linked to dry spells of weather and the school holiday period. The District Team continues to work with the Police, Street Wardens, and local crime prevention groups to improve resilience to the threat of arson. The Team also continue to engage with local youth groups and in initiatives that target anti-social behaviour. These initiatives are leading to some positive outcomes and the District Team is confident that it will improve upon current performance by the end of the fiscal year. Prevalence of False Alarms The target for reducing responses to unwanted fire signals continues to be very challenging. In spite of this, the District is marginally missing the target by just 2.1% (nine-incidents). Performance is disproportionately affected by repeat false alarms at a small number of buildings. The main cluster of these buildings is in the town centre of Halifax. The District Team is working closely with the Protection Team in following up repeat attendances though. Malicious False Alarms The District is marginally behind the target set for malicious false alarms. The 13.6% deficit represents just 1.5 incidents and highlights the particularly low incidence of nuisance calls in Calderdale. Last year, malicious calls fell to an all-time low figure in Calderdale. It is also worthwhile noting that malicious calls have reduced by 66% when compared with the same reporting period for Total Activity - The District is not on course to meet the target set for the overall number of emergency incidents. Current performance indicates that Calderdale will miss the target by 12.9%. The District has responded to just 25 more emergency calls than during the same reporting period last year though. Fire Related Injuries For successive years, Calderdale District has failed to meet the target set for fire related injuries. Last year, fire related injuries in Calderdale fell to at an all-time low level. This year s performance is falling behind of the target by just 7.4% (1.7 injuries). It is however on track to meet last year s unprecedented achievement. The vast majority of injuries sustained this year are minor. Sadly, one individual died on 5 th May following a flat fire in Halifax. The District always launches post fire initiatives following any serious incident and conducts a review of the circumstances. The serious incident review following this fire, has led to a series of fire safety initiatives targeting landlords. Summary The Calderdale District Team is committed to meeting its service delivery targets. The targets continue to be very challenging because of the low figures which afford limited ability to absorb glitches in performance. An example of this is arson, where the District is over the target by just 46 incidents. The District is performing well against four of its targets, and is confident that it will meet the remaining targets by the end of the year. The District Team continue to be pragmatic in their approach and are championing several multi-agency initiatives that are making a real difference to the safety of local communities. 47 Page 3 of 8

40 CALDERDALE DISTRICT ACTION PLAN Agenda Item 7(c) West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME We will: Our action Progress Ensure the authority s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur Support WYFRS Operational Risk Visit Programme by visiting commercial properties and other high risk sites. Ensure the accuracy of information for higher risk sites. Provide advice to local businesses and sites about reducing the risk of arson. Deal effectively with any enquiries and/or complaints regarding fire safety in commercial properties in liaison with Fire Protection colleagues. Operational crews have completed 49 Operational Risk Visits within the first five months of this year. These visits have been to sites that present greater risk to firefighters Operational crews are updating the current risk information held for higher risk sites. They also have a rolling programme to revisit higher risk sites and check the associated information The District Team has recently appointed two District Prevention Assistants. These individuals are now liaising with local businesses and helping them improve resilience against the threat of arson The District continues to respond promptly to any complaints received regarding fire safety in commercial property. It has also made a significant contribution to a multiagency response to the Grenfell Tower fire and local issues around high rise buildings Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being Promote local ownership of community safety initiatives and empower watches to deliver against the new Safer Communities Strategy. Deliver prolonged risk reduction campaigns in the Park, and Town Wards to increase smoke alarm ownership. Reduce the incidence of arson in North and Central Halifax by delivering a number of multi-agency initiatives. Work in partnership to reduce the incidence of deliberate fires in unoccupied and derelict properties. Develop a comprehensive road safety strategy in conjunction with local partners. Support, design and deliver a series of targeted risk reduction campaigns throughout the year, in collaboration with District Partners. Analyse internal and external data sets to help target initiatives toward those most at risk. For example, Fire Map, PMI, Exeter Data, Mosaic Data, and information from local housing studies. 48 All Watches have been allocated specific references that support delivering the Safer Communities Strategy. This is starting to produce some excellent initiatives for a wide range of themes including road safety, water safety, and youth engagement The District intends to launch this campaign during October to coincide with another initiative that focuses on rented accommodation Arson has reduced by 10% within these two risk reduction areas against the same reporting period in 2016/17. The District Team is engaging with local youth groups to help deter them from anti-social behavior and fire setting The District is currently enjoying some success with reducing the number of nondomestic building fires. This is partly due to a more visible presence of Local Authority employees in communities The Community safety Partnership has endorsed a road safety strategy led by the Calderdale District Commander. The Strategy comprises four main themes; education, engagement, enforcement, and engineering The District continues to deliver thematic campaigns that reflect the principles of the CFOA national campaign calendar. Forthcoming events include safeguarding (focus on safe and well visits) and candle safety The District Team continues to use Fire Map, PMI, and Local Authority data to good effect Page 4 of 8

41 Agenda Item 7(c) Implement the new Safe and Well Visit programme across the District in line with the new Safer Communities Strategy. Ensure that effective arrangements are present to manage referrals in and out of WYFRS following Safe and Well Visits. Work together with Calderdale Council and other partners to deliver flood safety and after the flood advice to communities in the Upper Valley and Lower Valley. Develop and deliver multi-agency initiatives to reduce the risk of serious moorland fires. Support the development of a comprehensive performance management and evaluation system that uses qualitative and quantitative data to measure performance against the new Safer Communities Strategy. DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE The District is gradually migrating to the new safe and well visits. All crews are now incorporating falls assessments and prevention advice, where applicable, within their visits. Firefighters at Todmorden continue to deliver the full range of safe and well initiatives following their successful pilot. Calderdale District has delivered 845 safe and well visits during the first five months of this year. The District is visiting fewer households but is able to focus its efforts to where risk is greatest. The scope of safe and well visits is also much wider, and they are generating more referrals to other agencies. The District Team is also delivering a wide range of community safety initiatives and campaigns. These include road and water safety, reducing the risk of arson, and engaging with younger people The safe and well referrals from Calderdale firefighters have now led to a number of multi-agency interventions. Calderdale has a fairly straightforward referral process via Gateway to Care for most issues. The electronic process, to support referrals is still under development though. The District Team has one of its Watch Commanders seconded into Calderdale MBC s Community Safety and Resilience Team. This secondment is delivering several initiatives that are improving the resilience of local communities to flooding. This work is also supported by firefighters providing information during the national water safety and drowning prevention weeks. Calderdale is fortunate to have two lead Wildfire Officers working within the District Team. Both have developed highly successful partnerships with local stakeholders that are delivering effective initiatives to reduce moorland fires The District Team has a process to evaluate community safety performance using several sources of information. It is now complementing traditional data with spotlight on style commentary. The District is also exploring the use of data to indicate performance by head of population, and/or the number of dwellings. We will: Our action Progress Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response Develop a programme for joint operational training with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Continue to undertake joint training initiatives with the Calder Valley Mountain Rescue Team. Test knowledge and understanding of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) principles via multi-agency exercising. Continue to utilise the Watch Commander seconded to Calderdale Council to develop flood response arrangements. Ensure that all operational crews receive CONTEST training and have an awareness of the local Prevent strategy. 49 Firefighters based at Todmorden and Rastrick Fire Stations are now training and exercising on a regular basis with other FRS resources which border their station areas. Firefighters are now undertaking frequent joint training with members of the Calder Valley Mountain Rescue Team. This is focusing on each other s capabilities and improving understanding of procedures. The District Team has incorporated JESIP into the Performance Management Visit programme. All exercises now include JESIP as part of the debrief outcomes. The secondment is delivering good results and is also providing a useful conduit for community engagement The Calderdale ADCs will deliver the CONTEST training during this quarter. The local Prevent Coordinator delivered awareness of the Calderdale strategy during a recent Page 5 of 8

42 Continue to develop relationships with local partners to improve arrangements for responding to missing persons in the District. Continue to work proactively with the South Pennies Fire Operations Group and other stakeholders to provide effective tactics for dealing with moorland fires. District meeting Agenda Item 7(c) The District Commander and the Head of Youth Offending Services are leading on this work stream for the Community Safety Partnership Two of Calderdale s ADCs continue to provide the lead for wildfire and moorland firefighting. The tactics employed to deal with these incidents are progressing well. Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand Make changes to the District structure to enable Station Commanders to provide functional references including a dedicated Operations and Training role. Allocate lead operational references to each watch within the District. Continue to improve the availability of the Retained Duty System crewed fire appliance at Mytholmroyd. Implement recommendations from the review of flood and water rescue assets and ensure that crews at Todmorden acquire and maintain the Module 3 Swift Water Rescue attribute. Ensure that all operational crews are aware of local risks and monitor this via the Performance Management Visit programme. Enhance operational assurance elements of the Performance Management Visit programme. The District migrated to an ADC style structure on 1 st April This model comprises a Station Commander (ADC) with responsibility for operations and training, risk reduction, and human resources. All Watches have been allocated specific references that support delivering the Safer Communities Strategy Availability for this appliance is still low in comparison to other WYFRS fire appliances. The fire station is struggling to attract sufficient candidates to fulfil the RDS firefighter role. Todmorden Fire Station now has a swift water response capability, and Rastrick Fire Station is benefitting from enhanced water rescue assets. These were recently showcased to local MP Holly Lynch and the WYFRA Chair. The PMV programme incorporates an assessment of knowledge and understanding of local risks. Local crews are predominantly displaying an excellent level of knowledge. The PMVs now incorporate additional elements to provide better assurance of operational procedures. This includes a question and answer session with firefighters about new policies and recently revised procedures. The new format has received positive feedback. Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences Deliver the 2017/18 District Training Strategy objectives and ensure that the training to risk approach continues. Continue to encourage employees to use the debrief outcomes facility to share their experiences with others. Ensure that common themes emerging from operational debriefs are shared with local crews and that any appropriate changes are made to response arrangements. Expand upon the current arrangements to share operational learning outcomes more widely with partners. The District Team is currently delivering the third year of objectives within its Training Strategy. Centrally organised firefighter safety exercises commence during October and will help to complement the strategy. The debrief outcomes facility is embedded and Calderdale crews are using it effectively. The Operations and Training ADC role is helping to drive and address any common themes arising from operational debriefs. The District also maintains open dialogue with Watches and shares information in a timely manner. The District Team enjoys very good partnership arrangements with the other blue light services. PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY We will: Our action Progress Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees Support employees to maintain fitness and welfare. 50 The District is continuing to support its employees with their fitness and welfare. This includes assisting employees to recover from absence and return to full operational Page 6 of 8

43 duties. The Team is continuing to provide early support via Welfare Officers Agenda Item 7(c) Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce Improve awareness of health, safety and welfare policies via the District s lead Human Resources Officer, and Business Partner. Monitor absences and implement effective measures to promote attendance in line with the new Absence and Attendance Policy. Ensure the availability of Welfare Officers to support the rehabilitation of employees. Address any trends in accidents, injuries, and near misses to improve future performance. Introduce measures that reduce the risk of attacks on firefighters including a specific plan for the Bonfire Night period. Deliver year three of the Training and Development Strategy that focuses upon training to risk. Review and provide new and challenging operational scenarios as part of the Performance Management Visit (PMV) programme. Revisit Incident Command System training with each watch and incorporate Sector Command within the Performance Management Visit (PMV) programme. Work with the Training and Development Department to identify and pursue improvements to District training resources. Provide internal and external training that supports each element of the Safe and Well concept. Ensure that operational crews receive appropriate training for any new items of operational equipment, including the lance and core drill (fogspike). Support and promote the Wholetime and Retained Duty System recruitment process. The Human Resources ADC and Business Partner are scheduling a number of visits to each Watch in Calderdale. During these visits they will be discussing some of the main policies, for example, the Absence and Attendance Policy. The District Team has adopted the new policy and is managing a number of employees via its various different stages. The District Team is maintaining a supportive approach throughout the process. All Calderdale District Officers provide the Welfare Officer role. They are actively involved in supporting a number of employees and aiding their rehabilitation. ADC Furby has made a significant contribution in driving forward the Welfare Officer role. The District Team is monitoring the statistics, but has not identified any specific trends so far this year. The Bonfire Night Plan is currently in draft format, and reflects the lessons learned from previous years. The District is working hard all year around to reduce the risk of attacks on firefighters. It is actively engaging with younger people and using local partnerships to reduce the risk. The District Team is currently delivering the third year of objectives within its Training Strategy. Centrally organised firefighter safety exercises commence during October and will help to complement the strategy. The District Team has refreshed the PMV programme. It now incorporates a number of off-site venues for practical operational scenarios. Both practical and white board exercises within the PMV programme exercise the Sector Command model. The ADC for Operations and Training is also delivering training regarding the sector commander role. The District has not been successful in securing any additional or enhanced training assets. It will continue to pursue this in line with budgetary constraints though. The safe and well training has generally received very positive feedback. This is partly due to the involvement of third-party trainers who are specialists in particular areas, for example falls and frailty. This type of training is ongoing and generally led by the District Support Officer. The District has recently developed a local plan to support recruitment and specifically positive action initiatives. Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change Provide operational staff with appropriate training, coaching, and mentoring to enable them to absorb additional tasks following the functional restructure of the District Team. Encourage Watches to take ownership of risk reduction and training initiatives and provide support for key changes such as the 51 The Calderdale ADCs are offering local employees coaching, mentoring to assist their development. A number of Calderdale s firefighters have recently been successful within the promotion process and this is a good reflection of some of this work. The Watches have responded positively to taking ownership of community safety references. The Risk Reduction ADC has worked extremely well in embedding the Page 7 of 8

44 implementation of the Safer Communities Strategy. Continue to deliver the District s Communication and Engagement Strategy and ensure that all staff are kept informed of organisational plans. Monitor the level of awareness regarding fairness, dignity and respect policies and implement arrangements to improve this. Ensure that managers discuss organisational change and values as part of the Personal Development Review process. rationale for the changes and providing the necessary information. Agenda Item 7(c) The District Team has undertaken over 50 visits to Watches since 1 st April These visits have encouraged open dialogue. The 2016 staff survey provided very good assurance for awareness regarding fairness, dignity and respect policies. The subsequent District Action Plan addressed several issues highlighted by the survey. The District will repeat this exercise following the forthcoming staff survey. The 2017 Personal Development Review process will commence in November. Supervisors will be briefed in advance of the process to ensure that these items are included. Page 8 of 8 52

45 Agenda Item 7(d) Kirklees Definitions Actual Data: Performance from baseline year. 2009/10 is used as a baseline 3 Year average target: Average performance from the previous 3 financial years is used as the target for current year Total so far: Cumulative total for current year so far Against 3 Year Avg: Comparison of activity so far against the target Red (Outside 10%); Amber (Within 10%); Green (Target achieved or exceeded) End of Tear Projection: Projected value at the end of the financial year based on Total So Far and the number of days remaining Actual Data 3 Year Avg Target Total so Far Against 3 Year Avg End of Year Projection (2009/10) (2014/17) (2017/18) (2017/18) (2017/18) Arson % 1439 Arson (Primary) % 267 Arson (Secondary) % 1171 Actual Rescues % 150 Total Activity % 4459 Dwelling Fires % 160 Non-Domestic Building Fires % 67 Prevalence of False Alarms % 1782 Fire Related Injuries % 41 Road Traffic Collisions % 115 Malicious False Alarms % 45 53

46 Agenda Item 7(d) Kirklees District Performance Monitoring Report The District performance in the following areas either meets or exceeds the required target: Dwelling Fires - Kirklees District has exceeded this target by 15.4 %, with a total of 67 dwelling fires recorded for this period. We continue to focus resources on the most vulnerable within the community, and we continue to work with our partners to identify those people who are in most need of our service. Non-Domestic Fires -The number of non-domestic building fires is 4.6 % below the target set for Kirklees for 2017/2018. A Derelict building project has been established with our partners with the aim of preventing fires in this type of building. Malicious False Alarms There have been 19 malicious false alarms recorded in Kirklees between April and August with the target being exceeded by 11%. Effective call challenging by Control staff and a zero tolerance approach has seen large reductions of malicious false alarms over the past seven years. Performance in the following areas are outside of the target set: Arson - Kirklees District is above the target set for arson by 72.5 % with a total of 603 arson incidents recorded. Primary fires as a result of arson equates to 17 dwellings, 44 nondomestic properties and 105 vehicle fires. The majority of secondary fires are attributed to refuse and vegetation. We continue to work with our partners to prevent anti-social fires and report instances of waste build-up and fly tipping to the council. We are working alongside partners undertaking Community Action Days to resolve community issues with our continued work with the Area Based Leadership Teams. We are also delivering an Anti-Social Behaviour card which provides residents numbers to report their concerns. We will continue to look at ways to address this increasing concern. Actual Rescues Kirklees District is above the target for actual rescues by 16.5 % with 63 rescues recorded for this period. From the 63 rescues 12 were from incidents involving dwellings, 27 from Road Traffic collisions. These areas have been the focus of our ongoing 54

47 Agenda Item 7(d) prevention activities. We have worked with Police on Project Edward to reduce the number of road deaths in Kirklees and this partnership will evolve further with the forthcoming road safety road show. We also continue to encourage the crews to emphasize the need for a fire escape plan when undertaking safe and well visits. Total Activity - The total number of incidents attended across Kirklees is 28.8 % above the target figure set. We ensure that areas of high activity are brought to the attention of partners and solutions sought on these parts of the District. The District Team will continue to monitor trends and target resources based on intelligence and the variety of data sets/mapping systems to further reduce the activity over the coming year. The significant increase in arson incidents is the main factor influencing the total activity levels. Prevalence of False Alarms - The number of false alarms is 3.5 % outside the target set, with a total of 747 incidents recorded for the year. Operational crews continue to work with the Fire Protection Team to identify premises where issues arise. The majority of the False alarms are attributed to apparatus and we have prompted the owners to look at the necessary improvements to their system which will hopefully result in fewer false alarms. Fire Related Injuries and Deaths - Kirklees District is 22.9 % outside the target. These injuries range from minor smoke inhalation which is the situation in the majority of cases, with 1 incident resulting in 9 casualties where the occupants were trapped upstairs with a microwave on fire on the ground floor. Unfortunately, no working smoke alarms were installed at this property. Kirklees District continues to work with local community groups and partners to provide fire safety education. We promote the importance of having working smoke detectors and a fire escape plan. Road Traffic Collisions - Kirklees District is slightly outside the target set by 1.3 % with 48 incidents recorded. Kirklees District continues to support the Kirklees Road Safety Partnership, to identify hot spots and carry out educational work. Operational crews continue to work closely with Kirklees Police delivering a series of targeted road safety events during this reporting period. Summary Overall Kirklees District continues to direct resources towards achieving the challenging performance targets set. We continue to see positive results in a number of performance indicators, although it is clear that we have more prevention work to do to address the 55

48 Agenda Item 7(d) concerning trend in relation to the number of arson incidents we have experienced in the first five months of this reporting period. This area continues to be a challenge. We will continue to work with partners to develop innovative ideas and solutions through the Area Based Leadership Teams. 56

49 Agenda Item 7(d) KIRKLEES DISTRICT ACTION PLAN West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME We will: Our action Progress Ensure the authority s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur Continue to revisit and undertake familiarisation visits at sites previously categorised as Very High or High risk. Develop and assure crews knowledge and understanding of key risk within Kirklees. Continue working with businesses to help reduce attendance at persistent false alarms. Support the delivery of Firefly to Residential Care homes across the district. The Assistant District Commander responsible for Operations and Training is coordinating visits to High and Very High risk premises with the ORMT. Operational crews continue to identifying new risks and gather information on these premises as required. Crews are developing and sharing risk presentation for the premises they visit. These risk presentations are assessed by the District Team and crews understanding of these risks are assured during performance management visits. We continue to monitor and identify businesses with persistent false alarms and report issues of concern to the Fire Protection Team. A number of letters have been issued to business owners following repetitive false alarm calls. We continue to work with our partners and local business forums to reduce the instances of false alarms. The delivery of Firefly has now ceased due to the limited business benefits of the previous project. Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being Implement the new Safer Communities Strategy. Examine and utilise NHS data to plan and target Safe and Well visits for the most vulnerable members of the community. Establish a working group with Kirklees partners to tackle anti-social fires in unoccupied / derelict properties. Establish the secondment role within Kirklees Council and KNH with agreed joint work streams and outcomes. Continue to work with partners to achieve the objectives outlined in the Safer Kirklees community safety plan. Crews from Kirklees have received training on the first Safe & Well module and are developing local initiatives to target the vulnerable/reduce risk within their station areas. The second module, Falls & Frailty is progressing and a referral pathway is established with partners. The Data team are processing the data received from Public Health, NHS Exeter data, Mosaic and WYFRS dwelling data to produce a risk matrix. Once processed, we plan to use this combined data to effectively target safe & well visits within Kirklees. A multi-agency working group was established with the support of the Kirklees Community Safety Executive. The purpose of the group is to tackle and reduce the number of anti-social fires in unoccupied/derelict properties. The secondment post within Kirklees Council and Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing commenced on the 3 rd April The Watch Manager has developed a number of agreed risk reduction work streams and is improving joint working between partners. The Assistant District Commanders continue to attend and support the Area Leadership Delivery Groups. The objectives set for these groups address the themes of the Safer Kirklees Community Safety plan. The key themes of the plan are: protecting people from serious harm; reducing anti-social behaviour and reducing crime. 57

50 Support and be a virtual partner within the Kirklees Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). Continue to support the Kirklees Road Safety Partnership and deliver education programmes aimed at improving the awareness of road safety issues. Continue to deliver educational workshops with partners to vulnerable groups within the community Explore and develop community engagement opportunities to promote Safe and Well and career opportunities. Promote local innovation in the engagement of vulnerable members of the community. The District Prevention Manager continues to work closely with partners in the MASH to support the function and act as a virtual partner. Agenda Item 7(d) The District Team continues to support the Kirklees Road Safety Partnership. The Road Safety Partnership has been successful in securing funds from the PCC to deliver an event during the National Road Safety Week in November. Two road safety videos which were commissioned by the partnership are now ready to be launched. The first video will be launched in October and will focus on distractions and drug/drink driving. A number of educational workshops have been delivered to vulnerable groups within the community mainly the elderly. Fire safety and crime prevention education was delivered to a number of groups, including the migrant communities and asylum/refugees groups. Local crews attended a falls prevention event in Huddersfield town centre as part of the national falls prevention campaign and promoted safe & well. A number of action days have been carried out across the district with partner agencies to tackle local issues and also to further engage with the communities. The District Team are currently working with Kirklees Active Leisure on two initiatives (Sporting Memories & Movement and Games in Chairs) which targeted people who are living with loneliness, mental health conditions and dementia. The projects provide the opportunity for participants to develop their social relationships. These initiatives have been a tremendous success and we are now exploring the expansion of these sessions. DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE We will: Our action Progress Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response Evaluate the Emergency First Responder pilot scheme across the nominated Retained Duty System stations. Organise a district exercise involving local business and emergency service partners. Organise a series of joint exercises involving both whole-time and retained operational personnel. Assure the practice of training to risk during Performance Management Visits. Work with partners to develop a response plan for the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire bike race. The Emergency First Responder pilot scheme ended on the 18 th September Despite a number of setbacks it proved to be very successful. Fire Fighters attended life-saving calls and we did not experience a detrimental impact on fire cover in the trial station areas. The Project Team are in the process of evaluating the scheme and the outcomes of this evaluation will be reported to the Fire Authority. This exercise is planned to take place at Sygenta during October This is a 10 pump exercise involving hazardous materials and confined space rescue. A series of joint station Hazmat exercises have taken place at various commercial sites within the district. These sites have included Sygenta and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. All crews are observed and assessed training to risk during this year s Performance Management Visit programme. Kirklees District Team and Operations Support worked with partners to devise a response plan to support this event. The plan was successfully implemented to support the race, which included a community open day at Holmfirth Fire Station. Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand Support the development of policies and procedures to implement the changes to the Technical Rescue Unit and manage the business change. Implement the outcomes of the Retained Duty System Review. 58 This project is now completed. In addition to the ongoing monitoring of the Technical Rescue Unit s performance, a review will take place next year to ensure the changes have been implemented successfully. Kirklees district is awaiting the outcome of the RDS Review, and is ready to implement these changes within the district once they have been finalised. Page 6 of 8

51 Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences Utilise command competence criteria during Performance Management Visits to assure a standard approach to commanding incidents. Continue to encourage staff to use the debrief outcomes facility to share their experiences with other and ensure that common themes are shared. Assure crews knowledge and understanding of the CBRN Initial Operational Response arrangements. Agenda Item 7(d) The Assistant District Commanders are now using the national command competence criteria to assess and develop the knowledge and understanding of crews during Performance Management Visits. The use of the performance criteria assures a standard approach to command assessment. Kirklees crews continue to submit debrief outcomes to support organisational learning. The Assistant District Commanders monitor the process and work with the Operational Learning Team to share and promote good practice. Following changes to the Mass Decontamination capability CBRN Training is planned during October. Initial Operational Response training will be delivered to support the capability changes. PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY We will: Our action Progress Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce Continue to support employees to maintain fitness and well-being. Monitor absences and implement effective measures to promote attendance in line with the new Absence and Attendance Policy. Ensure continued availability of Welfare Officers within the district to support the rehabilitation of employees. Support the recruitment, selection and training of whole-time and retained duty system firefighters during 2017/18. Support the review of district based training facilities. Identify new off-site training venues to support the training to risk methodology and the changing business environment. Utilise the multi-purpose training facilities at Training Centre to support the development of crews. All operational staff completed the 6 monthly fitness assessments during September. To support employees maintaining their fitness, Stations in Kirklees have received additional fitness training equipment during this reporting period. Kirklees Commanders have been proactive in monitoring sickness in line with the current Absence and Attendance Policy. The target set for total sickness per employee has been exceeded during this reporting period. The welfare officer role has been utilised in Kirklees on a number of occasions to support employees with a variety of issues. Kirklees Commanders are scheduled or have attended welfare training to support them with this role. Welfare awareness training is planned for Watch Commander through District CPD sessions. The District Team have developed a positive action plan to support the whole-time and RDS recruitment process. We have also developed a RDS awareness video in partnership with Kirklees TV. The District Team have contributed to this training review and are awaiting the recommendations/outcome. A number of off-site training venues have been identified within the district. We have risk assessed sites owned by Kirklees College and HRI. The use of these venues will support Breathing Apparatus training for crews. Cleckheaton and Dewsbury crews have used the facilities at Training Centre for exercising during PMV. Cleckheaton crews continue to use the Strategic Training Facility to develop and maintain their technical rescue skills. Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change Implement the Command, Leadership and Management functional structure in Kirklees District. Ensure the organisations new values are delivered and embedded across the district in order to support cultural development. 59 The implementation of CLM within Kirklees is progressing well. Assistant District Commanders have adopted the necessary references and we have introduced continuous professional development session to support Watch Commanders. The CLM awareness training of crews is ongoing and recorded on the EMOC system. District officers have delivering presentations and discussed the new values with staff during station visits and continuous professional development sessions. The Kirklees Page 7 of 8

52 Pilot IODA Diversity and Inclusion training at Dewsbury and Huddersfield Fire Stations. District Team will continue to discuss the values during performance management visits, to assure understanding. Agenda Item 7(d) Crews from Huddersfield and Dewsbury participated in the pilot for this station based IODA Diversity & Inclusion training. The feedback received from crews was extremely positive. Page 8 of 8 60

53 Agenda Item 7(e) Leeds Definitions Actual Data: Performance from baseline year. 2009/10 is used as a baseline 3 Year average target: Average performance from the previous 3 financial years is used as the target for current year Total so far: Cumulative total for current year so far Against 3 Year Avg: Comparison of activity so far against the target Red (Outside 10%); Amber (Within 10%); Green (Target achieved or exceeded) End of Tear Projection: Projected value at the end of the financial year based on Total So Far and the number of days remaining Actual Data 3 Year Avg Target Total so Far Against 3 Year Avg End of Year Projection (2009/10) (2014/17) (2017/18) (2017/18) (2017/18) Arson % 2641 Arson (Primary) % 627 Arson (Secondary) % 2013 Actual Rescues % 217 Total Activity % 9010 Dwelling Fires % 432 Non-Domestic Building Fires % 179 Prevalence of False Alarms % 4158 Fire Related Injuries % 64 Road Traffic Collisions % 184 Malicious False Alarms % Page 1 of 9

54 Agenda Item 7(e) Leeds District Performance Monitoring Report 1 st April st August 2017 The District performance in the following areas either meets or exceeds the set target: Actual Rescues - Leeds District are currently exceeding the target set for actual rescues by 18.1%. Actual rescues include those that are fire related, rescue post road traffic collision and the remainder are miscellaneous; these range from releasing people stuck in machinery / railings, rescues from height (usually roofs or trees) to assisting YAS to gain entry to a house where an individual has collapsed. Dwelling Fires - Leeds District are currently exceeding performance against this challenging target by 5.7%. A targeted approach to the new Safe and Well Check programme and working closely with partners and the most vulnerable in society has delivered effective performance. Leeds District now has a Watch Manager seconded across both Adult Social Care and Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. This secondment helps produce high quality referrals for the most vulnerable in the community. Non-Domestic Building Fires - Leeds District is exceeding this challenging target by 2.8%. HM Prison Service has over the last few years seen a significant rise in deliberate fire related incidents that directly impacted on this target. My District Prevention Manager and I are working closely with HM prison staff and we are committed to tackling these difficult issues. I have seconded a Watch Commander into Wetherby YOI and after exploring numerous avenues to promote changes and improvements with their service we are slowly beginning to see some positive outcomes. Prevalence of False Alarms - Leeds District are currently exceeding performance against the target set for false alarms by 3.5%. Work continues with Fire Protection on identified premises where issues arise. A positive working relationship with LCC has resulted in a prompt response when problems have been identified; persistent offenders are now charged and this action should drive down this figure still further in 2017/18. Fire Related Injuries and Deaths - Leeds District are exceeding performance against this challenging target by 3.9%. The majority of injuries are not serious, but the infrequent serious injury or fatality events are always fully investigated; the findings in general are that these individuals are known to other agencies and that in general WYFRS have not visited to delivery critical home fire prevention advice. These incidents and all other significant fires receive intensive follow up prevention campaigns; the campaigns promote fire safety in the home, together with a strengthening of all partnership referrals. We continue to develop our partnership with LCC that sees three seconded members of Housing Leeds working directly with Prevention staff across the city. Between April and August this year we have experienced one accidental dwelling fire death in Leeds District, it occurred in April 17 in the Harehills area. Road Traffic Collisions - Leeds District performance against this target is currently exceeded by some 10.8%. Throughout the district there has been a reduction in the number of road traffic collisions [RTC`s] attended. Close working relationships with key partners continues to be effective. Leeds District is a key stakeholder at the Leeds Safer Roads group. Furthermore, we continue to 62 Page 2 of 9

55 Agenda Item 7(e) support events targeting those most at risk of being involved in RTC`s. BRAKE Road Safety week this year will run from the 20th to 26th of November. Leeds District in conjunction with LCC and West Yorkshire Police will be hosting an event during this week. Road safety is also a key message within our youth engagement programmes. Malicious False Alarms - Leeds District are significantly exceeding performance against this target by 21.8%. The Prevention Team and Operational crews conduct annual Year 5 talks and more focused presentations around the bonfire period where this issue is addressed. Control staff call challenge and endeavour to deter this anti-social behaviour. Performance in the following areas are outside of the target set: Arson - Leeds District is currently not achieving performance against the target set for arson by 30.8%. The continued work of the Prevention Teams and Operational personnel has historically seen the number of such incidents historically reduce. Numerous factors significantly impact on this indicator; seasonal variation, school holidays and the weather all influence the number of arson incidents, especially in relation to deliberate secondary fires. We may still achieve this challenging target by the year end as the early upward trend has now reduced. We will continue to work with our partner agencies including the anti-social behaviour team and West Yorkshire Police to reduce the number of arson incidents. We are currently working very closely with our external partners to develop robust bonfire plans. In addition, we have attended 37 deliberate incidents within Leeds prisons; this has a damaging impact on arson indicators generally and Primary Arson in particular. We continue to work on this issue and in recent months have seen a positive change in cell fires attended at the YOI in Wetherby Total Activity - Leeds District is currently not achieving the target set for total activity level by 9.7%. Our Operational Crews and Prevention Teams will work hard and adopt a proactive approach in order for us to achieve this target by the year end. We proactively monitor trends and target resources using data sets and mapping systems in order to reduce total activity, seasonal variations do impact on this indicator Summary Overall the performance of Leeds District continues to be high, particularly in light of the increasingly challenging targets. The current economic climate and reduced operational resources provide a continuous challenge to all Leeds District staff, however, we are not complacent; a great deal of work is being delivered to improve performance across all areas. The key to success continues to be the work carried out with our partners, the continuous challenge is to improve this level of performance as the resources that WYFRS`s can deliver to prevention work has reduced in line with the organisational changes. Moving forward we are exploring new ways of working within the community to explore the health agenda. We have completed new pilot concepts of the new Safe and Well visits at both Garforth 63 Page 3 of 9

56 Agenda Item 7(e) and Otley. The new Safer Communities Strategy continues to be implemented across the District as crews are trained on the additional key elements and the removal of targets for prevention activity has allowed crews to engage in wider community safety initiatives that directly relate to their local risk profile. One example of this is how Leeds White Watch are now actively delivering a dedicated, targeted prevention campaign focused on water safety and drowning prevention in the city centre. 64 Page 4 of 9

57 LEEDS DISTRICT ACTION PLAN Agenda Item 7(e) West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME We will: Our action Progress Ensure the authority s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur Carry out the planned Operational Risk Visits in line with the revised risk based inspection programme to ensure it increases benefits for both Fire Protection and Operations. Target the higher risk buildings within Leeds District, considering fire engineered buildings, multiple occupancy complexes and firefighter safety as part of the revised risk based inspection programme. Ensure Leeds District undertake risk inspections at significant timber framed construction sites Operational crews completing ORV`s in line with the revised Risk Based Inspection Programme. High rise buildings and cladding failures have taken priority Operational crews have visited several high rise cladding failure sites and produced new ORV`s and updated risk information. The remainder of ORV`s visits will focus on large known or developing risk sites, factories, warehouses, timber framed construction projects etc. Operational crews complete site visits to all significant timber framed construction sites across the city Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being Deliver Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSCs) and Safe and Well visits across the district, targeting the most vulnerable members of the community as we begin to implement the new Safer Communities Strategy. Deliver a targeted and planned local Safer Communities Strategy in Cookridge and Moortown station areas prior to the completion of the new Moor Allerton station. Develop strategic working relationships with Leeds Adult Social Care and Leeds and York NHS Foundation Trust via the secondment of a Watch Manager B directly into those organisations. Continue to work with Leeds City Council Housing Standards team to target private rented accommodation within Leeds to deliver Safer Communities and raise local housing standards. Strengthen links with Leeds Dementia Alliance and implement interventions to manage fire related hazards. Deliver planned campaigns throughout the year including Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) Water Safety and Drowning Prevention week, CFOA Road Safety Week, Safety Rangers, CFOA Older Persons Week and BRAKE Road Safety Week. We will take these opportunities to deliver key safety messages to recognised target audiences. Leeds District has established robust partnerships which allow us to target those that are most vulnerable from fire and deliver the Safe and Well Programme. Partnership referrals are regularly received from LCC, Adult Social Care, Mental Health Trust, Domestic Violence Front door hub Due to the planning application for the new fire station at Moor Allerton being rejected by Leeds CC, the project to build a new fire station at Moor Allerton will not be progressed. This action is now complete and ongoing, we will require a new secondee shortly owing to promotion Action days paused pending further targeted approaches and the opportunity to work more closely to support the most vulnerable tenants in these properties. Contacts established Rothwell station particularly active in this arena. Further work to be actioned with the implementation of the Social Isolation module of the Safe and Well Visit CFOA water safety and drowning prevention week fully supported and publicised, BRAKE road safety event will be delivered in November Page 5 of 9

58 Continue to build on success from previous years by working with key partners to deliver a planned prevention campaign over Bonfire Period. Strengthen links with Housing Leeds by seconding three full time members of staff to work for WYFRS delivering a structured programme of preventative work within Housing Leeds housing stock. Develop working arrangements with Leeds City Council to investigate the scope for tackling domestic violence and fire related incidents within the city. Continue to strengthen partnership arrangements with Leeds Federated Housing with a focus on reducing risk for tenants whom are hoarders. Continue to develop and strengthen the breadth of meaningful partnerships in order to identify those most vulnerable from fire to generate high risk quality referrals. Build upon existing Serious Incident Review processes locally. Following a serious incident or fire fatality an element of the review process will be to attend coroner s court and ensure a holistic approach to identifying and implementing learning outcomes is adopted. Attend and support the Leeds Strategic Suicide Prevention Group. Attend and support the Leeds Safer Road steering group, educating schools, sharing knowledge and risk recognition/management initiatives. All Leeds fire stations will be recognised as Safe Places and staff will receive training from the Aspire Community Benefit Society. Work closely with Wetherby Young Offenders Institute [WYOI] to reduce deliberate cell fires, we have a seconded member of staff who is developing a positive multi agency approach to target a difficult upward trend in cell fires. We will work closely with Youth Training and explore bespoke training packages for youngsters about to leave the WYOI. In line with the review of the Performance Management System begin to explore and develop innovative community safety projects with other emergency services and partners. One such initiative project will focus on water safety in Leeds city centre. Encourage and support local innovative practice and ways of working to engage with vulnerable members of the community. Ongoing planning with partners to deliver educational sessions and engagement activity, environmental visual audits, diversionary football Agenda event at Item CATCH in 7(e) Harehills, considering a joint WYP and WYFRS situational awareness covert vehicle over the bonfire period, targeting reducing attacks on crews and anti-social behaviour Ongoing and effective, a change in staff and recruitment will be required shortly as a member of staff moves on. This action is successful and ongoing, we have monthly performance meeting s to review the progress of this partnership We continue to be a virtual partner of the Front Door Safeguarding Hub. Numbers of referrals for Home Fire Safety Checks are more manageable for WYFRS and are sent through to us based on a risk assessed approach. In addition, delivering Home Fire Safety Checks to victims of domestic violence is now core business for operational staff Currently progressing this, Housing Leeds have been working with the manufacturer to explore linking it to smart telecare systems. Three occupiers have been identified as suitable for piloting the new technology, some teething problems have been encountered We have established a multiagency stakeholder group to develop all aspects of the Leeds Safe and Well Visit. We have co designed a new visit that is currently being piloted in Garforth and Otley station areas. Staff involved in the pilot have received training from external agencies. Pilots are now completed and evaluated This year we have had one fatal accidental dwelling fire caused by clothing placed on a high intensity lamp. We completed a serious incident review process and continue to learn lessons from incidents of this nature ADPM attends this group and developing water rescue referral links ADPM attends this group; we deliver Fast, Furious and Fatal course with the Youth Intervention Team to high risk individuals identified by Leeds YOS, In addition to the Get Started With Boxing programme. Completed ADPM is now delivering a new induction and awareness package directly to the youngsters, numerous interventions have been implemented and we are slowly beginning to see some positive outcomes. We are currently developing a six week training course with Wetherby YOI to deliver bespoke youth interventions within the prison and potentially deliver a small element at Killingbeck fire station Leeds White watch now have a specialist prevention water safety reference they will work closely with different agencies and engage with members of the public to reduce the number of people drowning in the river Aire, ongoing developing a follow-up and support referral service One such example is the foodbank project running from Rothwell Fire Station DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE Page 6 of 9 66

59 We will: Our action Progress Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response Continue to exchange information with other blue-light responders within local tactical, operational and strategic groups and during and after pre-planned exercise. Agenda Item 7(e) Ongoing locally and at a brigade level, all Leeds District larger scale exercises feature other blue-light responders and supporting agencies, co-location soon to begin at Killingbeck with WYP NPT Explore opportunities to improve cross-border emergency response arrangements. Embed the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP) into emergency response arrangements. Deliver multi-agency training exercises including water rescue, fire scenarios and invite Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART). Deliver a multi-agency district exercise series focusing on fire engineering solutions in high rise buildings. Deliver a multi-agency exercise with Leeds Hospital Trust designed to test operational resilience, interoperability and decontamination on site at St James and or Leeds General Infirmary. Forge close links with Leeds City Council (LCC) to secure realistic off site training venues that improve the exposure and effectiveness of operational crews in line with the Leeds District Training Strategy. Work closely with Leeds Bradford International Airport to maintain and improve operational knowledge and response. IRMP team lead on this topic Integrated in to training and exercising All delivered effectively across the district, well received by operational crews, ongoing awareness training at the HART training facility, good contacts established Postponed pending repairs to high level glazing, alternative venue established, smoke shaft awareness and high-rise buildings will be focused upon and delivered shortly Completed at the LGI Accident and Emergency site Completed off site at St James hospital Ongoing partnership working that continues to deliver practical off station sites, presently delivering a district wide training initiative off site on Redhall Lane LCC buildings scheduled for demolition LBIA featured in the Leeds District PMV whiteboard scenario to increase awareness and understanding of all frontline crews ongoing awareness training continues for local crews Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand Maintain and develop a close working partnership with the Leeds Resilience Group (LRG). Work with partner agencies to develop and deliver local response plans to all significant local events. Support and take an active role in LCC event delivery groups, Safety Advisory Groups (SAG) and Safety Advisor Assurance Groups (SAAG). Begin a new fire station build project at Moor Allerton. Progress, develop and begin to implement Command Leadership and Management (CLM) initiatives throughout Leeds District. Develop an off-site performance management visit programme that focuses on training to risk. Develop and maintain the Leeds District Training and Development Strategy. Develop and circulate bespoke response plans for Timber Framed buildings whilst in their construction phase. Ongoing positive working relationship ADC attends Ongoing and completed successfully via the SAG & SAAG Ongoing and effective engagement feeds WYFRS response plans Postponed Suspended Wm blue light response in cars Utilising St James site and working closely in conjunction with the Hospital Trust Now completed and shared across the brigade continually updated as a live document Op`s ADC`s delivering realistic training to risk across the district, numerous practical exercises planned and completed Ongoing within the Leeds District 67 Page 7 of 9

60 Explore a co-location opportunity that exists at Killingbeck fire station to work on site with the West Yorkshire Police WYP) Neighbourhood Policing Teams. Develop effective communications and liaison with WYP colleagues. District based project delivered on time, WYP co-locate from the 02/11/17 at Killingbeck Agenda Item 7(e) Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences Improve the quality of risk information by identifying and rectifying common errors and learning from best practice. Support and feedback to LRG, SAG and SAAG debriefs after delivery of specific events or response plans. Provide a training to risk strategy in line with the Management of Risk Information Policy and Firefighter Safety Strategy. Actively attend and support the Safer Leeds Executive Group. Identify and communicate District or Service learning encountered as part of the performance management visit programme. Continue to provide feedback on the functionality of MDTs and the new Systel mobilising system. ORV reference to one ADC, training and awareness now providing a more focussed consistent approach Process established and delivers MA learning in Leeds Ongoing and embedded in Leeds District, supporting the Firefighter Safety Project Ongoing and embedded at DC level Ongoing, captured then shared via district and the OP`s ADC Ongoing, still challenging PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY We will: Our action Progress Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees Support employees to maintain their fitness and welfare. Continue to monitor absences and implement effective measures to promote attendance in line with the Absence and Attendance Policy. Ensure the availability of Welfare Officers to support the rehabilitation of employees. Actively report and investigate any safety event within the district. Actively support the review designed to reduce attacks on firefighters. The District is continuing to support its employees with their fitness and welfare. This includes assisting employees to recover from absence and return to full operational duties. The Team is continuing to provide early support via Welfare Officers The District Team has effective sickness monitoring arrangements in place. The District Team also continues to encourage absent employees to perform modified duties when practical All Leeds District Officers provide the Welfare Officer role and we have a number of Level 2 welfare officers. They are actively involved in supporting a number of employees and aiding their rehabilitation Ongoing via ADC`s with an SAI reference Completed, action plans and outcomes are being delivered Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce Deliver a local Training and Development Strategy that focuses upon training to risk involving external partners. Review and provide new and challenging operational scenarios as part of the Performance Management Visit (PMV) programme. This involves sourcing and providing realistic offsite training locations with a focus on command and control as well as specific training themes. Work with partner agencies including Leeds City Council to identify suitable venues. Ongoing and effective at every practical opportunity Leeds District use off site venues and live fire scenarios to embed and reward best practice tactical applications by front line crews. The PMV practical offers an opportunity for the Wm or Cm to demonstrate Command and Control practically whilst being observed by District Staff, currently off site at St James Hospital 68 Page 8 of 9

61 Maintain the equipment and skills held within district to allow local, regional and national deployments of WYFRS` national assets. Actively support, positive action, recruitment and the selection of new firefighters. Actively support the ongoing review of district based training facilities. HVP resilience now at Cookridge fire station., completed and Cookridge upskilled to deploy the HVP Locally, Regionally and Nationally Ongoing via a new district team as we look to build and establish a positive action group plus strategy Completed Agenda Item 7(e) Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change Implement and develop all Command Leadership and Management initiatives throughout the district and promote effective cultural change. Communicate organisational and cultural expectations throughout the district via the PMV strategy, cascade the Culture and Values review findings. Ensure that managers discuss organisational and cultural change as part of the Personal Development Review process. Pilots have now terminated, no Wm`s in response cars, managerial tasks and authorisations reviewed Ongoing and continuous work in progress, new staff survey scheduled for October 2017 E -PDR process under review and promoting more professional discussion and performance monitoring 69 Page 9 of 9

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63 Agenda Item 7(f) Wakefield Definitions Actual Data: Performance from baseline year. 2009/10 is used as a baseline 3 Year average target: Average performance from the previous 3 financial years is used as the target for current year Total so far: Cumulative total for current year so far Against 3 Year Avg: Comparison of activity so far against the target Red (Outside 10%); Amber (Within 10%); Green (Target achieved or exceeded) End of Tear Projection: Projected value at the end of the financial year based on Total So Far and the number of days remaining Actual Data 3 Year Avg Target Total so Far Against 3 Year Avg End of Year Projection (2009/10) (2014/17) (2017/18) (2017/18) (2017/18) Arson % 1224 Arson (Primary) % 231 Arson (Secondary) % 992 Actual Rescues % 103 Total Activity % 3364 Dwelling Fires % 138 Non-Domestic Building Fires % 36 Prevalence of False Alarms % 1248 Fire Related Injuries % 29 Road Traffic Collisions % 93 Malicious False Alarms % Page 1 of 9

64 Agenda Item 7(f) Wakefield District Performance Report from 1 st April st August 2017 The District performance in the following areas either meets or exceeds the target: Actual Rescues The district is currently 7.6% below the set target for actual rescues at incidents. This is a great start for the fiscal year and correlates to the reduction in property related fires and road related incidents. Education is a key element of our prevention programme and we continue to highlight the need to have escape plans in residential homes. An extensive road safety programme is being delivered via the South Kirkby hub and is receiving fantastic feedback from partners and attendees. These education activities aim to reduce the number of rescues we are recording within the district. Dwelling Fires The number of dwelling fires within the district has reduced; current data shows the district at 6.5% below target for the April to August period. The occurrence of dwelling fires are spread across the district with Wakefield, Castleford and Pontefract showing a higher number of incidents compared to the other areas. This statistic is being closely monitored following the introduction of the Safe & Well programme where we are visiting less dwellings overall but focussing our time and resource on the most high risk people. Non Domestic Building Fires Wakefield District is currently exceeding the target set by 36% with 15 incidents recorded for the year. Incidents have been recorded across the district with no specific trends identified. Ongoing interventions at HM Prisons are proving to be successful and have contributed to a reduction in incidents. The development of robust processes for early identification and regular monitoring of derelict sites has prevented many premises becoming the target of arson. The joint collaboration with key partners has and will continue to support the reduction of such incidents. The Operational Risk Visit programmes have given us the opportunity to offer advice to businesses to reduce the risk of fire occurring within non-domestic properties. Fire Related Injuries Recorded fire related injuries are continuing to fall and current data shows the district to be 7.7% below the target which is very pleasing. The district team have worked closely with crews to ensure accurate recording and the introduction of post fire visits to clarify information with the victims of fire is supporting this. Station based personnel and district prevention staff are actively engaging with partners and local community based groups in identifying vulnerable people and reinforcing fire and road safety messages through our safe and well programme. 72 Page 2 of 9

65 Agenda Item 7(f) Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) It has been really pleasing to see the number of RTC incidents recorded continue to reduce. Wakefield recorded a 7.1% reduction against the set target last year and we have reduced by another 1% so far this year with only 39 incidents recorded up to August. The engagement with young drivers via the hub at South Kirkby is assisting in raising awareness of road related incidents and the dangers of excessive speed. We are continuing to forge better working relationships with local partners and are now working closely with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders. The WYFRS Safer Motorcycling Project is a pilot project that has delivered training to over 100 students and is developing into a fantastic package with potential to roll out across other districts. Working in conjunction with the 5 Local Authority Road Safety Teams Wakefield continues to support local and national initiatives. Sharing best practice and joint delivery of objectives continues to be a priority for the group. Malicious False Alarms The continued reduction in malicious false alarm calls within the district is pleasing and the district is currently exceeding the target by 26.6%, equating to only 8 incidents so far this year. We continue to engage with local schools and colleges to deliver educational programmes focused on raising awareness of fire safety and the impacts and consequences of inappropriate behaviour. Performance in the following areas is outside of the target set: Arson Recorded arson has increased significantly within the district with current figures showing 55.7% above the target for this stage in the year. The number of recorded incidents as of 31 st August 2017 is 513 incidents. The majority of the incidents (416) fall within the Secondary Fires category which includes rubbish fires, bonfires, grass fires and wheelie bins. The South Kirkby Hub is actively assisting in enhancing arson awareness and education within the district. The delivery is supported by a range of bespoke products including the interactive fire awareness package. A database of the derelict sites maintained by the district is now linked into partner agencies so that a joint approach can be taken to arson hotspot areas. A new project has been implemented with partners to deliver education and awareness to the travelling community within the district. District staff are working with crews to ensure accuracy of recording is moderated and standardised across the district. 73 Page 3 of 9

66 Agenda Item 7(f) Prevalence of False Alarms Wakefield district is currently above the target by 8.8%. Many of the false alarm incidents have been attributed to sheltered housing, hospitals and businesses within the district. Stations continue to work with Fire Protection Inspectors and partners to drive down unwanted fire signals and target premises with a high number of calls which result in false alarms. The district prevention team are currently tracking organisations that are experiencing high numbers of false alarms and working with them to reduce attendances. Total Activity Wakefield district has seen a significant increase in activity, this correlates with the increase in arson incidents. The district is currently 23% above target for the April to August period. A new incident recording tool is being piloted at Ossett Fire Station which allows crews to quickly identify activity hotspots; this should support a more responsive intervention strategy and faster reporting to partner agencies. Partnership engagement continues to be crucial for the development and implementation of initiatives. Some of the proactive measures being implemented for the reduction of incidents include engaging with local schools and colleges, delivery of education to the travelling community and the various religious establishments within the area. Summary The performance data relating to Wakefield district for the first part of the year has identified some challenging points. The increase in incidents is mainly due to the number of deliberate secondary fires that we are attending. This has been recognised and interventions are being applied to tackle the new trend. Wakefield is not unique regarding the increase in activity and arson incidents as this has been seen across the districts within the county and is also reflected regionally and nationally with an upturn in deliberate fire setting. The district team are working hard with crews to embed interventions such as the School and College education packages, Travelling Community programme, New Incident recording package and the Derelict Building Programme. Wakefield district works closely with partners to reduce the number and severity of fire and road related incidents as well as increase wellbeing and safety within the district. We are pleased with the reduction in property related fires and injuries and road related incidents as these tend to be the most serious and impactive issues for our community, the team will continue to deliver education and interventions to continue this positive trend. 74 Page 4 of 9

67 WAKEFIELD DISTRICT ACTION PLAN Agenda Item 7(f) West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service DELIVER A PROACTIVE COMMUNITY SAFETY PROGRAMME We will: Our action Progress Ensure the authority s statutory fire protection duties are discharged efficiently and effectively in order to reduce the risk of fire and the effects of fire should it occur Work with partners to reduce the risk of fires, road traffic incidents, other emergencies and enhance community well-being Undertake required Operational Risk Visits and collect safety critical risk information in line with the revised Risk Based Inspection Programme and local district assessments. (JL) Enhance the Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) project working with the local authority and other partners to reduce the risk of fire and improve community wellbeing. (PE) Continue working in liaison with Protection Officers and businesses to help reduce attendance at persistent false alarms. (KP) Support the implementation of the new Safer Communities Strategy including the Safe and Well Check focussing on the development of crews and the needs of partners and the community. (MS) Undertake home visits across the District, targeting the most vulnerable members of the community. (MS) Monitor information to support the implementation of the new Safer Communities Strategy in line with the development of the service performance reporting standards. (MS) Explore information and any data sets available from partner agencies to support targeted prevention interventions for the district. (MS) Continue to lead and support District activity to promote road safety and the reduction of road related incidents. (MS) This is a new process owned by Operations Risk Management Team (ORMT) with a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) at district. It is working effectively at this point and is complimented by a comprehensive Risk Template inspection schedule and scenario based training. This project has been slow to progress due to partnership resourcing issues (focus changed due to the Grenfell Tower incident) and setbacks with private company engagement. SC England has established links with new contacts and is now progressing onward with the project. Good engagement with all stakeholders and businesses is helping drive down persistent false alarms in the district. Operational staff have actively been raising awareness of our charging policy and working with businesses to support the reduction in attendance at such incidents. Training continues to be jointly delivered with partners with positive feedback being received. Engagement with partners continues in raising awareness of safe and well. Partnership with WDH is one example of this collaboration. Prevention PMVs are being used to enhance competencies. There continues to be a smooth transition moving away from home fire safety checks to Safe and Well visits. District is nearing the end of training on its second module focused on falls prevention. Operational staff are utilising their knowledge of the local area in helping target the most vulnerable. Utilising existing systems and reconfiguration of Prevention PMVs is supporting wider discussions with operational and district based prevention staff about performance management and reporting. This is enabling greater ownership at a local level and better understanding. The use of Wakefield Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) data will continue to be used as part of targeted interventions, including the use of NHS Exeter data. Links with partner agencies including the community and voluntary sector will assist in further identification of information to help target the most vulnerable supported by the local knowledge held by operational staff. Wakefield district continues to take the lead in representing WYFRS at the West Yorkshire Safer Roads Delivery group and Yorkshire and Humber partnership meeting. Identified trends are communicated to local district prevention teams with joined up approaches in place for the County where relevant; particularly in the case of Year 6 transition and Year 11 road safety awareness. 75 Page 5 of 9

68 Expand the Adopt a care home pilot across the district focussing on local authority establishments with a view to developing a standardised approach for wider implementation. (MS) Continue the joint project with Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and the Police to deliver targeted interventions for the South East and Wakefield Rural wards through the Arson and Road Traffic Collision Hub based at South Kirkby Fire Station. (Hub) Develop our partnership with local Victim Support, Troubled Families, Domestic Abuse Services and Early Help Hubs through the delivery and receipt of training and collaborative interventions to support the most vulnerable in the community. (MS) Work with partners to develop our existing youth intervention Choice Programme to support individuals with sensory impairments. (KR) Actively engage and take part in national, regional and local campaigns in conjunction with partners supported by operational and prevention personnel whilst maximising the use of social and local media. (PE) Develop a stronger working relationship with the Community Cohesion Team within the local authority to support the health and well-being of minority groups within Wakefield district. (PE) Continue development and support of the Night Owl interactive blog / social media initiative with Police and other partners to deliver focused safety messages across the district. (MS) Develop a new intervention programme to support the travelling community with regard to fire safety and prevention. (PE) Implement a new Derelict / unoccupied premises risk assessment framework to identify vulnerable premises and support operational crews with appropriate risk information in collaboration with key local partners. (PE) Develop new partnerships with Mental Health services to support the implementation and delivery of the Health and Well-being objectives. (MS) Provide support and development for local crews to take ownership of managing local risk as the new Safer Communities Strategy is implemented. (SCs) Positive feedback has been received from the pilot. Work is currently underway in rolling out the programme across the district with operational Agenda staff Item taking ownership 7(f) of care homes within their risk reduction areas. The project is in its second year of operation with some positive results achieved. Fantastic working relationships with schools and colleges has been formed focused on road safety education. Delivery of pilot Biker Down project has been positively received, with discussions underway with Colleges regarding the development of Biker Down Lite. Although progressing slowly more work is required focused on arson interventions. Good working relationships are being developed across the partnership with representation at key forums such as Troubled Families and Neighbourhood Coordination group meetings. Discussions across the partnership are underway with regards to data intelligence. The Choice programme continues to be well received by the partnership and attendees, delivered via the youth engagement team. District has and continues to support the expansion by working with individuals with sensory impairments supported by a skilled Station Commander. A number of partnership campaigns have been delivered which include water safety week, deaf awareness week, summer safety and tenant safety in private rented accommodation. District will continue to support other key campaigns. Wakefield prevention twitter account has been established to assist in communicating the messages to a wider audience. Good working relationships have been forged with the team. Wakefield district is starting to engage at partnership events and currently exploring opportunities with working with all mosques within the District alongside WY Police. Due to resource constraints this objective has been slow in progressing further. Due to resource constraints within the team this objective has not progressed however it is anticipated good advancement to have been made by the next reporting cycle. Working closely with a local councillor and Wakefield Council a local initiative has been developed and recently delivered at the Heath Common Travellers Site. Initially it was challenging to build the trust and relationship with the community however good relationships have been developed. Initial focus of the initiative was to provide fire prevention advice and fitting of detection where required. Follow up work at the site is being planned. This project has been implemented at stations for the last six months. The next phase of the pilot is to incorporate external partners so that key information can be shared and acted upon. We are now an active member at local Mental Health Strategic Programme Board working in collaboration the wider partnership in supporting the most vulnerable in the community. Partnership includes working closely with Public Health, CCG, WDH, SWYMHT, DWP and Turning Point. Crews have taken ownership of the highest risk premises in their area and have established an inspection, visiting and training programme following development of the framework by the District Team. Local Initiatives are starting to be implemented by crews such as the Adopt a Care Home scheme, and the Travellers Project which includes river Page 6 of 9 76

69 Promote innovation at local level in terms of engagement with vulnerable groups. (PE) DELIVER A PROFESSIONAL AND RESILIENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE / canal craft. Agenda Item 7(f) We continue to work at a local level with external partners and councillors to foster links with identified vulnerable groups within the community. These include Interfaith Forum and Housing Health and Social Care meetings. This also includes bespoke training to partners to make quality referrals. Crews are able to utilise these links when establishing new local engagement initiatives. We will: Our action Progress Work with blue-light partners and other agencies to provide a safe and effective emergency response Ensure emergency response is dynamic and resilient reflecting changes to the level of risk and demand Embed the knowledge and understanding of the Command Unit Lite and Command Support capability at Featherstone Fire Station through a scheduled training and exercising programme with local crews and partner agencies. (DS) Enhance collaborative working with Police partners at middle management level and develop the existing partnership at Castleford and Pontefract Fire stations. (DS/AW) Continue developing our response capability with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue border fire stations through joint training exercises, focus will be with the South Kirkby and Ossett crews. (JL) Undertake command level training with Wakefield Emergency Planning team to enhance the joint response capability at large incidents within the District. (DS) Embed the swift water rescue capability at the new Ossett Fire Station through the continual exercising and assessment of the crews utilising local authority sites and water awareness trained personnel. (PE) Continue to support the delivery of the Emergency First Responder (EFR) pilot at Featherstone Fire Station and deliver an informed evaluation when the pilot ends. (DS) Continue to improve the availability of the Retained Duty System crewed fire appliance at Featherstone, to be achieved through targeted support of existing personnel and the recruitment of new personnel. (DS) Implement the approved Integrated Risk Management Plan change for the Command Unit (lite) at Featherstone Fire Station in line with the planned changes at Fairweather Green Fire station. (DS) Support the delivery of Command, Leadership and Management changes through engagement and training of crews and support functions. (JL) The arrival and development of the Command Unit (CU) has realised new potential and has reinvigorated the operational crews. Training between the 2 CU stations has been well received and the capability is growing consistently. Partners have been engaged in training exercise and this is proving to be very beneficial. Relationships with police colleagues has developed well at both Pontefract and Castleford. Middle managers are working closely and attending meetings to support collaborative objectives. Several cross discipline training days have been undertaken and continue to be planned. Training between border stations continues regularly with visits from SYFR to South Kirkby proving to be very beneficial. Ossett crews have demonstrated their water capability and visits to the new Osset station have taken place. Joint training exercises have taken place with attendance from Watch and Station Commanders within the district. Watches have received direct input from the EP team regarding capability and potential incident support. The station commander has observed numerous training sessions and is confident in the capability being demonstrated by the crews. Research for new local training venues is ongoing. The EFR pilot has proved to be motivating for the crews and they certainly feedback positively regarding the community benefit. Frustrations have occurred regarding administrative issues and mobilising issues during the pilot and these have been fed into the evaluation. Recruitment is proving to be difficult and frustrations exist within the crew at Featherstone regarding delays in training the current newly selected staff. The district team are working with support functions to resolve the recruitment and training issues. The new unit is fully operational and is proving to be an asset to the stations and the district. The transfer has gone smoothly with minimal issues and development of the unit and capability is now being actioned. The delivery of the CLM programme is going well with all front line staff now working to the new criteria for the roles. Training and support is still ongoing where required. Communication regarding further development and implementation of CLM changes is ongoing. 77 Page 7 of 9

70 Continuously improve our emergency response by learning from ours and others experiences Undertake a risk based training programme across the district. (JL) Continue to provide feedback and requirements for future updates to the new Mobile Data Terminals and the Systel START mobilising system. (JL) Support the roll out of the new Fog Spike equipment across Wakefield District. (JL) Agenda Item 7(f) Training for High Rise incidents has been undertaken with the introduction of the new Wakefield High Rise support packs. Wakefield District Housing have proven to be valuable partners in the role out of training. Ferrybridge Power station is a fantastic training venue that is being utilised by the district team for the delivery of risk based training scenarios. Crews are constantly engaged with district staff regarding the START system and LEGO software. Crews feed into district areas of concern and development potential which is relayed to the central project team. The roll out is near completion with crews actively training with the new equipment. Continue monitoring the submission of Incident Debrief Outcomes forms from district based personnel to ensure they share their experiences with others and that learning opportunities / issues are captured. (JL) The Operations and Training ADC in district monitors incidents and training exercise to ensure relevant feedback is passed to the central team. The large scale district based exercises are providing good learning feedback that is being shared. PROVIDE A SAFE SKILLED WORKFORCE THAT SERVES THE NEEDS OF A DIVERSE COMMUNITY We will: Our action Progress Promote the health, safety and well-being of all employees Provide training and development to maintain a skilled and flexible workforce Monitor absences and implement effective measures to promote attendance in line with the new Absence and Attendance Policy. (DS) Continue developing the district Welfare Officer provision to enhance the rehabilitation and support of employees. (DS) Support district management in the application of the new Absence and Attendance Policy. (DS) Continue supporting personnel to maintain their fitness and welfare through the application of the published fitness programme. (SCs) Review and modify the District Performance Management Visits (PMV) utilising suitable IT solutions to enhance data capture and evidence based assessment. (JL) Support the recruitment, selection and training of whole-time and retained duty system firefighters during 2017/18. (SCs) Deliver the objectives detailed in the 2017/18 Wakefield District Training and Development Strategy and evaluate new district training venues to support realistic operational training. (JL) 78 Regular updates with crews and the district team continue to be carried out to ensure that there is consistency across the district in regards to the application of the Absence and Attendance policy and the welfare provision. All staff continue to be supported through regular discussions. Regular interaction with individuals is helping identify potential issues for those with chronic conditions which may affect their ability to maintain the required fitness standards. The District Command Team are active in supporting front line managers in the application of the new policy. Ongoing development sessions as part of the role out of the Command, Leadership and Management changes are taking place to up skill the Junior officer cohort. The Station Command team are actively engaged with watch based fitness instructors for monitoring fitness of staff and the implementation of required interventions when required. District based staff participate in watch based training sessions to support instructors and maintain credibility and morale. District PMV s have been adjusted to take account of best practice identified by district staff and crews. The district dash board is a one stop shop for data capture which is widely used by the district team to support with intelligence / data at various meetings and for monitoring progress. Recruitment of retained duty firefighters at Featherstone FS has stalled due to availability of training for the two candidates. The district team have been actively engaged in the development of a positive action plan to support the upcoming whole-time selection process. The training strategy is planned around district risk profile on a rolling programme. The Ferrybridge power station was identified after the Didcot incident during decommissioning and has now been utilised by multi agencies including Special Forces. Page 8 of 9

71 Maintain and update equipment and continue to develop the skills held within the district to support local, regional and national deployment of national assets. (SCs) Healey Mills rail yard has been developed into a training venue that HQ is in the process of adopting and is also a multi-agency site. Agenda Item 7(f) Updates to the Command Units at Pontefract and Featherstone have been managed and supported by the District Team ensuring an efficient local and national deployment capability. Local training with new High Rise Flats lift systems has taken place utilising new equipment and development of new skills for local crews. Create an environment that enables our staff to develop and embrace organisational and cultural change Undertake targeted Continuous Professional Development training to ensure all personnel are aware of, and implement, the Authority s Equality Framework in their service delivery. (TJ) Discussion regarding diversity and inclusion and understanding of the application of equality requirements has taken place and will be delivered to every watch by the end of the year through PMV s and Watch command team visits. Ensure the organisations new values are delivered and embedded across the district in order to support cultural development. (TJ Continue to communicate and raise awareness of equality and diversity duties to assist in effectively meeting the needs of the diverse communities and workforce. (TJ) Ensure continued communication, engagement and support is available for the district personnel in line with the district communications plan. (TJ) Local Watch Command teams have engaged in CPD with the District Commander regarding understanding and application of the recently implemented Values. Watch based discussions and the sign posting of targeted prevention initiatives to Watch Command teams is ongoing. Every watch has been scheduled to receive input from the district team within the fiscal year and this programme of work is currently on track. The 2017 communications plan is continually updated and is proving to be valuable as a framework for communication and engagement within the district. Watches are feeding back positive comments regarding the significantly increased engagement with middle managers. 79 Page 9 of 9

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73 OFFICIAL Service Delivery 'Spotlight On' case studies Community Safety Committee Date: 27 October 2017 Submitted By: Director of Service Delivery Agenda Item: 8 Purpose To update Members on three examples of how the Authority meets the service delivery needs of vulnerable and at risk groups or individuals Recommendations That Members note the report Summary The report brings to the attention of Members initiatives across the entire County which are innovative examples of how West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service seeks to reduce risk and improve partnership working. Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972 Exemption Category: Contact Officer: None Chris Kirby Area Manager Service Delivery Background papers open to inspection: None E: Chris.kirby@westyorklsfire.gov.uk T: Annexes: Spotlight On Case Studies: Shipley Falls Prevention Project Wakefield Travelling Community Project Preventing cell fires in Leeds 81

74 1 Introduction 1.1 The Fire Authority is committed to meeting the needs of West Yorkshire s diverse communities. Members are aware that we direct our resources particularly towards the most vulnerable groups or individuals: those who are most at risk because of their lifestyles, behaviours or the way their protected characteristics, such as race, or religion or belief, influence their day-to-day life. 2 Information 2.1 The different geographical, historical, socio-economic, cultural and ethnic profile of West Yorkshire means that WYFRS must target resources appropriately to address the specific risks. 2.2 Committee Members receive updates on the delivery of District Action Plans and performance against targets. 2.3 The Spotlight On case studies attached provide examples of how these Action Plans and targets are delivered by firefighters, and fire safety employees. They demonstrate how the Service tailors its services to achieve positive outcomes for vulnerable/at risk individuals and groups in West Yorkshire, who have protected characteristics The case studies also explicitly link to the organisation s Strategic Objectives and the Equality Act protected characteristics. They will be made available to the public on the "Why We're Excellent" section of the web site. 2.5 The process of Spotlight On has previously been reported to Human resources Committee as part of the Public Sector Equality Duty Annual Update, however, the detail of the activities that are presented sit more reasonably with reporting at Community Safety Committee. 3 Financial Implications There are no financial implications associated with this Report. 4 Equality and Diversity Implications 4.1 The Spotlight On Case studies illustrate how the Authority meets the needs of service users who share a protected characteristics and how it fosters good relations, two keys requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty. 5 Health and Safety Implications There are no health and safety implications directly associated with this Report. 6 Service Plan Links 6.1 The Spotlight On case studies provide examples of the following priorities; Delivery of a proactive fire prevention and protection programme. 1 As set out in the Equality Act 2010: race, disability, age, sex (gender), transgender, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sexual orientation). Service Delivery 'Spotlight On' case studies Page 2 of 2 82

75 Agenda Item 8(a) Spotlight on... Shipley Falls Prevention Project What the need was and how we identified it WYFRS have moved on from carrying out HFSC s to a more holistic visit known as Safe & Well. Through a partnership agreement with the Bradford District Care Foundation Trust it has been identified that the excellent work that they are carrying out referring HFSC visits to WYFRS could be expanded by the use of unique new pilot. This pilot will build on the falls pilot that has already run in the Bradford District and will bring both the Trust and WYFRS crews together with the aim of improving health and well-being in the community. The bid supports the WYFRS aim of Making West Yorkshire Safer and allows us access to support vulnerable people and also visit them in their homes to ensure they have adequate fire prevention measures. What we did and the difference we made A business case was put together requesting funds from the Safer Communities Programme Board to purchase equipment and support an activity within the community room of the new Shipley Fire Station working in partnership with Bradford District Care Foundation Trust. The aim was to invite vulnerable patients from the community onto station to partake in exercise and balance classes to assist in preventing falls in the home. There are currently 3 classes per week being delivered for up to 12 people per class. Alongside this, crews engaged with members of the group helping with the exercises and discussing our Safe and Well visits. 83

76 Agenda Item 8(a) An excellent Fire and Rescue Service making a difference Outcomes The sessions have allowed crews the opportunity to generate new Safe and Well visit referrals to some vulnerable, elderly patients that we would otherwise not engaged with. This allows us to make a difference and improve the health and well-being through the exercise classes and any follow up visits into the homes of those who were assessed as in need of a safe and well visit. Keys to our success It s not difficult to see the benefits that this type of service will provide the most vulnerable within our community. There are many more people in our communities that could benefit from these classes and if the trial is a success then this could be seen in other fire stations across the County. It just shows how far prevention work can reach out, help the most vulnerable in the community, and really make that difference. 84

77 Agenda Item 8(b) Spotlight on... Wakefield Travelling Community Project What the need was and how we identified it The travelling community have occupied space on Heath Common on the outskirts of Wakefield City Centre and it was identified that this was a community we had not engaged with to deliver prevention messages. This initiative has required a sensitive approach by the Wakefield crews led by the Assistant District Commander Paul England. Paul has worked closely with Councillor Monica Graham who has supported the initiative from its inception and has taken an active role during the early delivery. What we did and the difference we made The project has delivered much needed fire safety education to the Heath Common site community covering topics such as safe storage of gas cylinders, safe cooking practises and the importance of smoke detection and carbon monoxide detectors with their homes. The on-site Local Authority representative has been a valuable partner in helping develop a trusted relationship between the site residents and the Fire & Rescue Service. Initial meetings were tense as the community were unsure of the uniformed officers delivering our services at their site, however Paul s confident approach and the fantastic attitude of the Wakefield crews has secured a new relationship and the delivery of our Safe & Well service to the majority of families at the site. We aim to deliver Safe and Well to vulnerable people living in all accommodation types including caravans and boats, the travelling community can present unique risks with regard to fire safety and require our services to help reduce the impact of fire. 85

78 Agenda Item 8(b) An excellent Fire and Rescue Service making a difference Outcomes This initiative is one of a number of Wakefield s Travelling Community Fire Safety Objectives with engagement and visits now taking place with families living aboard canal and river boats within the area. Keys to our success Building on our existing close working relationship with Wakefield Council and especially Councillor Monica Graham who already had connections to the site and the travelling community. Attendance at on site multi-agency meetings with key partners prior to the initiative to discuss the priorities. Introduction of a fire safety notice board within the warden s office to explain key fire safety messages. Establishing an initial point of contact through the site warden to allow crews to be introduced to the community prior to the initiative commencing. A professional approach by WYFRS crews interacting with a hard to reach group within the community. 86

79 Spotlight on Preventing cell fires in Leeds District Agenda Item 8(c) What the need was and how we identified it: During 2015/16 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) attended 88 fire related incidents within the Leeds District prisons, of which 50 occurred in HMYOI Wetherby. Of these 88 incidents there were 20 fire related injuries. This is having a very significant impact on the District s non-domestic building fire and fire related injury performance management indicators (PMI), which in turn is beginning to impact on the overall performance summary for WYFRS. With agreement from HMYOI Wetherby and WYFRS the joint decision was taken to second a member of staff, part time, into the prison service to explore new and innovative ways of reducing cell fires. This role has been picked up within the current Leeds ADPM role by WM Craig Bedford. What we have done: Craig has been in post for almost a year and works as part of the Health, Safety and Fire team at HMYOI Wetherby. He has been able to influence change in many areas; change that would not have been able to happen from outside Her Majesty s Prison and Probation Service. It was identified that the role could address: The investigation of cell fires, primarily looking at the material used to ignite the first item. Aiding on the internal information gathering and evidence to push for prosecution for a cell fire where necessary. Creating and delivering an arson awareness package to all young people who are held at the establishment. Improving the recording of arson within the establishment by creating live documents that record the costs of cell fires and those responsible for them. Improving training for both HMPPS and WYFRS staff by running regular training exercises on site. Familiarisation visits for all crews who are on the Predetermined attendance for the establishment. Establish an Arson Reduction plan with regards to the management and location of arsonists. There has been much progress so far. The first major step forward was in the investigation of cell fires and the identification of the ignition source. HMYOI Wetherby is already a non-smoking establishment due to the age of those held; although occasionally matches/lighters may be smuggled in they are largely unavailable to the young people. It was identified that the method of ignition was the power sockets and the possession of conductive material within the cells. Young people would place something in the earth port on the socket which would open the live and neutral ports, then put a conductive material (yogurt pot lids containing an amount of foil) in them and switch the socket on. This would cause electricity to arc between the material, which they could then use shower gel or some other substance to ignite. Once a flame was established a fire was able to be developed through the addition of paper and other combustible materials. After speaking with the head of the procurement team and the catering manager, yogurt pot lids were removed or changed to non-foil containing products, preventing this method being used. One of the other key areas of work undertaken during the secondment is the delivery of arson awareness and fire safety education for the young people. A package has been created which lasts anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour and covers several areas including fire development, the dangers of compartment fires and the punitive measures the young people will face should they set a fire. The package has reached approximately 30% of the young people currently on site. The delivery has been to either a group of young people or one to one and includes young people with a diagnosis of mental ill health. Statistics show that 40% of all cell fires at HMYOI Wetherby were taking place on the mental health support wing in particular, but almost 17 weeks have now passed without a cell fire on this wing, where there once would have been at least one per month. Via feedback, Craig identified that the punitive measures for causing a cell fire were minimal, adjudication awards or loosing gold level status outweighed the motivations for starting a cell fire. Three months ago, permission was received from the Governor to class all of the items damaged in a fire as contaminated and to be sent for destruction. After this measure was imposed, feedback has identified that this is a much greater loss to the young people. It also identified the full cost of a cell fire, rather than potential only the loss of burnt products. This has been a significant factor in the current downward trend of fires. 87

80 Agenda Item 8(c) Many familiarisation visits for fire crews who are predetermined to attend the custodial establishment in the event of a fire, has helped to identify best working practices in the prison for WYFRS staff and HMPPS staff. In addition to this risk mitigation measure, an arsonist list is produced twice weekly that highlights all those with either a conviction for arson offences or those who have carried out or threatened to set a cell fire. It became clear that there was no consideration given to the location of the cell these young people might be allocated. After visiting each residential wing and obtaining the digital plans for each, Craig was able to identify the cell with least amount of risk associated should a fire be started. A number of factors, such as positioning of any smoke extraction system or openings that could be used for ventilation, the least amount of travel distance should fire hose be required and limiting the number of fire doors having to be compromised with fire hose/misting system have now been included to develop an Arson Reduction and Arsonist Management Plan. What difference are we making? From January 2017 to present we have seen a reduction of over 25% from the same period last year and at the moment we are over 6 weeks without an incident on the full site and as stated above 17 weeks since the last on the mental ill health support wing. In August 2017 HMYOI Wetherby was inspected by representatives from London of the Crown Premise Inspection Group as part of its annual audit. Having reviewed the work conducted over the last year during the WYFRS secondment and considering what is planned, both visiting inspectors were very impressed and have made recommendations that some of the work be taken as best practice and shared nationally. What next? Craig will be looking to influence and highlight the successes seen at HMYOI Wetherby in the other districts prisons. It is hoped that these actions will be adopted by both HMP Wealstun and HMP Leeds, who we will support to carry out similar arson awareness training packages and implement the Arson Reduction and Arsonist Management Plans. A scoping exercise is also being conducted to look at the potential for the development of a prison lead Trainee Firefighter scheme, similar to an Army Cadet scheme which has already proven to be changing the behaviour of the young people at HMPYOI Wetherby. 88

81 OFFICIAL Quality of Service Surveys 2016/17 Community Safety Committee Date: 27 October 2017 Submitted By: Chief Legal and Governance Officer Agenda Item: 9 Purpose To inform Members of the feedback from the annual Quality of Service, Home Fire Safety Check and School Fire Safety Visit Surveys 2016/17. Recommendations That Members note the contents of the report Summary The attached reports provide Members with feedback from consultation on service delivery carried out during 2016/17. Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972 Exemption Category: None Contact Officer: Alison Davey Corporate Services Manager alison.davey@westyorksfire.gov.uk Background papers open to inspection: After the Incident Survey: Incidents in the Home and Nondomestic Incidents 2016/2017, Final Benchmarking Report for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (July 2017) Quality of Service: After the Incident Survey Domestic Incidents Quarters 1-4, 2016/17 (June 2017) Quality of Service: After the Incident Survey Non-domestic Incidents Quarters 1-4, 2016/17 (June 2017) Home Fire Safety Check Follow-up Survey, Quarters 1-4, 2016/17 (June 2017) School Fire Safety Visit Survey, Terms 1-3, 2016/17 (August 2017) Annexes: None Quality of Service Surveys 2016/17 Page 2 of 3 89

82 1. BACKGROUND 1.1 In order to monitor performance, a Quality of Service survey is undertaken on a monthly basis. Each month, a questionnaire is sent to a 10% random selection of the locations of incidents attended the previous month by fire stations throughout West Yorkshire. The questionnaire covers areas such as: Satisfaction with the initial contact with the Fire Service Service provided at the scene Information and advice given Follow-up contact from the Fire Service after the incident Overall satisfaction with the service 1.2 A Home Fire Safety Check Follow-up survey is undertaken on a monthly basis. Each month, a questionnaire is sent to approximately 125 randomly selected residents who have had a Home Fire Safety Check. The questionnaire covers the following topics: Initial contact The Home Fire Safety Check visit Fire safety measures Overall Service About You 1.3 The questionnaires are sent by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) and returned directly to an independent research company via a freepost envelope. The returned questionnaires are analysed and a feedback report is sent to WYFRS. 1.4 A School Fire Safety Visit Survey is undertaken after carrying out the visit by sending to the teacher, a link to an electronic survey on the internet. The questionnaire covers the following areas: Age Group Planning and Visual Aids The Presenters Pupils Overall Satisfaction Appointment Follow Up 2 INFORMATION Quality of Service Survey 2016/ During 2016/17, 141 completed questionnaires were returned from domestic properties and 83 from non-domestic properties. 930 questionnaires were sent out, 507 to domestic and 423 to commercial giving a response rate of 24% for each survey. 2.2 Overall, the feedback is positive with 99% of respondents completing the domestic (incidents in the home) questionnaire expressing satisfaction with the service they received and 99% of respondents to the non-domestic questionnaire expressing satisfaction with the service they received. 90

83 Home Fire Safety Check Survey 2016/ During 2016/ questionnaires were sent out, of which 493 were completed and returned. This is a response rate of 33% which is good for the type of consultation. 2.4 Overall, the feedback is positive with 99% of respondents satisfied with the Home Fire Safety Check, of whom, 95% were very satisfied. 2.5 A summary of each survey results is attached which also details a comparison with the results from the previous year s feedback. 2.6 These survey results will be used to address any areas for improvement in order to continue positive satisfaction levels in the 2017/18 consultation exercise. 2.7 Other fire and rescue authorities use the same surveys. In order to benchmark the WYFRS performance with that of other fire and rescue services, Opinion Research Services provide a benchmarking report of the comparisons of the other fire and rescue services performance with WYFRS. Details of this benchmarking are included within the attached reports as appropriate. School Fire Safety Visit 2016/ During 2016/17 66 completed questions were returned. 2.9 Overall the feedback is positive with 97% of respondents satisfied with the School Fire Safety visit. 3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 3.1 The costs of carrying out these surveys is 2,500 to 3,000 for the full year including printing questionnaires, freepost charges and analysis. 4 HUMAN RESOURCES AND DIVERSITY IMPLICATIONS 4.1 Equality data is collected as part of this survey. 5 HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPLICATIONS 5.1 There are no health and safety implications associated with this report. 6 SERVICE PLAN LINKS 6.1 This report links to all of the Service Plan priorities. 7 RECOMMENDATIONS 7.1 That Members note the contents of the report. 91

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85 Agenda Item 9(a) Quality of Service Survey 2016/17 (After the Incident) Ownership: Corporate Services 93 Page 1

86 Agenda Item 9(a) Table of Contents 1 After the Incident Survey Summary Domestic Incidents (in the Home) Summary Non Domestic Incidents Interpretation of data Domestic Incidents Questionnaire Initial Contact At the Scene Information and Advice Given Overall Service Non-domestic Incidents Questionnaire Initial Contact At the Scene Information and Advice Given Overall Service Benchmarking Incidents in the home Non-Domestic Incidents Page 2

87 Agenda Item 9(a) 1 After the Incident Survey In order to monitor performance, a Quality of Service survey is undertaken on a monthly basis. Each month, a questionnaire is sent to a 10% random selection of the locations of incidents attended the previous month by fire stations throughout West Yorkshire. The questionnaire is sent out by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS), and is returned directly to an independent research company via a freepost envelope. The returned questionnaires are processed and the information obtained is analysed and a feedback report is sent to WYFRS. Domestic Non-Domestic Total Questionnaires issued Completed Questionnaires returned Response Rate 28% 20% 24% The questions in the survey cover such areas as: Satisfaction with the initial contact made with the Fire Service Service provided at the scene Information and advice given Follow-up contacts from the Fire Service after the incident Overall satisfaction with the service 2 Summary Domestic Incidents (in the Home) 141 completed questionnaires were returned to the independent research company out of the 507 sent out (28% return), a 2% increase on 2015/ / /16 Completed questionnaires 141 (28%) 158 (26%) 99% (140) of respondents said that they were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with their initial contact on the telephone with the Fire Service 53% (75) said that the Fire Service arrived at the incident quicker than expected and 42% (59) said that the arrival time was as expected 100% (141) of respondents said that they were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the service provided at the scene 99% (140) of respondents felt that WYFRS kept the effects of the incident to a minimum 95 Page 3

88 Agenda Item 9(a) 89% (125) of respondents received fire safety information at the scene, 63% (89) were offered a Home Fire Safety Check and 44% (62) received an advice booklet Overall 99% (140) of respondents expressed satisfaction with the service they received from WYFRS, of whom 94% (133) said they were very satisfied 3 Summary Non Domestic Incidents 83 completed questionnaires were returned to the independent research company out of the 423 sent out (20% return), a 6% decrease on 2015/ / /16 Completed questionnaires 83 (20%) 81 (26%) 100% (83) of respondents said that they were satisfied or fairly satisfied with their initial contact on the telephone with the Fire Service. 29% (24) said that the Fire Service arrived at the incident quicker than expected and 64% (53) said that the arrival time was as expected. 99% (82) of respondents felt WYFRS kept the effects of the incident to a minimum. 97% (81) of respondents said that they were very satisfied or fairly satisfied with the service provided at the scene. 73% (61) of respondents received fire safety information at the scene and 22% (18) received an advice booklet. Overall 99% (82) of respondents said that they were satisfied with the service received from WYFRS, of whom 90% (75) were very satisfied. 4 Interpretation of data In an ideal world, respondents to the questionnaires would answer every question, but in practice they do not, answering some questions with a don t know, overlooking questions, or simply declining to answer. For this reason, the data considered here is the valid data i.e. the views of those respondents that expressed an actual opinion on a question. As a result of the above, the number of respondents for individual questions can fall below the total of completed questionnaires. Where this fall is significant, an appropriate comment is made in the text. Finally in this section, it is worth noting that the percentage for the different replies to a question might add up to a figure other than 100%. This is because the percentages have been rounded to whole numbers and have not been presented as their exact figures. 96 Page 4

89 Agenda Item 9(a) 5 Domestic Incidents Questionnaire The questionnaire was sent out to a random 10% selection of incidents, covering a range of incident types. Although 67% of the questionnaires returned related to internal or building fires, the remainder represented a wide range of other incidents, including flooding, external fires and the rescue of animals. 5.1 Domestic - Initial Contact The number of valid responses is smaller for these questions, as only 109 respondents contacted the emergency services themselves. The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about the qualities displayed by the FRS staff in the initial contact, with the following results and 2015/16 results included for comparison: (Results are based on the number of respondents who strongly agreed or tended to agree that the FRS personnel on the telephone displayed these qualities). Qualities 2016/ /16 Polite 100% (109) 99% (114) Helpful 100% (109) 99% (114) Efficient 99% (108) 100% (115) Reassuring 97% (106) 95% (109) Informative 97% (106) 92% (106) Overall, 99% (108) of respondents expressed satisfaction with their initial telephone contact with the Fire Service of whom, 94% (102) said that they were very satisfied. This reflects an increase in very satisfied respondents since 2015/16 when 88% (101) expressed they were very satisfied with their initial telephone contact with the Fire Service. 5.2 Domestic - At the Scene The number of valid responses is slightly smaller for these questions, as only 124 respondents were present at the scene at the time of the incident. 2016/ /16 Arrived at incident quicker than expected 53% (66) 50% (70) Arrived at incident as was expected 42% (52) 43% (60) Kept informed of what was happening during the incident 97% (120) 92% (129) 97 Page 5

90 Agenda Item 9(a) The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about the qualities displayed by the firefighters at the scene, with the following results and 2015/16 results included for comparison: (Results are based on the number of respondents who strongly agreed or tended to agree that the firefighters at the scene displayed these qualities). Qualities 2016/ /16 Polite 98% (122) 100% (140) Helpful 100% (124) 98% (137) Informative 98% (122) 86% (120) Efficient 100% (124) 99% (139) Sensitive 98% (122) 96% (134) 99% (123) of respondents felt that WYFRS kept the effects of the incident to a minimum; same percentage as 2015/16. The qualities demonstrated by the firefighters have increased against the 2015/16 results. Overall, 100% (124) of respondents said that they were satisfied with the service provided at the scene, which is a 3% increase on 2015/16 results. 5.3 Domestic- Information and Advice Given 89% (110) of respondents received information at the scene, in the form of general safety advice. Of these 110 respondents, eleven of them did not find the advice useful. This is similar to the 2015/16 results where 86% (120) of respondents received general safety advice at the scene, and four did not find the advice useful. 63% (78) of respondents had been offered a Home Fire Safety Check after the incident. Most accepted the offer, but 5% (6) of these declined it, for various reasons; some had already had one. This is a slight decrease on the 2015/16 results, when 67% (94) of respondents were offered a Home Fire Safety Check, even though 12 of these respondents declined the check. 70% (87) of respondents had acted upon the advice given at the scene and/or in the Home Fire Safety Check, with just 4% (5) not acting upon it. 44% (55) of respondents received a FRS advice booklet after the incident. 100% (55) found it informative, easy to understand and helpful, 98% (54) found it relevant. This is a decrease upon the 2015/16 results where 52% (73) of respondents received a booklet after the incident. 98 Page 6

91 Agenda Item 9(a) 5.4 Domestic - Overall Service Overall, taking everything into account, 99% (140) of respondents expressed satisfaction with the service they received from WYFRS, of whom 94% (133) said that they were very satisfied. These figures are comparable to 2015/16 where 100% (158) of respondents expressed satisfaction with the service received and 95% (150) who said that they were very satisfied. 6 Non Domestic - Incidents Questionnaire 83 completed questionnaires were returned from the 423 sent out (20% return), a six percent reduction on 2015/ / /16 Completed questionnaires The responses received covered a cross-section of commercial and industrial premises, together with a number of schools, retail outlets and care homes. Consequently, the number of people on site at the time of the incident covered a broad range, from 1 to 1,000. Although 40% (33) of the questionnaires returned related to internal or building fires, the remainder represented a wide range of other incidents, including chemical incidents, external fires and the rescue of persons. 6.1 Non Domestic - Initial Contact The number of valid responses is smaller for these questions, as in 21% (17) of the incidents; the emergency services were contacted through an automatic fire alarm system. The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about the qualities displayed by the FRS staff in the initial contact, with the following results and 2015/16 results included for comparison. (Results are based on the number of respondents who strongly agreed or tended to agree that the FRS personnel on the telephone displayed these qualities). Qualities 2016/ /16 Polite 100% (83) 97% (64) Helpful 100% (83) 96% (63) Efficient 98% (81) 97% (64) Reassuring 95% (79) 97% (64) Informative 95% (79) 88% (58) Compare these results with the 2015/16 results, all but one has increased. There has been a decrease in Reassuring of 2%. 99 Page 7

92 Agenda Item 9(a) Overall, 100% (83) of respondents were satisfied with their initial contact with the Fire Service, of whom 91% (76) said they were very satisfied. These results are comparable with 2015/16 where 98% (65) of respondents were satisfied with their initial contact with the Fire Service, of whom 91% (60) said they were very satisfied. 6.2 Non Domestic - At the Scene The number of valid responses is fairly high for these questions, as either the respondent or a colleague was present at the scene in 75 (90%) of the incidents. 2016/ /16 Arrived at incident quicker than expected 29% (23) 28% (18) Arrived at incident as was expected 64% (48) 68% (45) Kept informed of what was happening during the incident Not Kept informed of what was happening during the incident 97% (73) 95% (63) 4% (3) 5% (3) The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about the qualities displayed by the firefighters at the scene, giving the following results and 2015/16 results included for comparison. (Results are based on the number of respondents who strongly agreed or tended to agree that the firefighters at the scene displayed these qualities). Qualities 2016/ /16 Polite 99% (74) 100% (66) Helpful 99% (74) 99% (65) Informative 99% (74) 97% (64) Efficient 100% (75) 99% (65) Sensitive 88 (66) 97% (64) 99% (74) of respondents felt that WYFRS kept the effects of the incident to a minimum. This is a 1% reduction on last year where 100% (66) of respondents felt that WYFRS kept the effects of the incident to a minimum. The majority of results demonstrate a comparable position to 2015/16. We see a 9% decrease in Sensitive results. The district area managers are aware of these results, and will be monitoring these over the next six months. 100 Page 8

93 Agenda Item 9(a) Overall, 97% (73) of respondents said that they were satisfied with the service provided at the scene, of which 86% (65) said they were very satisfied. Overall satisfaction results are comparable with 2015/16 where 98% (65) said they were satisfied with the service provided. We have seen a 9% decrease in those respondents who were very satisfied 95% (63). The district area managers are aware of these results which will be monitored over the next six months along with the qualities demonstrated. 6.3 Non Domestic - Information and Advice Given The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about information and advice given by the Firefighters at the scene, giving the following results and 2015/16 results included for comparison. 2016/ /16 General safety advice provided at the scene 73% (55) 73% (48) Adopted the advice given 74% (41) 81% (39) Advice given was already in place 24% (13) 17% (8) Only 22% (12 respondents) received a FRS advice booklet after the incident. However, all of these agreed that the information contained in the booklet was helpful, informative, relevant and easy to understand.. These results show a slight increase to the 2015/16 figures where 19% (9) of respondents received a FRS advice booklet after the incident. 6.4 Non Domestic - Overall Service Overall, taking everything into account, 99% (82) of respondents expressed satisfaction with the service they received from WYFRS, of whom 90% (75) said that they were very satisfied. This result is similar to the 2015/16 survey where 99% (80) of respondents expressed satisfaction with the service they received from WYFRS. 7 Benchmarking A total of 9 Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) commissioned Opinion Research Services to monitor the views of their users who experienced Domestic Incidents between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017 attended by the FRS. Of these, 8 also commissioned ORS to monitor Non-Domestic Incidents. The same questionnaire used by West Yorkshire was used by these other FRS. The questions which were benchmarked are as follows: 101 Page 9

94 Agenda Item 9(a) Initial contact with the FRS: Five questions plus overall satisfaction for incidents in the home and non-domestic incidents Service provided at the scene: Eight questions plus overall satisfaction for incidents in the home and non-domestic incidents Information and advice: Eight questions for incidents in the home and three questions for non-domestic incidents Overall Satisfaction for Incidents in the Home and for Non-domestic Incidents 7.1 Incidents in the home 2016/17 results show the Fire Service has significantly improved rankings against the 9 FRS who commissioned ORS. 24 questions were asked as performance indicators in the questionnaire. Below are the results for 2016/17, and a comparison against 2015/ /17 Results 2015/16 Results Total 1 st place ranking Total 2 nd & 3 rd place ranking Total 4 th place and above. 10 Indicators Initial Contact Polite Initial Contact Helpful Initial Contact Efficient Initial Contact Reassuring Initial Contact Informative Advice at Scene Useful Offered Home Fire Safety Check Booklet was Easy to Understand Booklet was Informative Booklet was Relevant 9 Indicators Satisfaction with Initial Contact Speed of Response Firefighters Helpful Firefighters Efficient Satisfaction with Service Received at Scene Received Safety Advice at Scene Offered Booklet Booklet was Helpful Satisfaction with Overall Service 5 Indicators Informed During Incident Firefighters Polite Firefighters Informative Firefighters Sensitive Effect of Incident Kept to Minimum 2 Indicators Offered Home Fire Safety Check Offered Booklet 1 Indicator Satisfaction with Overall Service 21 Indicators Initial Contact Polite Initial Contact Helpful Initial Contact Efficient Initial Contact Reassuring Initial Contact Informative Advice at Scene Useful 102 Page 10

95 Agenda Item 9(a) Booklet was Easy to Understand Booklet was Informative Booklet was Relevant Satisfaction with Initial Contact Speed of Response Firefighters Helpful Firefighters Efficient Satisfaction with Service Received at Scene Received Safety Advice at Scene Booklet was Helpful Informed During Incident Firefighters Polite Firefighters Informative Firefighters Sensitive Effect of Incident Kept to Minimum The results show 11 performance indicator areas were significantly above the National Score, with 0 performance indicators significantly below. The areas that were significantly above are:- Initial Contact Polite Initial Contact Helpful Initial Contact Efficient Initial Contact Reassuring Initial Contact Informative Firefighters Efficient Offered Home Fire Safety Check Offered Booklet Booklet was Easy to Understand Booklet was Informative Booklet was Helpful 7.2 Non-Domestic Incidents Non-Domestic results are based on 8 FRS who commissioned ORS with a total of 19 questions asked as performance indicators. Non-domestic results for 2016/17 are similar to those of 2015/ /17 Results 2015/16 Results Total 1-5 place ranking 9 Indicators 10 Indicators Total 10 Indicators 9 Indicator above 5th place ranking 103 Page 11

96 Agenda Item 9(a) The results show 4 performance indicator areas were significantly below the National Score, with 0 performance indicators significantly above. The areas that were significantly below are:- Speed of response (61) against National Score of 66. Firefighters informative (95) against National Score of 97. Firefighter s sensitive (90) against National Score of 95. Satisfaction with service at the scene (96) against National Score of Page 12

97 Agenda Item 9(b) Home Fire Safety Check Follow-Up Survey Ownership: Corporate Services 105 Page 1

98 Agenda Item 9(b) Table of Contents 1 Introduction Initial Contact The Home Fire Safety Check Visit Fire Safety Measures Overall Service Interpretation of data Page 2

99 Agenda Item 9(b) 1 Introduction In order to monitor performance, a follow up survey is sent out to a sample of residents who have had a Home Fire Safety Check (HFSC). The questionnaire is sent out by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS), and is returned directly to an independent research company via a freepost envelope. The returned questionnaires are processed and the information obtained is analysed and a feedback report is sent to WYFRS. 1,497 questionnaires were sent out during 2016/17 of which 493 were returned giving a response rate of 33%. 2016/ /16 Completed questionnaires The questionnaire covered the following topics: Initial Contact The Home Fire Safety Check Visit Fire Safety Measures Overall Service About You 2 Initial Contact The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about how HFSCs are requested. The results are shown below along with the 2015/16 results for comparison. 2016/ /16 Completed HFSCs at request of resident 56% (276) 46% (217) Completed HFSCs following unscheduled visit 18% (89) 28% (132) Completed HFSCs requested by an external authority 13% (64) 14% (66) Completed HFSCs following incident /fire 13% ( 64) 12% (57) 107 Page 3

100 Agenda Item 9(b) We have seen a 10% increase in the number of HFSCs at the request of the resident, whereas unscheduled visits have reduced by 10%. The process of requesting a HFSC has been refined. Unscheduled visits were not targeting the members of the community that are most at risk or vulnerable. Ahead of the Safe and Well campaign WYFRS have been encouraging residents to request home visits. The majority of people 23% (113) found out about the HFSC from a member of the FRS coming to their door. Following initial contact the majority of respondents 65% (320) had their HFSC within one week, which is a 2% increase on 2015/16 (63% 296). Those respondents who had to wait five weeks or more for their HFSC following initial contact has remained the same at 3% (15). The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about the qualities displayed by the FRS in the initial contact. The results are shown below along with the 2015/16 results included for comparison. (Results are based on the number of respondents who strongly agreed or tended to agree that the FRS personnel displayed these qualities). Qualities 2016/ /16 Polite 100% (493) 99% (466) Helpful 100% (493) 99% (466) Efficient 99% (488) 99% (466) Informative 99% (488) 100% (471) Overall, 99% (488) of respondents were satisfied with the service received during initial contact, of whom, 96% (473) were very satisfied. This represents the same response rate as on the 2015/16 figures where 99% (466) of respondents were also satisfied with the service received during initial contact. 3 The Home Fire Safety Check Visit WYFRS managed to keep 97% (478) of its appointments made for a HFSC. Of the 15 respondents whose HFSC was not kept, ten were given an advanced warning and a reasonable explanation. All respondents were given an apology. The questionnaire asks a number of specific questions about the qualities displayed by the FRS staff who visited the home, with the following results and 2015/16 results included for comparison: 108 Page 4

101 Agenda Item 9(b) (Results are based on the number of respondents who strongly agreed or tended to agree that the FRS personnel displayed these qualities). Results are similar across both years. Qualities 2016/ /16 Polite 100% (493) 100% (471) Helpful 100% (493) 100% (471) Efficient 100% (493) 99% (466) Informative 99% (488) 99% (466) In the main, WYFRS personnel spent between 16 and 45 minutes inside a resident s home 67% (330) of visits. This demonstrates efficient time being spent on HFSCs. The HFSCs carried out to the 75 or over age group generally took longer than 15 minutes, only 24% (41) took less. This is good to note as it would be more appropriate to spend more time with this vulnerable age group, particularly as they have a poor rate of implementing fire safety measures (implementation of fire safety measures covered later in the report). Thinking about the advice given by WYFRS to residents, 99% (488) of respondents agreed it was useful and easy to understand. These represent a 1% decrease the same results from 2015/16. In 81% (399) of visits new smoke alarms were fitted into the resident s home. This is a slight increase on 2015/16 where new smoke alarms were fitted into the resident s home in 75% (353) of visits. In 96% (473) of visits, advice was given about smoke alarms fitted in the home. The top three areas of advice given to respondents on smoke alarms is categorised into the following results. Advice on Smoke Alarms 2016/17 How to test the unit 91% (449) Advice on the 10 year battery life 82% (404) How often to test the units 76% (375) The advice was understood by 100% (493) of the respondents. In 82% (404) of visits a safety leaflet was left with the resident. Thinking about the HFSC visit itself, 100% (493) of respondents were satisfied with the service received, of whom, 95% (468) were very satisfied. These represent the same results from 2015/16 100% (471) and a 1% increase in respondents that were very satisfied. 109 Page 5

102 Agenda Item 9(b) 4 Fire Safety Measures 85% (419) of respondents said they check their smoke alarms at least once every six months. The next question asks which fire safety measures do you currently have/do you take in your home? responses are as follows: Close internal doors at night/when out 79% (389) A planned escape route 71% (350) A fire extinguisher 14% (69) Turn off/remove plugs at night 57% (281) Stopped using a chip-pan 48% (237) Fire blanket 7% (35) 45% (222) of respondents said they have adopted some of the new fire safety measures in their home. 89% (439) feel that their current fire safety measures are sufficient. 83% (140) of respondents aged 75 and over have not adopted any of the new fire safety measures and 18% (30) of these have not done so because they do not feel at risk from fire. Of those who have adopted measures, the majority of the responses are detailed below. Responses 2016/17 Closing internal doors at night and when out 28% ( 138) Check /test alarm regularly 21% ( 49) Door and window keys placed where easily accessible 15% (74) Planned escape route 10% ( 49) Switching off electricity at the plug and/or remove when not in use and at night 7% ( 35) 110 Page 6

103 Agenda Item 9(b) 5 Overall Service Taking everything into account, 99% (488) of respondents were satisfied with the Home Fire Safety Check Service, of whom, 95% (468) were very satisfied. These results are in line with those obtained during 2015/16 when taking everything into account, 99% (466) of respondents were satisfied with the Home Fire Safety Check Service, of whom, 94% (443) were very satisfied. The demographic profile of the responses is as follows: 66% (325) female, 34% (168) male 64% (316) respondents were aged 60 or above 17% (84) smokers, 83% (409) non-smoker 41% (202) have a long standing illness, disability or infirmity 79% (389) own the property themselves 90% (444) White British, 10% (49) Other Ethnic Group 6 Interpretation of data In an ideal world, respondents to the questionnaires would answer every question, but in practice they do not, answering some questions with a don t know, overlooking questions, or simply declining to answer. For this reason, the data considered here is the valid data i.e. the views of those respondents that expressed an actual opinion on a question. 111 Page 7

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105 Agenda Item 9(c) School Fire Safety Visit 2016/17 Ownership: Corporate Services 113

106 Agenda Item 9(c) Contents Introduction... 3 Age Group... 3 Planning and Visual Aids... 3 The Presenters... 3 Length of visit... 4 Overall Satisfaction... 4 Appointment... 4 Follow up..4 Comments

107 Agenda Item 9(c) Introduction In order to monitor performance, after completion of a school fire safety visit, a questionnaire is available to teachers electronically to complete and submit. 66 completed questions were returned during terms /17. This is lower than the 95 returned during 2015/16. It should be noted that this is only the second year that the electronic questionnaire has been used and it is expected that the number of completed questionnaires will increase in future years as reminders will be sent. Age Group 100% (95) of visits were given to key stage two year groups. Planning and Visual Aids 99% (65) of respondents agreed that the overall lesson was appropriate for the age of the class 86% (57) strongly agreed, 94% (62) agreed that the visual aid and support material were appropriate to the age of the class 70% (46) strongly agreed, 94% (62) of respondents agreed that the visual aids and support material used were appropriate to the lesson 77% (51)strongly agreed. The comparison with 2015/16 results is detailed in the table below. Agree Overall lesson appropriate 99% (65) Visual aids and support material appropriate to age 94% (62) Visual aids and support material appropriate to lesson 94% (62) 2016/ /16 Strongly Agree 86% (57) 70% (46) 77% (51) Agree 100% (95) 94% (89) 93% (88) Strongly Agree 80% (76) 73% (69) 71% (67) The Presenters 99% (65) of respondents agreed that the presenters engaged with the group, 79% (52) strongly agreed; 100% (66) agreed that the presenters were approachable, 85% (56) strongly agreed; 99% (65) of respondents agreed that the presenters were professional 86% (57) strongly agreed. 100% (66) agreed that the presenters were well informed 88% (58) strongly agreed). The comparison with 2015/16 results is detailed in the table below. 2016/ /16 Agree Strongly Agree Agree Strongly Agree Presenters engaged with the group 99% (65) 79% (52) 97% (92) 79% (75) Presenters approachable 100% (66) 85% (56) 98% (93) 85% (80) 115

108 Agenda Item 9(c) Presenters professional 99% (65) Presenters well informed 100% (66) 86% (57) 88% (58) 100% (95) 100% (95) 84% (80) 92% (87) Pupils 94% (63) of respondents agreed that the pupils were interested in the talk, 81% (54) strongly agreed; 100% (66) agreed the pupils had understood what they had been taught, 79% (52) strongly agreed; 97% (64) of respondents agreed that the pupils had remembered what had been taught, 75% (50) strongly agreed and 99% (65) felt that the message had been communicated well to all the pupils in the class. Length of visit 99% (65) of respondents felt the length of the visit was about right whilst 1% (1) thought it was too short. Overall Satisfaction 97% (63) of respondents were satisfied with the overall School Fire Safety visit, of whom, 85% (55) were very satisfied. The comparison with 2015/16 results is detailed in the table below 2016/ /16 Satisfied Very Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied Overall Satisfaction 97% (63) 85% (55) 98% (93) 78% (74) Appointment 85% (56) of respondents answered that the original appointment was kept. 15% (10) of respondents answered that the original appointment for the school fire safety visit was not kept by the Fire and Rescue Service. Of the appointments not kept six were not kept because the Fire Service was called out to an emergency. One appointment was changed due to staffing levels, two were due to training exercises and one appointment was due an administrative error by the school. These results are slighter higher compared with the 2015/16 results where 80% (73) of respondents answered that the original appointment was kept. Follow up 33% (28) of respondents answered that they would carry out follow up activities with their class. Most follow up activities involved discussions around what they have learnt, creating fire plans and completing booklets. 116

109 Agenda Item 9(c) This result is lower compared with the 2015/16 result where 35% (33) of respondents answered that they would carry out follow up activities with their class. Comments The majority of comments were positive with most complimenting how informative the session was, how approachable the firefighters were and how well they engaged with the children. However two did comment that the sessions could just of easily been delivered by school staff and that more demonstrations would be a better use of fire service personnel time. Also that the frinting of the booklets is a big school expense so individual worksheets may be preferable in future 117

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111 OFFICIAL Youth Interventions Update Community Safety Committee Date: 27 October 2017 Submitted By: Deputy Chief Fire Officer Agenda Item: 10 Purpose This report details the progress of the Youth Interventions Team for the Academic year 16/17. Recommendations To work towards the stated priorities. Summary Following a substantial change in approach 2 years ago, the Youth Interventions Team have successfully trialled all new provision with new and existing partners to targeted young people across West Yorkshire. Local Government (Access to information) Act 1972 Exemption Category: Contact Officer: None Jo Hardy Youth Interventions Team Manager Jo.hardy@westyorksfire.gov.uk Background papers open to inspection: None Annexes: None 119

112 1 Introduction 1.1 In 2015 a review of youth provision delivered by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was undertaken. The review identified that a change in approach was required to enable the Youth Interventions Team to deliver a range of prevention related interventions focused on behaviour change, to targeted high risk/vulnerable young people across West Yorkshire. 1.2 The range of interventions was successfully marketed and launched in September 2016 and all programmes have been trialled and reviewed to new and existing partners during the academic year 2016/ A range of processes and monitoring tools were implemented at the start of the year to support effective management youth interventions. These have now been reviewed and streamlined further to raise professional standards, maximise productivity and improve internal and external communication. 2 Intervention Delivery Update 2.1 The team have delivered structured Youth Interventions aimed at behaviour change to 58 cohorts of children and young people. This was a total of 558 children and young people amounting to 1464 delivery hours over the academic year. The minimum programme length is 5 hours (see appendix 1 for details and breakdown of information). 2.2 Many of these complex behaviour change interventions have been delivered by Youth Instructors who are active firefighters working off shift at OT rate. All of these instructors have historically delivered Young Fire Fighters which by comparison are medium risk young people doing offsite education. Observations, feedback and analysis of performance with this delivery model has indicated that where groups are higher challenge and the interventions are more complex a more effective and safer model of delivery is 1 Youth Intervention Trainer delivering alongside 1 Youth Instructor. This has been trialled with excellent results and feedback and will be implemented as the standard delivery model in the next academic year (ref Youth Interventions Staff Resource Management Board Paper 22 nd August 17). 2.3 The team have received 178 Firesetter referrals in the academic year of which 80 were deemed high risk or complex and a Youth Intervention Trainer attended to deliver the Fire setter Intervention. The remaining 98 were deemed medium risk and the Fire setter Intervention was delivered by a pool of Fire Setter Officers situated throughout the brigade and trained by the Youth Interventions team. These programmes are free to service users. 2.4 The team continue to deliver Educational Interventions to extremely high risk groups or individuals for whom the structured Youth Interventions on a station is not appropriate, for example young people and adults who are serving a custodial sentence. The talks are also delivered to high risk groups or individuals where a partner has limited funding or capacity to access the interventions on a station, for example some Youth Offending Teams or Youth Groups. This year 267 people in 65 separate groups and 33 individuals totalling 300 young people or convicted Adults received an educational talk on The Consequences of Arson or Road Safety Awareness. These programmes are free to service users. 120