AF&RS want your views on future plans for the Service

Details

Monday, 07 January 2019 10:19

Local people are being invited to have their say on Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) new draft Service Plan 2019-22, which outlines how the Service intends to use its resources to help protect the public for the future.

All fire and rescue services across the country are required to have an Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) which assesses local and national risk and states the services’ commitment to saving lives, improving public safety and reducing emergency incidents.

AF&RS’ new draft Service Plan outlines our vision for the future of Avon Fire & Rescue Service in preventing, protecting and responding to the needs of our local communities. 

The Plan also includes our strategic assessment work as previously captured by our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) 2016-20 from a national, regional and local perspective and our Corporate Plan 2018-19.

The plan identifies the main risks that the Service needs to consider when planning for the future, and in particular the way we respond to emergencies and non-emergencies, our ‘response standards’, and our response to automatic fire alarms.

AF&RS is committed to continuous improvement and it is important this is done in consultation with local people, who are being invited to share their views on the Plan as part of an eight week consultation period which will run until March 1, 2019.

Mick Crennell, Chief Fire Officer for AF&RS, said: “If you were to ask people to describe the work of firefighters, most people would probably talk about us fighting fires and possibly dealing with road traffic collisions.

"In fact, the Service is attending a high level of false alarm calls that are providing a large drain on our resources, taking firefighters away from lifesaving activities or risk reduction work in the community.

“Our risk analysis indicates that we will have to develop new ways of working to ensure that we continue to provide a first class emergency service. 

“Avon Fire & Rescue Service exists solely to serve our community and everything it does is aimed at making our area a better place to live and work.

“As a Service, we have to consider how we make the best use of our resources and how we maintain and increase the amount of preventative work we carry out.

“Together, through the commitments laid out in this Plan, we aim to provide an outstanding service that our staff and local people can be proud of and will continue to work hard to make our communities safer and make our Service stronger.”

• Download the draft Service Plan 2019-22.

• Click here to complete the survey.

Councillor Donald Davies, Chair of Avon Fire Authority, said: “As an Authority, we are responsible for providing the community with information and fire safety advice, making our roads safer and ensuring an effective response to emergencies across the area.

“Most importantly, we are here to represent our local communities covering Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, ensuring Avon Fire & Rescue Service is operating effectively and efficiently when our communities need us most.

“In the demanding financial and political climate we continue to face, there has never been a more important time to share with our communities what we are doing as a Service, how we are doing it and most importantly why.”

The Service Plan includes some proposals that are likely to affect residents, staff and partners, so we are inviting views on:

• Our strategic approach over the next three years, as laid out in the Service Plan.
• Our proposal to change our response standards from a model based on population density to matching our response to the level of risk people face.
• Our proposal to change how we respond to automatic fire alarms. This would mean higher risk premises would still receive a proportionate response but high-frequency calls to alarms in low-risk premises would not continue to receive an automatic response. This will serve to ease organisational demand and allow our staff to maintain their focus on prevention, protection and risk-critical training activities.

The public can view the plan by visiting the Avon Fire & Rescue Service website – www.avonfire.gov.uk - and people are encouraged to share their feedback by completing the online survey.

We will also be out and about in our communities on the following dates – come along and have your say:

Printed copies of the survey can be requested in writing to Corporate Communications, Avon Fire & Rescue Service, Police & Fire HQ, Valley Road, Portishead BS20 8JJ.

Additional supporting documents

Response Standards Business Case 2018

Automatic Fire Alarms Business Case 2018

AF&RS Enhanced Baseline Report 2018

AF&RS Baseline Risk Report 2018

AF&RS Strategic Risk Assessment 2018

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