| As everyone in the Fire Service
knows, our primary objectives are to save lives, protect property
and render humanitarian
services. In Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service those traditional,
but still entirely relevant, ideals are encompassed in our vision
statement of ‘Putting Shropshire’s Safety First’. The
Community Fire Safety (CFS) Team consists of everyone who works
for the brigade and the elected members of the Fire Authority.
The small group that co-ordinates all of our CFS activity consists
of a number of people with a wide range of differing skills and
experience. Managed by Station Officer John Round, the team
includes an experienced Sub Officer, a fully qualified Youth Officer,
a
teacher, two Fire Safety Technical Officers and an Administration
Officer. Under the direction of Phil Brooks, the District
Officer responsible for Community Fire Safety, this small team
directs
and supports all of our CFS activities.
Improving Community Fire Safety education is one of our core objectives
and we also work with a number of other agencies to educate those
people most at risk. By using all of our station-based personnel
we have been able to extend our Community Fire Safety education
programmes to cover the entire County, targeting key areas. To
support this, all station personnel have received CFS training,
stressing the concept and importance of community fire safety.
Crews follow up all incidents of domestic fire with quick strike
responses involving leaflet drops and door to door surveys within
the directly affected neighbourhood. This action brings home very
effectively the reality that a fire in the home does not happen ‘to
other people’; it can strike in their own neighbourhood.
In addition a proactive approach to home fire safety visits ensures
that people on the housing estates having the greatest number of
domestic fires are given advice on fire safety in their homes by
firefighters. Smoke alarms are supplied and, where requested, fitted
by personnel to homes where the occupiers are considered to be
most at risk. The eligibility criteria for free smoke alarms is
subject to pre-determined criteria.
Youth Work
Lynn Hosking joined
the team in June 2001. She has brought to the brigade a wealth
of knowledge
and expertise in her field of youth work, with considerable experience
of working with young people at risk of social exclusion. Lynne’s
first task was to review all of our current youth fire safety
education programmes and to develop a strategic plan to ensure
that our scarce resources are effectively targeted. These included
Shropshire Bears a pre-school, fire safety education pack, Crucial
Crew, Firesetters Scheme, Fire Safety Youth Quiz.
Crucial Crew
A multi-agency scheme organised by District Councils
that the Fire Service takes an active role in by attending two-week
long
events involving 3,500 year 6 children. Each event introduces the
children to a variety of everyday dangers and provides guidance
on the appropriate action to take.
Firesetters Scheme
Shropshire’s fire setters scheme has been
running for 7½ years
and was set up to help combat the rising number of arson related
fires within our County. During that time 156 children between
the ages of 3 to 15 have been referred to the scheme. The Brigade
recently approved expanding and developing a new scheme to work
with juveniles who are young offenders. This scheme will tie in
with the Crime and Disorder Community Safety Partnerships aiming
to reduce hoax calls, arson and vehicle fires.
The Elderly
Our statistical analysis clearly indicates that people over 60
are at greater risk of injury from fire than any other age group.
By working closely with other agencies, particularly those who
have daily access to old people in their homes, we aim to reduce
that risk. This will include Public Service Agreements with the
two constituent Authorities within the County area. We have developed
links with Home Care and Help the Aged which will complement
the work we hope to undertake as a Pathfinder Brigade with the
Local Government Association, directed at helping elderly people
lead independent lives. We have also developed an awareness pack
to assist watches when carrying out fire safety in the home talks
to residents, either individually or as groups in their community
meeting rooms.
Fire Safety in the Home
We have been singularly successful with
our targeting, concentrating our resources in our most at risk
areas, the major social housing
estates. In these estates we have significantly increased the number
of properties which have smoke alarms. Working in partnership with
one of our local housing authorities, over eight hundred homes
have been fitted with smoke alarm systems in the last twelve months
alone. The partnership with the local authority has incorporated
a wider regeneration project, which has enabled properties to be
improved. Grants for building work in some properties have funded
hard-wired smoke alarm systems. In our latest home safety visits
campaign over 2,500 homes were visited, with comprehensive advice
given on safety in the home. To ensure that we deliver our fire
safety advice to underrepresented groups in the community we have
produced our own audio cassette and a video using visual aid and
sign language.
National Community Fire Safety Centre Campaigns
We support every campaign launched by the NCFSC.
Whole-time watches are responsible for co-ordinating each campaign.
Innovative ideas
to get the fire safety message across to the people of Shropshire
included the Malicious Calls campaign run in July and Electric
Blanket Safety in September.
Further information
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