FIRE Editor Andrew Lynch asks, if we knew FiReControl was on the skids, why didn’t the then Deputy Prime Minister?

The Public Accounts Committee report on the failure of FiReControl said it was one of the worst cases of project failure that the committee has seen in many years, which is saying something given the sheer volume of project failures in recent years.

It stated that the then department launched the project too quickly, without the fundamentals of project management being in place, whilst money leaked at an alarming rate (£69 million going to consultants alone). Unsurprisingly, the Fire Minister Bob Neill has laid into the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (later Department for Communities and Local Government) supremo Lord Prescott, saying it was another in a catalogue of Labour’s IT failures: http://www.fire-magazine.com/Content/Doc.aspx?id=2036 

What surprised this seasoned cynic was Lord Prescott’s attempt to shift the blame entirely onto the civil servants, and more precisely, the then Permanent Secretary. Now I’m not saying many of the civil servants weren’t up to scratch. There were clearly issues, evidenced by the colossal shambles of FiReControl – although this didn’t seem to prevent transfers and promotions to other government departments to undertake similar roles. What really takes the biscuit is Lord Prescott’s belief that them withholding information was not his responsibility.

Speaking to the Today programme, he told listeners that he does indeed take responsibility for the policy, but urged the Committee to step outside of convention and interrogate the civil servants. It is also conventional to accept responsibility for your department, as the interviewer kindly reminded him, sparking Lord Prescott to reiterate what he’d already reiterated: he was responsible for policy; those snidely civil servants should really be in the firing line.

This is plainly a case of the former Deputy Prime Minister having his cake and eating it. What is also staggering is that I distinctly remember being well briefed (by contacts who knew a real brief when they heard one) that his civil servants were not briefing him properly/at all (according to my brief). This had allegedly been going on for some time, back during the national strike negotiations, as they sought to cut him out of the loop.

At the time I thought if true this was vaguely sinister, although not at all surprising. So, he may be right in saying that civil servants were holding back information but he is wrong in blaming them for it. It is down to his mismanagement and he should be held accountable for that.

If the ODPM was too big and unwieldy, as we all realised, he should have dismantled it instead of building his own empire. No point blaming the servants once the house of cards collapses. 

Posted September 21st, 2011 at 1135 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com 

 The shocking level of violence which spread across the capital on a third consecutive night of rioting has left the country reeling and has placed firefighters in the cross-fire. As well as the numerous car fires in Lewisham and Peckham, the large sofa factory fire in Croydon soaked up firefighting resources. Most disturbing is that firefighters were targeted as they responded to the blazes.

Chairman and Leader of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Cllr Brian Coleman, said: “It is absolutely outrageous though that three of our fire engines came under attack and had to be taken off the road, making them unavailable for emergencies. There is simply no excuse for this abhorrent behaviour which endangers the lives of firefighters and also the people they are trying to protect.” 

The rioting has spread through the use of social networking in a way that has never been seen before – a virus that has blighted the streets of the capital and is spreading around the country. As the Prime Minister chairs an emergency meeting of COBRA to discuss the riots, many commentators are urging military intervention as police forces struggle to tackle the widespread violence.  

The thought of drafting in the military to tackle civilian unrest fills me with a sense of dread – the Troubles inNorthern Irelandlive all too vivid in the memory. However, foremost in my thoughts is the safety of firefighters, and indeed all frontline responders, as they face unprecedented levels of violence. That troublemakers are being closely monitored offers little comfort as the bricks and bottles rain down. 

There is a growing sense of outrage from the communities that have found themselves under attack from their own residents. Shop owners and residents are disgusted at the thuggery of rioters as their businesses are attacked and in some cases burned to the ground. Whilst there is little that can be done at the moment, in the coming days and weeks community leaders will work with police and emergency responders to ensure such scenes will not be repeated. 

There is no easy solution as the speed with which these violent scenes have been replicated across the country has surprised many. With the viral spread of social networking it should come as no surprise at all. The emergency services may be playing catch-up with this societal sore, but this is an aberration and not a permanent blight. With the collective will to defeat moronic behaviour in all its forms, the streets will calm and the perpetrators will be rounded up one by one. 

Now we need to sit down and work out how to off-set potential outbreaks in the future. 

Andrew Lynch 

Chief Fire Officer John Bonney, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, responds to our correspondent’s criticism of apparent reluctance to share information in the Service

I read with genuine interest and puzzlement David Wright’s recent article entitled ‘Disaster Lessons Still Not Learnt’ (see FIRE June, pg 13).  I have to admit that I do not recognise his contention that there is a reluctance to share the details of incidents in which firefighters lost their lives, or indeed the lessons learnt.  The Gillender Street fire that Mr Wright mentions clearly had the causes laid bare, why otherwise would it have led to the change in our approach to training? Changes that Mr Wright himself makes reference to. 

The inference here that the great and good draw a veil of secrecy over such matters is, in my experience, nonsense. In relation to the Shirley Towers incident in my own service, this has already led to information being provided to help improve safety (CFRAU Bulletin 4/2011 – Failure of cable fixings in fires). The Villiers Road fire in London led to a training video being produced which was shared with fire and rescue services to assist in their understanding of the incident and the causes that led to the tragic death of two of our colleagues. 

I would argue that there is absolutely no hesitation in sharing, where we can, information as soon as possible. Indeed, within one month of Shirley Towers I made a presentation to CFOA colleagues on our approach to the various investigations running and the agreement we had forged to ensure productive and efficient progress was maintained. 

Mr Wright rightly commends Hertfordshire for the publication of their report on Harrow Court. I would add that the associated training package is a testament to the learning that has taken place from that incident and the willingness of HFRS to share their experiences. That said, Hertfordshire, along with other services, are simply not at liberty to circumvent the process of law. Revealing in their entirety the details of tragic events, dates, times, names and decisions before the police investigation is concluded, let alone the coroner’s inquest, is likely to find you both in the dock and doing a massive disservice to the loved ones and colleagues of those who lost their lives. There is due process to follow. 

No, the key issue is to ensure safety critical information that can protect firefighters is released as early as possible.  But providing a complete account of the events and the lessons to be learnt needs to fit with the chronology set by the Coroner and the law, however slow that might appear. 

To reflect on David Wright’s comments around an apparent reticence to reveal lessons learnt; there is no embarrassment in revealing mistakes, but for me the greater condemnation would be not to learn or share that learning with colleagues. I believe a commitment to one’s profession drives openness not silence.  Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service will release a report on the Shirley Towers incident at the conclusion of the current investigations and once the Coroner has completed his inquest. We will do this because of our desire to protect firefighters in the future, whether or not the report makes uncomfortable reading. 

Dennis Davis appeals to Service leaders to press for genuine change.

Unlike previous changes the current Fire and Rescue Service one does not follow a local government review or even the deconstruction of the Wartime National Fire Service, but is arguably almost as profound. What we have is a new landscape – one I tend to call the Do IT Yourself FRS since it is very much the opposite of centralism or however you might wish to classify the previous approach. This one as we know is connected to Localism and the Big Society where each FRA with CFOA leadership is expected to forge their own way ahead. 

The response from the Minister to the Fire Future debate illustrates the point. Originally this debate was restricted to the LGA and CFOA but then widened and inputs were made from outside the FRS through the National Interest Workstream. The built environment, workforce development and research emerged as key issues. 

The Minister’s response in publishing nearly 150 recommendations – dumping only seven, including the UK having a new central agency, a sort of UK version of US Homeland Security – reinforces the DIY point. Fire and rescue authorities now have 113 ideas to choose to do what they want with, whilst accepting another seven where the government would support the FRA because they relate to national resilience. 

Given the precarious public financial situation the big decision in this DIY landscape is whether you were a missionary or cannibal. Should you simply go for the low hanging fruit, save money and run, or stick it out to change the way the FRS actually works in the future? 

 My own view is the future needed a new relationship – one that recognises that many of the improvements of the past 50 years in fire related deaths and injuries have arisen from fire safety changing our environment and improving consumer products. In the home fireguards, nightdresses, foam filled furniture, smoke detection were significant (soon to be joined by RIP cigarettes). That is why it is good to learn that the Fire Kills campaign has been retained at least for another year 

In the built environment we managed fire growth in compartments through materials and construction methods, compartmentation and control through standards and codes. But control of the built environment is moving away as compartments grow in size, codes shift from prescription to performance and modern methods of construction linked sometimes with poor workmanship, lower safety.  

Fire and rescue authorities can still have an impact of course, like Devon and Somerset shining a light in a dark corner of the housing rental market just as Manchester did all those years ago when it challenged the furniture industry to improve after a series of whole family deaths in their area. 

But so to can the fire sector, with all its elements of influence in active and passive protection, training and education, and consumer and FRS research and development, and sense suggests it must be involved in any future FRS and national fire strategy. 

Public private partnerships may have been defined, used and even abused in the past but fragmentation is not the answer. And neither is this simply about saving money in hard times. What we need is a genuine and mature series of conversations that allow the whole sector to become engaged where they can in improving still further the UK response to fire. 

The Chief Fire Officers Association has been in discussion of late with other organisations in health, police, prisons, probation, local government and the voluntary sector at what is known as the Cross Sector Leadership Exchange.   

The Cross Sector Leadership Exchange is a consortium of senior leaders who are responsible for the development of the leaders within their organisations. Its purpose is to act as an exchange network between sectors that supports middle, senior and top leadership development. 

Developing Future Leaders  

The aim of the exchange is to promote awareness and understanding of how organisations are progressing the development of their future leaders, to look at what can be shared in terms of learning and development opportunities between organisations and to extend understanding beyond the public sector. 

One key initiative the consortium is keen to get started is to develop opportunities for leaders from one sector, to exchange with leaders from another sector. Exchanges may be for a little as one day or may be longer, depending on the individuals, their opportunity to exchange and the learning and development that each individual is seeking to benefit from. 

I have been involved with the consortium in my role as CFOA Director for People and Organisational Development and it is my belief that there are many benefits both for individuals and organisations to be gained from participating in leadership exchanges.  There is scope for development in terms of knowledge, skills, relationships, abilities and experience. Individuals who participate get the opportunity to engage with a broader range of views, ideas, and perspectives.   

In these times of economic downturn there is a greater need than ever for us to think innovatively and the concept of exchange can support the cross-fertilisation of ideas, roles, and resources. We can all learn from each other and by widening our horizons outside of our own service, individuals can get the opportunity to look at some of the challenges we face from a different viewpoint.  

Exchange Mechanism  

CFOA has agreed to host the exchange mechanism for our Service on the CFOA website. In the first instance, the exchange scheme will be open only to CFOA members but there is scope for future development to widen this initiative in time. Very simply, any CFOA member who would wish to be involved in the exchange will be asked to outline areas of interest and give some detail on how they would seek to benefit from an exchange opportunity. 

These details will be posted on the CFOA website and will be made publicly available.  Colleagues from other sectors would then be able to access the website, click in to the Leadership Exchange section and select a potential exchange partner. It would then be up to the individuals involved to agree any exchange. 

I believe that this initiative presents us with a great opportunity for the continuing personal development of both current FRS leaders and the leaders of the future. Exchanging views and ideas, sharing and learning is crucial to ensure a healthy future for our Service. It is too easy to see ourselves as ‘different’ and ‘unique’. There is much to be gained from learning how other organisations deal with some of the challenges we face on a daily basis. 

Password to Sharing  

It is very early days for the scheme which is being made available through the new CFOA website at www.cfoa.org.uk. If you are interested in taking part in the Leadership Exchange, Anna McDonnell, Membership Officer at CFOA HQ in Tamworth will be happy to guide you through the registration process.  

The CFOA website has been refreshed as part of the CFOA re-branding project. Anyone serving within a subscribing UK fire and rescue service can access the website. It is not just for CFOA members. If you have not already done so, it is easy to set up an account from an FRS email address. You will be issued with a password, which you can personalise, and then you will have access to all sorts of sharing and learning.  

Take a look at our library of notable practice. It is all there for you to learn from what is going on out there in our Service. No point in re-inventing the wheel if someone else out there has done the hard work for you. By the same token, if you are part of any particularly successful and innovative project within your service and you would like to share your learning with others then please get in touch with the communications team at CFOA HQ. Amy Rawlins and Jackie Findlay would love to hear from you. 

Through exchanging ideas, both we as individuals and our services as a whole will benefit. Do not sit on the sidelines – join in. Let us share and learn and continue to improve together. 

'Is current health and safety guidance adequate to protect firefighters?' 
71.43% voted 'yes' 28.57% voted 'no'  

Major terrorist attacks such as 9/11 and the July 7 London bombings have done little to stoke that much-needed unilateral reaction. The article outlines inadequate, piece-meal and disparate levels of aviation protection. Most damagingly, the author accuses airports of placing money-making schemes above security measures. Whilst there may be gaps in security, the greater fear lies in the proliferation of a silo mentality and a tick-box approach that some businesses appear to take towards protection and response activities.

What adds to this reporter’s interest in the Community Resilience section of this issue, is the articles which follow this expose.  Firstly, there is Dr Dave Slogget’s dissertation on the psychology of command and problems associated with commanding in a dynamically unfolding and chaotic situation following a terrorist attack (see pg 53 of FIRE). Rob Davies then investigates whether or not we truly learn from emergency management exercises. This is interesting as Exercise Watermark takes place in the second week of this month (see pg 9 of FIRE), and weighs against Geoff Williams’ contention that the lessons have yet to be picked up on from the likes of 9/11.

The psychology of command is a fascinating exploration of leadership styles and the requirements for ever-increasing flexibility as terrorist attacks escalate. What is often forgotten is the complex plethora of leaders operating and inter-acting before, during and after every major incident.

An emergency service chief can be as sophisticated and brilliant in preparing and overseeing highly effective response from his or her service, yet be completely hand-tied by a bureaucratic minefield of decisions made by a leader years previously who had no notion of emergency planning whatsoever.

The emergency planning and response ripple effect is so complex and comprehensive that it goes way beyond the emergency response field, up into high government offices and out across national boundaries and continents.

So we take the Community Resilience section of this issue as we take every feature and focus: a pebble tossed into the pond to create a ripple; with a separate plea to rise high above and witness the effect on the whole environment.

Whether or not aviation security measures are up to scratch is but one question in a vast array that arise. Occasionally FIRE’s correspondents may propose an answer. Mostly, we settle for raising the question and concentrate on endeavouring to ensure it is the right one.

Posted: 16.45pm, 24.02.11 

Extracurricular activities are often a source of inspiration for upcoming events, and I’ve learnt more from long-distance running than just about any other activity I’ve ever undertaken, including reading those big books that are meant to make you clever. That, as friends will testify, does not necessarily work. Running on the other hand is the most intensive, on-going learning and development pursuit I could have imagined, requiring constant personal assessment, re-alignment, kit inspection, maddening calculations on dietary intake, pointless psychoanalysis, extremely useful belief-building, mental and physical exhaustion, and blisters, of course.

Received wisdom
Part of my preparation was to ingest large amounts of knowledge/wisdom through the experience of others via the internet, magazine and books. Knowledge consumed, it then went largely discarded and off I went exploring. The 16^th century French philosopher Montaigne advised to read lots and forget most of it. I know what he means. Received wisdom is all very good, and it is useful to avoid repeating the mistakes of others, but I’ve found it more fun to plough my own furrow.

For example, one is advised to pound the beat, build up the miles, and instil resilience through perseverance. Quite frankly, I found this knackering, unnecessarily wearing on the body and numbing to the senses. Instead I explored cross-training, varied running regimes and discovering places of outstanding natural beauty. It doesn’t always work, but it sure beats relentless mile-pounding.

Received wisdom also declared that I should stop running altogether. A broken ankle from 20 years previous kept coming back to bite and the local GP simply advised me to stop beating myself up. Thanks, but no thanks. A little bit of research discovered ‘bare foot running’, whereby the pressure is applied on the middle to front part of the foot, avoiding stress on the ankle.  A simple realignment and I was off running pain-free. Okay, this is picking up on the wisdom of others (ancient knowledge at that), but it’s rediscovered through personal experience, and filtering out useless advice (in this case from a supposedly respectable GP).

Without wishing to bore you more with running stories, for me the notion of filtering received wisdom seemed to map perfectly across to emergency planning exercises. If we keep doing the same thing over and over, are we necessarily learning new things, or reaffirming old ones? How can we learn something new if we don’t do something different? Are we in danger of pounding the beat over and over again, simply dulling our senses rather than opening our minds?

www.fire-magazine.com for more updates.

 Cumbria County Councillor Gary Strong, Cabinet member for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, looks at the opportunity for merging services

A line often trotted out when the going gets tough is that the Chinese word for ‘crisis’ is composed of elements that mean ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity.’ It’s far from true but its underlying message is, and while October’s government spending review offered little to get excited about it does grant us an opportunity to create more streamlined services. 

Bob Neill MP outlined the challenging financial settlement for fire and rescue authorities and set out a number of areas where he believed significant savings could be made. 

One of those included a suggestion that services should consider sharing chief fire officers and other senior managers. So when Northumberland’s Chief Fire Officer retired in November it presented an immediate chance to look at how Cumbria and Northumberland could work together in the future. We might be the first in England to publicly announce this but I’m sure we won’t be the last. 

Combining Rural Counties 

The two counties share much more than just a border, we’re two of the most rural areas of the country with similar risk profiles of large, sparsely populated rural areas coupled with smaller urban centres with some small but significant deprived areas. 

We also share a similar mix of full-time, day crewing and retained duty systems with broadly similar operating practices and equipment as well as comparative results from the Audit Commission, Direction of Travel Assessment and Comprehensive Performance Assessment. 

The feasibility study which both county councils have now agreed to will investigate every area of the service where collaboration could prove beneficial – from a shared chief officer through to the possibility of a full combination – to identify efficiencies that can be delivered, what services can be improved, and to enhance resilience across both counties. We expect to have the study completed by the end of March. 

Of course the study and any potential future moves cannot and will not detract from the excellent work that continues in both services and it must be stressed that it is not envisaged at this stage that the savings will affect frontline services – this is an opportunity to show how we can work in partnership at a senior management level. 

At present across the UK we do things 58 times over: 58 chief fire officers, 58 sets of senior management, and 58 sets of support staff from communications to personnel and IT to name just a few – these alone are reasons to think about how we can work smarter. 

If the feasibility study recommends the two authorities should proceed to whatever the next step is, this would be just one of many examples of fire authorities sharing resources and collaborating and although this would go further than most both services see themselves continuing to work regionally with their partners in the North East and North West. 

Above all we have to remember that this is just the first step and once we have the feasibility study we will have a much clearer idea of the efficiencies that could be delivered across the two services while improving their delivery. 

Date posted: 26.01.11 

Equality and diversity 

With the financial challenge we all face, and the removal of central guidance and measurement from Communities and Local Government, it would be easy for us to think that equality and diversity is becoming less important. However, we know and have seen great examples in our own fire services, that greater understanding of equality and diversity coupled with practical, sensible implementation leads to a better organisational culture and measurable improvements in the quality of the services we provide to our communities. The Chief Fire Officers Association believes that this is the perfect time to share our collective understanding.

Looking forward 

A series of CFOA events will be taking place. The first event will start to build a picture of what an excellent fire and rescue service could look like, and this theme will run through the three events until the picture is complete.

We will also be considering the challenge of engaging those in our services who we know remain unconvinced and how we can engage them in the future.

The Fire and Rescue Service should be justifiably proud of the achievements made over the last ten years. However more needs to be done, and therefore it is vital for the Chief Fire Officers Association to continue to lead on this important agenda which is why equality and diversity remains within the portfolio of responsibilities of the President of the Association. Peter Holland, CFOA President said: “I took on leadership of equality and diversity for CFOA when I became President in September 2010 and I am delighted that I have been asked to give the keynote speech as part of the event in March. This will provide me with an opportunity to share my views in more detail and particularly to listen to others to develop and challenge my own understanding.”

The events 

This series of events provides a great opportunity for those in the Fire Service to gather, discuss and create a vision of a Fire and Rescue Service we would all like to see in the future. We hope that you will make the time to join us, to help shape the contents of these events and the future of equality and diversity in the Fire and Rescue Service.

The events will examine specific areas which present challenges to our service and try to provide practical solutions for how these can be overcome on our journey towards excellence. The first will be held on March 17, 2011 at the Deaf Cultural Centre in Ladywood, Birmingham. The second and third events will take place in October 2011 and March 2012 at the same venue.

For more information visit: www.cfoa.org.uk/events

Frontline services 

Protecting frontline services has become something of a mantra across the public sector – an empty one according to union leaders, but one that should be considered sacrosanct in the Fire and Rescue Service.  However, should and would are two separate things - the swathe of cuts will inevitably hit deeper in some locales, and frontline services will be damaged.

This is not doom-mongering – merely a reflection of the disparate structure of fire and rescue authorities across the land, consisting of a variety of combinations of county council, unitary and metropolitan authorities.

Surviving the change 

It is inevitable that some will suffer exponentially greater than their larger neighbours. If the Fire and Rescue Service nationally is to survive and thrive, it is clear that there should be no sacred cows.

In an address to the LGA/Combined Fire Authorities Conference, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority Chairman David Rowlands appealed for action, lest it be thrust upon the Service. Although Fire Minister Bob Neill expressed otherwise at the Fire Conference in Harrogate earlier this year, a proactive approach may be the saviour for those struggling to see beyond that 25 per cent Sword of Damocles.

We always refer to the Fire and Rescue Service as a national body, although it does not exist as such. Yet, the mark of sustainability should be measured in how the Service performs collectively. As Mr Rowlands pointed out: “In military parlance: if our units are so different as to be incapable of being combined, how risky is it to expect us to have similar working arrangements, standards and traditions? In truth, I propose that we are not really that different in those terms.”

The question then becomes, is there an ideal model size authority? Perhaps so, and it is hovering anywhere between Bucks and London. More important considerations are economies of scale and improved service delivery. The political and logistical obstacles obviously need weighing, but the primary drivers of cost and improvement need emphasising, so that necessary action isn’t curtailed for fear of upset.

Mergers 

Reinforcing his Chairman’s concerns, CFO Mark Jones said that if an ideal fire authority size was in existence then the driver should be towards enforced mergers and that shared services, whilst fashionable, were inadequate to the scale of cost-cutting requirements (see next issue for full report). He asked: “Are [fire authority mergers] being courted or are such changes likely to take the form of arranged marriages?”

Further, in a comparison with mergers in the commercial world, if proposed changes do not stack up he suggested that the sector “may be ripe for privatisation.” In all of these considerations, it is becoming apparent that FRS leaders are no longer considering the short-term comments of ministers as being of paramount importance. Rather, the potentially shattering economic impact of underplaying the hand wields far greater influence.

In the final analysis, mergers will prove to be inevitable. It is all down to the form they will take, and strangely enough, private sector knowledge may prove invaluable in preference to privatisation. Where we find ourselves now is that when we slip down the hierarchy of needs into survival mode, nothing is sacred anymore. Anyone who begs to differ is clearly unsighted.

We've been quite busy in the lead up to Christmas - the Emergency Services Show was a great success (although the Editor broke his tooth on a Quality Street), and the National Rally and Lobby at Westminster was a great day for everyone involved. This week we're sending FIRE magazine to the printers, and getting into the spirit of Christmas by putting the decorations up in the office.

With the cold snap invading Britain, FRSs are having to adapt to the weather. To help prevent people from being seriously injured, or worse, from falling through ice in frozen ponds and lakes, London Fire Brigade deployed water rescue capability across the capital. The extra equipment included emergency rescue boats, inflatable rescue paths, mud lances, thermal clothing and dry suits. We're keen to hear how other FRSs around the country are coping, and what preperations are being made for the rest of Winter. Please leave a comment and let us know how the cold weather is affecting your area!