EDITOR’S COLUMN
This month we go pan-European as London Commissioner Sir Ken Knight explores the wider use of ‘fire safer’ cigarettes and the AMIRA project develops a tool to assist fire and rescue services across the continent. Sir Ken Knight’s paper comes as the UK moves nearer to the nation-wide ban on smoking in public places. He suggests this could lead to an increased risk of house fires caused by smoking in the home. ‘Fire safer’ cigarettes, he claims, could go somewhere nearer to reducing deaths and injuries, if they were to be introduced across Europe. In fact he goes further, claiming that the introduction would have a similar, far-reaching effect as the foam filled regulations. He points to the US as enjoying considerable success since the introduction of reduced ignition potential cigarettes in New York, reducing smoking related fire deaths by a quarter in one year. A new UK RIP Coalition calls for the introduction of standards in the UK and has the support of CFOA and the FBU, and has already joined forces with the EU RIP Alliance to push for Europeanwide legislation, which could reduce the risk of fires by up to two thirds. FIRE will keep you posted.
The AMIRA project is similarly supported Europe-wide and is potentially a unique, vast technological resource to support fire and rescue services. The Domain Model provides Meta data on every type of incident and can interact with the Incident Commander in seconds to provide volumes of accurate information.
Reams of accurate information are also available from our legal correspondent, Richard Cox who details legal requirements for local authority trading. If there are any pressing legal questions or issues that you would like to raise, contact the editorial department.
‘Fire safer’ cigarettes – saving lives from fires
As we move towards a smoking ban in public places, London Commissioner Sir Ken Knight suggests this could lead to an increased risk of fires caused by smoking in the home. He advocates the use of ‘fire safer’ cigarettes
Advanced intelligence for remote assistance
The AMIRA (Advanced Multi-modal Intelligence for Remote Assistance) project is a pan-European initiative looking at ways of providing support for decision-makers in safety critical environments
Retaining for the future
Retained Duty System Watch Manager Tony Whiting takes a comprehensive look at Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s approach to the Retained Fire Service
Trade restrictions This year sees a legal watershed in the way fire authorities run commercial operations. Richard Cox of law firm Browne Jacobson explore the implications
Local Government White PaperCFO John Parry, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, examines the implications of last October’s Local Government White Paper |
