There are less people in Staffordshire dying and being seriously injured from fire than ever before - Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service have recently announced the annual statistics, which now provide information covering a period from 2001-2006.
Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority have treated getting the numbers of deaths and serious injuries from fire down as their number one priority - and it is a policy that is shown to work by these recent figures. Since 2001, fire deaths and serious injuries have reduced by over 70 per cent. That means there have been nearly 400 fewer deaths and injuries from accidental fires in homes since 2001!
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is determined to build on existing prevention activities and develop its initiatives to raise awareness, inform and educate to drive deaths and serious injuries down even further.
The Fire and Rescue Authority is committed to protecting rural and urban communities in Staffordshire - and will build seven new fire stations plus three response bases, and a new educational resource centre. The new stations include a multimillion pound state of the art community safety facility at Sandyford, North Stoke. Plans are also well advanced for the refurbishment or redevelopment of all its other fire stations on a prioritised, rolling programme over the next few years.
“Key to managing risk is moving our resources around the county which includes our appliances and our staff – to best meet the identified needs - but there will be NO redundancies amongst frontline service delivery and NO fire stations will be closed,” a spokesperson told FIRE.

The Chief Fire Officer/ Chief Executive of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service Alan Doig, commented: “Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service have a proven track record in keeping the people of Staffordshire safe and we are committed to maintaining that position, and building on it to make people even safer. There will be no compromise regarding this objective and all our plans have been developed around this single overriding, priority.”
Together with facilities that will be fit for purpose, additional money is going into providing better cover for community safety and risk prevention work - over £1m in total (this includes providing opportunities for a much better pay and benefits system for our highly committed, part time retained firefighters, with regular hours).
Across the county, we are investing in the development of risk reduction teams, comprising existing fire fighters and staff, concentrated on providing targeted intervention and advice. This includes the provision of smoke detectors, Home Fire Risk Assessments, electric blankets, electric deep fat fryers and so forth.
The service is also still investing in state of the art fire appliances, cutting equipment and specialist vehicles which will not only ensure that we provide a more efficient service, but also use resources effectively.
The Chairman of Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Mr Derek Davis, commented: “The Fire and Rescue  Authority and its service are utterly committed to making people safe from fire and on the roads through proactive prevention. The combination of prevention, protection and effective response will build safer communities across the county.”