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To introduce this special report on Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, FIRE spoke to Russell Pearson about the future of the FRS
FIRE: What are the main challenges facing your fire service in the next decade?
RP: I’m not using the phrases ‘modernising’ or ‘changing’ any more, just ‘improving’. By any measure, we have improved firefighter safety, and improved service delivery. In my view, delivering continuous improvement with shrinking resources is a tough challenge, but, through innovation, it remains achievable. More is expected of fire and rescue services than ever before; the effects of climate change, terrorism and business continuity threats like pandemic flu will impact locally and nationally. There is an increased demand for protection and prevention, as well as effective rescue, particularly on Surrey’s busy road network, is a high priority – we are 20 times more likely to save your life at the scene of a road accident than in a fire. Flooding, be it fluvial or pluvial, is an everpresent possibility. We will not be able to deliver working alone, and it’s my belief that better collaboration – certainly amongst fire and rescue services – is essential. However, no less important is the benefit from working more closely with other emergency services. The options are being worked through in our IRMP, which we are now calling the Public Safety Plan. There are many locations in Surrey where there is a fire station, a police station and an ambulance station within 100 metres of each other. The unified response you get from the operator when you dial 999 seems to start and end there! To me, it makes much better sense to consider bringing all those services into one place; training together, planning together, responding together. We have different roles to play at the same incidents but we have much in common and in times of need, we need to identify and deliver better value for money by finding those innovative solutions together. The result would be a more efficient more cohesive level of service with less duplication. I’m not advocating any form of prescription here, just doing what makes sense. That said, I’m also not suggesting that we tear up tradition; I truly value everything that has gone before. Vision, passion and prudence are not mutually exclusive. If we are asking colleagues to undertake different activities, we will need to broaden their skills base and set targets for greater productivity. Effective time planning and prioritisation is more important than ever before, particularly for those of us on the front-line. Our Public Safety Plan states clearly, if the real value of our budget is reducing, fewer of us will need to respond from fewer but more appropriate locations and we will need to be better trained and better equipped. If we achieve continuous improvement, we will, by some performance related mechanism, deserve to be better rewarded.
FIRE: Where is Surrey Fire and Rescue Service heading?
RP: I believe that the progress that we have made over the last year or so, coupled with more improvements planned for the future shows that we are heading forwards with real confidence. We are at the forefront of developing technology which allows mobile data to be used outside of the fire engine at the scene and we will continue to implement innovative solutions. Improvements in the way that we address the AFDS calls have delivered a 40 per cent reduction in attendances since the beginning of the year and we have invested the time freed up in better targeted prevention activity and training. AVLS is tracking our fire engines, enabling us to improve our attendance standards, heading towards optimised.
Surrey has arguably one of the best mobile data systems in the country and, later this year, we will have an operational dynamic mobilising system linked to AVLS and our in-cab Panasonic Toughbooks – well ahead of the RCC tools, this combination sets a benchmark for riskappropriate- response. We are justifiably proud that the mobile data system (developed with Imass in 2001) is at the heart of the FireLink/FireControl national solution. We want the safest and most effective workforce in the country.
Last year we took delivery of 12 new eightseater Scania CAFS engines. This year we are improving our flooding and off-road capabilities. We have just moved into a new HQ building that is amongst the most resilient workplaces in the South East, with a back-up power supply, sleeping accommodation for 30 and a fully equipped major incident management facility. We want to set the bar in terms of capability, safety, resilience and efficiency.
FIRE: Are we over the industrial dispute yet?
RP: I like to think that we are well over it but I do believe that the return to work was something of a missed opportunity. Personally speaking, I would have liked us to have undertaken a full stock take of the issues raised and our capability to handle the associated risks. There was a significant shift towards prevention, which I agree with – but we are always going to be called upon to deal with fires and perform rescues of all kinds. For me it would have been a matter of phasing; operational response competence and confidence being developed at the same time as carefully ramping up our prevention and protection strategies.
FIRE: Now that fire deaths have decreased, should the pace of change be slowed down?
RP: Absolutely not. It was the right thing to do then and it remains the right thing to do now.
FIRE: Where should the Fire Service set its sights next?
RP: Longer term, I believe that the major strides forward will be achieved through much more integrated collaborations between services – not just fire and rescue but all public service providers and the voluntary sector. RCC will effectively eliminate fireground borders and this takes us into an exciting arena in terms of sharing business support functions and possibly collocation of emergency services to deliver more joined up responses. These are areas we are actively investigating.
FIRE: What is the Service doing well and what can it improve?
RP: We are making forward strides in the use of risk data, technology, equipment and engaging colleagues effectively on all levels within the organisation. However, the working conditions – the fire stations – that we ask some of our crews to operate in are unacceptable and we are seeking to improve that across the county. |
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