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NIFRS Prevention & Protection Strategy 2014–2019

September 2013

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Version Control

Version Date Owner Reason

0.1 28 Feb 2013 ACFO Ashford First draft

0.2 6 May 2013 ACFO Ashford Second draft following internal consultation

0.3 20 August 2013 ACFO Ashford Third draft for external consultation

0.4 15 September 2013 ACFO Ashford Fourth draft following further development

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Contents

Version Control 2

Introduction 4

Where are we now? 5

Where do we want to be? 16

How will we get there? Our Strategy and targets 18

Measuring our performance 25

Consultation and review 26

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Community Risk Intelligence

Integrated Development of Risk Reduction

Solutions

Planning of Service Delivery Activity

Delivery of Community Safety

Activities

Performance Management of

Targets and Action Plans

Evaluation of Outcomes

Introduction

This strategy sets out how Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) will protect the public and business

community in Northern Ireland from the dangers of fire and other emergencies. In particular we will describe how

we will:

measure the risk from fire and other emergencies to the people of Northern Ireland and describe how we

will use this information to help us decide on where how and when we deliver our services;

work to educate and inform the community of the dangers of fire and in doing so help prevent fires and

other emergencies from happening;

work in partnership with other services, stakeholders and volunteers to help deliver a safer community;

prioritise our prevention work to work most closely with those most at risk;

engage with all sections of our community, in particular those most at risk of becoming involved in

offending behaviour;

carry out a risk-based audit programme to measure fire safety in non-domestic premises;

take steps to educate stakeholders to help reduce the risk in non-domestic premises, and provide

professional advice on matters relating to Fire Safety; and

enforce The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Fire Safety Regulations

(Northern Ireland) 2010.

This strategy will not be concerned with how we respond to fires and emergencies. However, where appropriate it

will outline how we will employ an integrated response to risk reduction as demonstrated below.

The strategy supersedes our previous strategy and will last until 1 April 2019; the implementation of the strategy

will begin in 2013–14 when it has been agreed following all necessary consultation.

Figure 1

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Where are we now?

Strategic Context

PESTELO Analysis

A PESTELO analysis is an established method of analysing the various elements of the operating

environment that an organisation exists in, with a view to making strategic planning decisions.

Political

The political environment for NIFRS is dominated by the devolved assembly. With full devolution completed

in 2011 there are 13 government departments each headed by a minister. NIFRS is included in the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS).

The impact of the pending Review of Public Administration is still to be determined for NIFRS. Depending

upon the final make up of the council structure and decisions relating to council and NIFRS boundaries, the

structure and service delivery model of NIFRS is likely to need to be developed accordingly.

NIFRS is increasingly involved in cross-border engagement. The success of the “Driving Change”

programme and the North-South Fire Safety Week have led to increasing co-operation and the development

of Memoranda of Understanding between NIFRS and a number of Services from the Republic of Ireland.

Economic

Northern Ireland remains one of the most economically challenged regions of the UK. An increase in

unemployment and unoccupied properties is often associated with an increase in deliberate fires.

The NIFRS revenue budget allocation is currently around £75m per annum. During the life of the strategy

there will be a Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) that will impact upon all of the public sector in

Northern Ireland. The likelihood is that budgets for NIFRS will come under increasing pressure in the years

to come, and we will need to develop innovative ways of delivering our service to meet budgetary constraints

without cutting back on the service to the public.

The introduction of the Northern Ireland Community Safety College at Desertcreat will present an opportunity

to enhance our partnership working, and will develop economic benefits for the partners involved and

Northern Ireland in general.

The nature of Prevention activities is such that they are a cost to the organisation and the financial benefits

to the public purse are often not immediately apparent. NIFRS will need to produce accurate data to enable

the proper and accurate evaluation of prevention work.

Social

Society in Northern Ireland is changing. People live longer and are more likely to become vulnerable as a

result. People are more likely to live independently or, when unwell, be treated in the community than they

might have been in the past. This can lead to increasing difficulty around keeping people safe from fire due

to health and mobility issues.

The way in which we communicate as a society has changed significantly in recent years; the explosion in

the use of social media and ICT has led to a culture of instant information and scrutiny.

Northern Ireland is a community emerging from a long and difficult conflict. There is currently much less

likelihood of widespread public disorder and serious terrorist incidents than there has been in years gone by;

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however ,community tensions remain in some areas, and where this is the case there is always an increased

possibility of deliberate fire setting and more challenges in relation to community engagement as a result.

Technical

Fire Safety technology has improved hugely in recent years. Fire Safety equipment such as automatic

detection, sprinklers, and other forms of active and passive fire protection are more sophisticated and

effective than ever before. Technology which helps keep people safe in their homes, such as monitoring

devices, has also developed hugely in recent years and provides an opportunity to help get assistance

quickly to people who need it.

Technology also creates expectations amongst the public in relation to how we deal with them. There is a

growing expectation that NIFRS will provide a range of contact options and as well as the expected

involvement with social media, tools such as specialised phone applications and Bluetooth messaging allow

communities to communicate in new and innovative ways.

Environmental

Changes in our environment are leading to challenging conditions for NIFRS. In recent years we have seen

an overall increase in the numbers of calls where we are called to attend flooding incidents or those involving

large rural areas.

We have also seen other weather-related incidents caused by such as prolonged cold spells leading to

difficulties with water supplies and gaining access to people due to road conditions.

Legal

The legal framework that governs much of the work of NIFRS is captured in The Fire and Rescue Services

(Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.

The job of the Fire and Rescue Service can be difficult and dangerous, making it even more important than

ever that we take cognisance of the need to keep our people safe at work, as well as protecting the safety of

the public. In doing this we are always working to ensure that we meet the requirements of a range of health

and safety legislation/guidance, chiefly the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern

Ireland) 2000 and the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, while following the guidance

set out in the Health & Safety Executive guidance HS (G) 65.

Organisational

NIFRS is undergoing a period of sustained and significant organisational change. In recent years there have

been a number of changes of senior personnel and the NIFRS Board. It is proposed that there will be a

fundamental review of NIFRS. This is likely to lead to a programme of reform and possible restructure of the

organisation.

Incidents, deaths and injuries in the last five years

Between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012, NIFRS received 198,031 calls through its Regional Control Centre

(RCC) and subsequently attended 146,0901. Of these incidents, 19,140 were Primary (Major) Fires and

9,685 Special Service Calls. The tables that follow provide a summary of the types of incidents that NIFRS

has attended.

1 Excludes Exercises, Tests and Standby mobilisations

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Table 1 – Mobilised Calls

Type Description Calls Fatalities Casualties Rescues

MF Major Fire 19140 91 2572 703

FG False Alarms with Good Intent 14270

FM False Alarm Malicious 4882

CF Chimney Fire 7483

FD False Alarm Due to Apparatus 38901

SS Special Service Call 9685 374 6774 5097

SF Secondary Fire 51729

Total 146090 465 9346 5800

Primary Fires

Table 2 – Primary Fires by Supposed Cause

Year Accidental Deliberate N/A2 Total

2007/08 1863 2646

4509

2008/09 1757 2167

3924

2009/10 1775 2026 1 3802

2010/11 1793 1823

3616

2011/21 1698 1589 2 3289

Total 8886 10251 3 19140

Table 3 – Fatalities Incident Type3

Incident Type 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

Aircraft 3 3

Car – No RTC 1 1

Care Home 1 1

Dwelling 204 12 8 11 10 61

Late Call – Fumes 2 2

Private Garage 1 1

RTC – Fire 2 8 4 14

Suicide 1 1 3 3 8

Total 24 21 14 17 15 91

2 Not Applicable incidents – No Fire Classed as MF due to Firefighter Injury 3 Cause not determined deemed as Accidental as per Home Office (CLG) guidance for Primary Fires 4 Includes multiple fatalities at Lammey Crescent Incident

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Table 4 – Casualties Incident Type

Incident Type 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

Boiler House 1 2 3

Defective Flue 1 8 11 20

Domestic Oil Tank 1 1 2

Domestic Shed 1 1 2 1 6 11

Dwelling 392 372 361 419 379 1923

Miscellaneous 33 29 37 37 21 157

Other Residential 6 10 3 3 26 48

Police Station 11 11

Prison 4 1 4 10 19

Private Garage 2 8 2 5 11 28

RTC – Fire 32 18 12 20 9 91

Sheltered Housing 5 6 7 20 20 58

Vehicle – non RTC 15 27 22 21 14 99

Workplace 20 15 23 16 28 102

Total 512 494 481 547 538 2572

Dwellings

Over this period, NIFRS has attended 4,0855 accidental fires in dwellings (Figure 7). 49 people (Figure 8)

lost their lives as a result of these fires with a further 1,549 (Figure 9) being injured. Of the 49 fatalities, 23

were over 65.

Table 5 – Accidental Dwelling Fires6

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

859 843 820 813 750 4085

Table 6 – Accidental Dwelling Fires (Fatalities)

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

10 11 7 11 10 49

5 There were a further 1,589 deliberate dwelling fires (28%) 6 Excludes Domestic Oil Tanks, Defective Flues, Boiler Houses and Sheltered Dwellings.

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Table 7 – Fatal Dwelling Fires by Cause

Source of Ignition Total

Open Fire 5

Smoking Materials 18

Chip Pan 4

Electrics 3

Electric Blanket 2

Child 1

Clothes near Source 2

Gas Appliance 1

Other 8

Cooking Appliance 1

Non-Cooking Appliance 2

Candles 2

Total 49

Table 8 – Accidental Dwelling Fires (Casualties)

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

316 298 288 332 315 1549

Table 9 – Casualty Sex and Age range where known.7

Age Range Female Male Total

≥ 65 148 112 260

0 – 18 60 83 143

19 – 29 107 170 277

30 – 49 206 271 477

50 – 64 126 179 305

Total 647 815 1462

Whilst attending dwelling fires (All Causes), personnel recorded 1,209 homes where there was no smoke

alarm fitted, or where the smoke alarm was defective, disconnected or had the battery removed. Over the 5

year period, the main causes of accidental fire in the home have been smoking materials, chip and grill pan

fires, cooking appliances and other electrical appliances.

Special Service Calls

Table 10 – Special Service Call Fatalities and Casualties

Type Description 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

SS Special Service Call

Fatalities 82 73 97 56 66 374

Casualties 1495 1407 1456 1263 1153 6774

7 Date range not known for 87 Casualties

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Table 11 – Special Service Call Fatalities (Incident Type)

Incident Type 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

Aircraft 4 4

Carbon Monoxide 1 3 1 5

Effecting Entry 2 4 6 1 3 16

Miscellaneous 7 4 7 5 10 33

Railway 1 1 1 3

RTC 60 50 64 29 33 236

Slurry 1 1 2

Suicide 9 8 10 3 14 44

Water 3 6 9 9 4 31

Total 82 73 97 56 66 374

Table 12 – Special Service Call Casualties (Incident Type)

Generic Type 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

Non RTC 221 204 238 245 232 1140

RTC 1274 1203 1218 1018 921 5634

Total 1495 1407 1456 1263 1153 6774

NIFRS has dealt with 236 fatalities at RTC incidents over the period, 180 male and 56 female.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0_18 18_30 30_45 45_65 Over 65 NotKnown

26

84

39 48

28 11

RTC Fatalities

RTC Fatalities

Figure 2 RTC Fatalities by age range

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Wildland Fires and Secondary Fires

Over the period, NIFRS has attended 51,729 secondary fires, 49,036 (95%) are believed to have been

started deliberately. A considerable amount of time and resources has been tied up dealing with

‘Wildland Fires’8.

Table 13 – Wlidland Fires

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

3887 3882 3288 5192 3653 19902

Table 14 – Hoax Calls

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total Received 4188 3744 3179 3037 2778 16926

Mobilised 1204 1099 989 820 770 4882

Over the period NIFRS has attended 35,7869 Unwanted Fire Signals (UFS). These are calls received from

an automatic fire alarm which resulted in a false alarm.

Table 15 – UFS

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total

6943 7082 7287 7280 7194 35786

Attacks on Firefighters

NIFRS records attacks on personnel for the following categories:10

Hostile Crowd

Damage to Appliance

Damage to Appliance and Injury

Injury Only

Table 16 – Recorded Attacks

2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 Total Hostile Crowd 217 170 156 145 117 805

Damage to Appliance 42 35 31 27 22 157

Damage and Injury 1 2 0 4 2 9

Injury Only 3 2 4 2 3 14

Total 263 209 191 178 144 985

8 Includes all agricultural type fires from area of grass – forestry 9 Includes domestic and non domestic premises (BVPI only non domestic) 10 Categories are different in IRS

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OUR CURRENT ACTIVITIES

LIFE Scheme

The LIFE Scheme is delivered by personnel based at

local operational Fire Stations. It is a 5-day course

requiring demanding physical activity, and includes work

similar to that expected of trainee Firefighters. The day

starts at 8.00am and finishes at 3.30pm Monday to

Friday, working towards a ceremony on the Friday at

which all the young people who have successfully

completed the course graduate.

One of the main aims of the scheme is to build a better

understanding between young people within our community and personnel within NIFRS.

The scheme is targeted at any young person, male or female, aged between 13 and 19 years, who could

benefit from it, and includes young people from all sections of the community. It focuses on building

essential life skills such as teamwork and the need for personal responsibility and helps to develop

leadership skills and confidence.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety funds NIFRS annually each year, and the

Community Development Department within NIFRS allocates funds to provide the LIFE Scheme and youth

engagement programmes listed below.

Cadet Firefighter Scheme

The Cadet Firefighter Scheme is a completely voluntary youth organisation

formed within NIFRS. The aims of the scheme are:

to provide a varied and interesting programme of activities for

young people, both male and female, from all sections of the

community;

to raise their awareness of the activities of the Fire & Rescue

Service;

to instil a sense of community spirit; and

to provide an opportunity for personal development.

The Cadet Firefighter Scheme is open to young people both male and female from all sections of the

community aged between 14 and 15 years, who live or go to school within a specified area.

The Cadets meet one evening per week throughout the school year, normally from 7.00pm to 9.30pm.

Activities are designed to be informative, educational and enjoyable, allowing for both practical and

theoretical work.

Firesetters Scheme

Both statistical and anecdotal evidence has shown that more

than 90% of deliberate fires are started by children and young

people. It is now accepted throughout the Fire & Rescue Service

that to reduce the risk and financial burden these deliberate fires

cause, we must work with the young people starting them.

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The Firesetters Scheme is an early intervention and education programme for children and young people

who are firesetting, and can greatly reduce the chances of firesetting recurring.

The aim of the Firesetters Scheme is to achieve a “Fire Safe” person and environment. By reducing

firesetter reoccurrence rates, the risk to the young person and members of their household and community

is minimised. This is accomplished by:

identifying, then addressing the behaviour of young people developing a fascination with fire;

helping them understand the potential consequences of their actions;

working with parents or guardians to dissuade fire playing or firesetting; and

working in partnership with other organisations to help deal with this problem.

SCHOOLS’ PROGRAMMES

It is recognised that in order to effectively promote fire safety, education should begin with the young. With

this in mind, NIFRS has developed a three-tiered educational programme that is delivered along with the

educational curriculum, reflecting and supporting community safety campaigns.

Frances the Firefly

Frances the Firefly is an educational initiative targeted at pre-school children aged

between 3 and 5 years, promoting fire safety along with the dangers of playing with

matches. It is presented by visiting Firefighters, teachers or parents in story book or

DVD form.

Safety Team

Safety Team is NIFRS’ Key Stage 2 children’s educational package targeted at all

Primary 5 classes within the province.

The concept, involving a set of 15 cartoon characters, was designed by NIFRS’

Community Development Department in association with its media agency.

Safety Team is delivered to all primary schools within Northern Ireland who have

accepted NIFRS’ offer to present the package with the aim of reaching at least 95% of

schools. It is presented by NIFRS personnel within the classroom over a 40 minute

period and positively links NIFRS with the community at an early stage.

The presentation aims to teach children the following aspects of fire safety in the home:

knowledge of how to maintain and test smoke alarms

knowledge of the main causes of fire in the home

knowledge of how to carry out a night-time fire safety check

knowledge of how to prepare a fire escape plan.

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Firestorm

Firestorm is NIFRS’ most recent Key Stage 3 Secondary Education

Programme targeted at Year 9 (second year) pupils throughout the

province.

The aim of Firestorm is to emphasise the importance of fire safety, with

particular regard to responsibility for the consequences of arson and hoax

calls. It is also designed to forge closer links between NIFRS and the

younger community.

Roadsafe Roadshow

Roadsafe Roadshow has been developed by the Road Policing Department within the Police Service of

Northern Ireland (PSNI) who wanted to address the problem of injuries and deaths to young drivers aged

between 17 and 24 years. They are responsible for 41% of fatalities and 34% of serious injuries in

collisions where a car driver was responsible, although they comprise only 15% of current car licence

holders.

The PSNI, NIFRS, Ambulance Service, an A&E Consultant, Road Trauma Support Group and a local

commercial radio station came together to produce a theatre style show which highlighted the sequence of

events, the resources used and the impact on the emergency service personnel when a road traffic

collision (RTC) occurs.

Show venues are usually in schools and are directed at year 13 and 14 pupils.

RACE Scheme

The aim of this initiative is to encourage young people to understand the consquences of an RTC and,

subsequently, reduce the number of young people involved in RTCs on our roads. NIFRS recognises that

young people are the most vulnerable on our roads and have therefore developed the Road Accident

Consequences Education programme (RACE) imparting the principal message "cut it out before we cut

you out".

The RACE Scheme has been developed to give young people aged between 14 to 25 years the

knowledge of the destructive consequences and potentially life changing ramifications of an RTC. The

programme is consolidated with a strong technology component to engage the 14 to 25 year old target

group. Innovatively, we have combined a variety of multi-media learning tools such as high tech animation,

utlising characters and soundbites many young people can relate to. Powerful testimonials from people

directly affected by RTCs and practical sessions with NIFRS personnel bring home the raw reality of the

consequences of RTCs. The RACE Scheme engages with young people to:

raise the profile and awareness of the consequences of RTCs;

increase community awareness of the factors that cause RTCs;

engender a responsible attitude to road use; and

improve current/future road user behaviour.

http://www.nifrs.org/fire-storm/

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Home Fire Safety Checks

The Home Fire Safety Check (HFSC) initiative has been running in all

NIFRS Area Commands, who work in partnership with groups such as

Home Accident Prevention groups, Local District Councils, Police and

Community Safety Partnerships and Investing for Health groups.

These partnerships have been very successful in raising the level of

smoke alarm ownership in Northern Ireland to 97% in 2012 (MRNI

Research survey March 2012).

The aim of the HFSC initiative is to identify those most at risk from

fire in the home and to reduce the risk by raising awareness to the

danger, providing appropriate advice and,

where necessary, fitting a smoke alarm.

During the reporting period April 2011 to

March 2012, NIFRS completed 10,893

HFSCs and fitted 4,812 smoke alarms

(10 year battery operated).

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Where do we want to be?

Our mission, vision and key areas of focus.

The Mission of NIFRS is:

To deliver a fire and rescue service and work in partnership

with others to ensure the safety and well-being of our community

Our vision is:

Protecting our Community

In order to achieve our vision NIFRS is committed to educating and informing our communities that we serve

in order to reduce risk within homes, businesses and workplaces. We will continually monitor what we do in

order to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible service. The strategy will help us to achieve our

vision and mission and lead to better performance in our key areas of focus, we hope to achieve:

1. Fewer deaths and injuries caused by fires and other emergencies

2. A reduction in the numbers of accidental fires in homes

3. A reduction in the numbers of deliberate fires

4. Fewer deaths and injuries on our roads

5. Less damage to property and to the environment

6. Decreased levels of anti-social behaviour

7. Increased partnership working between NIFRS and other stakeholders

8. Safer business premises

9. Reduced numbers of false alarms

10. Efficient services that are good value for money

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The model below demonstrates how we will work to make life safer for our communities.

Figure 3

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How will we get there?

Our Strategy and targets

Defining and measuring the risk (Key area of focus 1)

In NIFRS we will deliver our Prevention and Protection activities using a risk-based approach. A key element

of this is our Integrated Risk Management Plan, (IRMP). NIFRS has developed and consulted upon an IRMP

during 2012. This IRMP will ensure that local arrangements are put in place to manage the risks in Northern

Ireland. As part of our IRMP process we will continue to:

identify the risk to our community;

evaluate our current arrangements;

identify opportunities to improve our service and make the community of Northern Ireland safer;

decide what resources we need and where they need to be; and

make arrangements to monitor and review our service.

Measuring the risk to our community is a sophisticated process. To do this we will make use of the Fire

Service Emergency Cover (FSEC) tool. We will use this in conjunction with our existing processes for

gathering risk-critical information and historical incident information, as well as established indicators such as

lifestyle data to build a rich picture of the risk to our community and the resources required to mitigate the

risk. It is also important to remember that the risks will change, and for this reason we will build in a

programme of monitoring and review to ensure that our Community Risk Assessment remains valid.

A fundamental element of our Prevention and Protection Strategy is the importance of linking these aspects

of our work to the Operational Response that NIFRS provides. Prevention, Protection and Response must

complement each other in order for NIFRS to provide the best possible service for the public of Northern

Ireland. We will achieve this through the application of our risk modelling processes and utilising our

Operational Management Framework to address the risk in a consistent and professional manner.

Home Fire Safety Checks

A key part of many of our prevention activities is the free HFSC as mentioned earlier. NIFRS will review our

policy and procedures for the delivery of HFSCs and implement the findings. NIFRS will introduce a new

programme of risk-focused HFSCs to supplement our operational response and ensure that we provide an

integrated focused service.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

1. Devise publish and implement a Community Risk Assessment for Northern Ireland

2. Review, revise and implement an updated risk-focused programme of HFSCs

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Central direction, local priorities (Key area of focus 10)

NIFRS will develop policies and procedures that will allow Prevention and Protection activities to be delivered

in a professional and consistent manner. However, they will be designed in such a way that they can be

delivered to meet local priorities. Areas and Districts will publish local plans in relation to prevention and

protection and these will be displayed in NIFRS premises. To ensure a consistent and professional

approach, NIFRS will develop a register of approved interventions along with a methodology for evaluating

the effectiveness of our activities.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

3. Publish Local Prevention and Protection plans in each NIFRS district

4. Display the plans on NIFRS stations

5. Develop an electronic register of approved prevention activities including evaluation methodology

Partnership working (Key area of focus 7)

In NIFRS we recognise the importance and the benefit of working in partnership with other stakeholders in

order to improve the service that we provide to the public. There are a wide range of partners that we may

engage with, and many potential benefits. We also want to make sure that the service we provide is

consistent and professional; in order to do that we will create a partnership register, closely linked to the

approved activities register mentioned above. We will also appoint a partnership co-ordinator who will

manage our connections with our partners and ensure a consistent and professional approach. We will

constantly review the effectiveness of partnership working and consider partnerships as an opportunity to

allow local communities to help develop our strategy.

Income generation

An important aspect of partnership working is the potential for income generation and the benefits that this

may bring. NIFRS does not currently generate income to deliver services. However, over the life of this

strategy NIFRS will examine the potential benefits of delivering Prevention activities based upon income

generation.

Policing and Community Safety Partnerships

As part of the devolution of Justice to the NI Assembly, 2012 saw the introduction of Policing and Community

Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) in Northern Ireland. These bodies are based upon council boundaries and

include representation from statutory agencies, the voluntary sector and community groups. In January 2013

NIFRS was formally designated as a partner in the PCSPs and as such have representation on all of the

PCSPs in Northern Ireland.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

6. Create and publish a Prevention Partnership register for NIFRS

7. Appoint and maintain a Partnership co-ordinator for NIFRS

8. Provide a representative to all PCSPs in Northern Ireland

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People at Risk (Key area of focus 1)

In Northern Ireland in recent years the majority of people that have died or been injured in accidental fires

have been older people or those who would be vulnerable for another reason such as impaired mobility or

mental health. NIFRS has recently introduced a separate sub-strategy aimed at protecting those most at risk

in our society. The objectives targets and workstreams of the People at Risk Strategy are designed to

complement the overall Prevention and Protection Strategy.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

9. NIFRS will implement the People at Risk Strategy through the creation of a project board and four workstreams a. Partnership working b. Advertising and publicity c. Assistive technology d. Regulatory and legislative requirements

10. To reduce accidental fire deaths in dwellings amongst people at risk by 20% from the 2012-13 baseline year on year over the lifetime of the strategy

11. To reduce fire-related injuries in dwellings amongst people at risk by 10% from the 2013-14 baseline year on year over the lifetime of the strategy

Youth Engagement (Key area of focus 6)

NIFRS has an established youth engagement programme as previously outlined. To supplement this

strategy we will review all of our youth engagement activities, and update our approved activities register.

Early in 2013 NIFRS delivered a pilot Team programme for the Prince’s Trust organisation. We will carry out

an evaluation of this and other Prince’s Trust programmes and incorporate them into our youth engagement

activities. Our aim is to become a full delivery partner for Prince’s Trust and consider a range of funding

options to enhance all of our youth engagement programmes.

NIFRS will also continue to contribute to the development of the multi-agency RADAR Safety Centre project

with a view towards opening the centre in 2014.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

12. Become a full delivery partner for Prince’s Trust programmes

13. Contribute to the delivery of the RADAR Safety Centre project opening in February 2014

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Education Programmes (Key area of focus 2)

NIFRS has a successful and well established schools education programme, with programmes delivered at

pre-school, Primary 5 and Key stage 3. During the life of this strategy NIFRS will review and revise as

necessary all of our education programmes.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

14. Review and revise as necessary NIFRS’ schools education programme

Advertising (Key area of focus 1)

NIFRS has a statutory duty to educate the public in relation to the dangers of fire. Campaign advertising has

been proven to be an effective tool in delivering messages to a wide audience. NIFRS has a substantial

library of advertising material and we intend to develop new creative material for delivery in conjunction with

an advertising provider.

Social media/technology

We will use our Social Media Strategy to ensure that we can communicate with the public in a relevant and

professional manner; we will introduce local social media contributors so that Area and District Commanders

can communicate with local people on local issues. We will exploit technology to further enhance our

message and we will explore the possibilities of utilising smartphone applications and Bluetooth messaging.

NIFRS will use our website and do all that we can to ensure that our messages are widely available and

accessible to the public.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

15. Introduce a programme of campaign advertising to complement the Prevention and Protection Strategy and in line with Government Advertising Unit guidelines

16. Develop a Smartphone Fire Safety Application

17. Review and refresh the NIFRS website

Fire Investigation (Key area of focus 5)

NIFRS has a statutory duty to investigate the cause of fires and has signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with PSNI that deals specifically with Fire Investigation (FI). In order to maintain an

effective FI capability NFRS has trained a number of Level 2 Fire Investigation Officers (FIOs) who are

distributed across the 4 Areas and in HQ. The established number of FIOs is 52, distributed as follows:

Eastern 10

Northern 12

Southern 12

Western 12

FRSHQ 6

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NIFRS will:

maintain an effective FI capability within NIFRS;

obtain information through FI which will be used by NIFRS to:

inform risk-profiling and help reduce the incidence of fire and other emergencies by the provision of a

targeted efficient and effective safety education, advice and legal enforcement service;

drive inter-agency partnership working to ensure the safety and well-being of the vulnerable in our

community; and

identify fires of special interest which have the potential to impact upon Firefighter safety;

develop profiles of fire behaviour in the built environment to inform tactical response and protect both the

public and our Firefighters;

inform the inspection process of potential legal enforcement issues identified through Fire Investigations

in conjunction with After the Fire audits; and

develop and implement a process of audit and review to provide assurance that FIs cover all aspects of

the incident that may have contributed to the cause of the fire and final outcomes.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

18. Review and revise as necessary the protocols for deploying Fire Investigation Officers

19. Create a central database to record analyse and share information gathered in the Fire Investigation process

20. Develop a quality assurance process for FI

Road Safety (Key area of focus 4)

NIFRS has developed a bespoke Road Safety Strategy which is designed to complement this overall

strategy, as well as Northern Ireland’s Road Safety Strategy to 2020. It is anticipated that our Road Safety

Strategy, in conjunction with the work of other road safety stakeholders will contribute to Northern Ireland’s

targets for 2020 (measured against a baseline of the 2004–2008 average figures) which are:

to reduce the number of people killed in road collisions by at least 60% by 2020;

to reduce the number of people seriously injured in road collisions by at least 45% by 2020;

to reduce the number of children (aged 0 to 15) killed or seriously injured in road collisions by at least

55% by 2020; and

to reduce the number of young people (aged 16 to 24) killed or seriously injured in road collisions by at

least 55% by 2020.

Volunteering (Key area of focus 10)

In order to improve the service we provide and make the best possible use of limited resources, NIFRS will

give consideration to the use of volunteers to deliver some of our community engagement activities.

Volunteers that work for us will be drawn from all areas of our community and will receive appropriate

training and uniform.

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We will take a staged approach to developing the use of volunteers, beginning with a small-scale pilot

scheme before determining the extent to which we will incorporate volunteers into our mainstream activities.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

21. Implement a pilot scheme for 20 volunteers

22. Carry out an evaluation of the pilot scheme

23. Create a volunteering policy/procedure for wider adoption in NIFRS

Advocates (Key area of focus 1)

NIFRS needs to ensure that in engaging with the public, we are relevant and focused upon the needs of the

community. To enhance this aspect of our work we will examine the possibility of introducing Community

Safety Advocates (CSAs) to help deliver the Prevention Protection and Road Safety message. CSA

employees will be non-operational personnel, but they will wear a uniform. We will recruit CSAs to help us

manage our partnership and community engagement work, and we will specifically look for people who can

demonstrate their ability to make contact and engage with everybody in our community. We will fund the

CSA programme by reallocating part of the retained Fire Safety budget; this will make better use of our

resources and improve the availability of our retained Firefighters. We will initially run a three-year pilot

scheme and base future decisions relating to CSAs upon the evaluation of that scheme.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

24. Run a three-year pilot scheme for CSAs in Western, Southern and Northern Area Commands

Regulation (Key area of focus 8)

NIFRS has a duty to enforce The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and The Fire and Rescue

Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. It is our aim to ensure that all non-domestic properties are safe for

the public and the people who work in them. This is an important area of our work, not only for the safety of

the people involved in non-domestic premises but also for the business community and the wider economy.

Many businesses that experience a fire will never recover from the experience. We will work with the

business community to inform and educate them as to the dangers of fire and help them to meet the

requirements of the regulations in a proportionate and consistent manner, only resorting to enforcement

when absolutely necessary to do so.

Risk-based audit programme (Key area of focus 8)

A key element of our statutory duty is the implementation of a risk-based programme of audits of non-

domestic premises. We will carry out a programme of audits based upon the risk profile of the premises

involved; for our planned audits we will ensure an appropriate spread across each of the 17 categories of

premises used in the FSEC risk management model, with emphasis being placed where there is the most

risk to life and property. We will also carry out “Post-Fire” audits, where appropriate, in non-domestic

properties that have experienced a fire to help them learn from the experience and prevent further instances.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

25. Run a risk-based programme of audits of non-domestic premises

26. Utilise at least 40% of the available working time of specialist Fire Safety Officers in delivering the audit programme

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Unwanted Fire Signals and False Alarms (Key area of focus 9)

Unwanted Fire Signals (UFS) are alarm signals generated by automatic systems indicating that there is a fire

in non-domestic premises. Our experience shows that the vast majority of these are false alarms. We will

implement our revised UFS Policy and, working in partnership with the relevant stakeholders, we will reduce

the number of alarms generated and the movements of Fire Service resources to deal with these incidents

when they do occur.

Objective 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17

27. Implement a revised UFS Policy including the necessary training for RCC and operational crews

28. Reduce UFS mobilisations by 20% over the life of the strategy using the 2012–13 year as a baseline

Legislative development (Key area of focus 8)

NIFRS recognises the value of developing legislation and regulations to meet changing circumstances.

During the life of this strategy we will lobby the Northern Ireland Assembly to review the need for new

legislation, particularly in the area of incorporating assistive technology such as the use of domestic

sprinklers in new-build properties.

Competence framework (Key area of focus 8)

Successful delivery of our strategy will depend upon us having properly trained people available and properly

equipped to carry out their duties.

To ensure that this is the case, all of our people who are involved in the delivery of Prevention and Protection

activities will be trained to the appropriate level in accordance with our development framework. We will use

a variety of providers both internal and external and where possible we will seek to carry out joint training

with relevant agencies such as local authority licensing authorities, building control etc.

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Measuring our performance

We will measure our performance utilising information collated from a number of relevant sources. These

will include for example:

Incident Recording System

Financial records

Our enforcement records

Public opinion/surveys.

Performance Indicators

The following table shows the performance indicators that will show how well we are meeting the targets

outlined in this strategy.

No Indicator What does this show? Target

1 The number of accidental fire deaths in domestic premises per 100,000 of population.

How well we are carrying out our duty to prevent fires in the home and respond quickly and appropriately when a fire occurs.

We would like to eradicate accidental fire deaths in Northern Ireland. We believe that this will one day be achievable. In the interim we have set ourselves a target of 0.1 per 100,000 of population which in Northern Ireland is equivalent to 2 accidental fire deaths per year.

2 The number of Fire Safety messages received by the public.

How well we are meeting our statutory duty to inform the public of the danger of fires and other emergencies.

That every member of the Northern Ireland public has access to at least 24 appropriate Fire Safety messages per year

3 The number of hours spent by specialist officers on our risk-based audit programme.

How well we are meeting our requirements in relation to The Fire Safety Regulations (NI) 2010

That 40% of all specialist officers’ hours available are spent on the Fire Safety audit programme.

4 The number of NIFRS mobilisations to Unwanted Fire Signals (UFS)

How well we are engaging with the business community to reduce UFS

Reduce UFS by 20% over the life of the strategy based upon the 12–13 year baseline.

5 The overall cost of delivering our Prevention and Protection strategy.

How efficiently we are delivering our Prevention and Protection programme.

TBC

Reporting our performance

NIFRS will report on our performance through our annual report. The NIFRS Board meets monthly in a public

meeting. We will report our performance monthly to the Board based upon the indicators outlined above.

Responsibilities

Responsibility for delivery of this strategy lies with the Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO) who is

Director with responsibility for Prevention and Protection.

Amendments to this strategy will be subject to the approval of the NIFRS Corporate Management

Team and the NIFRS Board.

Delivery of sub-strategies referred to in this document are the responsibility of the appointed lead

Officer/Chair for that work stream.

Delivery of day-to-day Prevention and Protection activities are the responsibility of nominated

individuals.

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Consultation and review

This strategy will be consulted upon in line with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. We also want to allow

the public to have their say in relation to what we are planning for their service, so we would like to invite

everybody to make contact and share their opinions with us.

Contact Methods

Telephone: 028 9266 4221

Fax: 028 9267 7402

Email: kevin.oneill@nifrs.org

Next Review

NIFRS will review this strategy 12 months after implementation and at any time when there is reason to

believe that the strategy is no longer fit for purpose.

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