North Ayrshire PFC - 2023-24 Q4 Report (combined)
North Ayrshire Council · 10 June 2024
Back to Police and Fire and Rescue Committee — 10 June 2024 and its agenda
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Page | 1 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Police & Fire and Rescue Committee – 10 June 2024 Subject Performance Report and Service updates Purpose To advise members of the Police and Fire Committee as to progress against North Ayrshire’s Local Fire and Rescue Plan and to provide committee members with other key Fire and Rescue Service updates. Recommendation For members to note the information contained within this report 1. Introduction 1.1 The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is legally obliged to produce Local Fire and Rescue Plans for all 32 local authorities across Scotland. The Local Fire and Rescue Plan for North Ayrshire was developed and, following a public consultation, was presented to North Ayrshire Council for formal approval. 1.2 The priorities contained within the current North Ayrshire Local Fire and Rescue Plan were formally approved at the full Council. The continuation of these priorities has been agreed for future reference, via the Police & Fire and Rescue Committee, and will be subject to ongoing monitoring via this forum. 2. Performance Summary 2.1 An analysis of operational responses across North Ayrshire for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 identified a 7.7% decrease in activity levels when compared to the previous fiscal reporting period. A further review of activity over the rolling three years average indicates a 0.5% decrease in operational demand over the agreed recording period. 2.2 In reviewing operational activity on a broader level, false alarms accounted for 57.1% of all demand, with fire related and special service activity accounting for 26.2% and 16.7% respectively. 2.3 For the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, overall progress is being monitored across six indicators, using the three-year rolling average as a basis of measuring performance. Year on year and the rolling five-year average figures are also used to review short and long terms changes in demand and trends. 2.4 Utilising the defined approach in Section 4.3, review of performance against these indicators identified two are above and four are below the three-year average.
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Page | 2 2.5 Further analysis of this performance is provided within the accompanying performance report (Appendix A). 3. SFRS Updates 3.1 Chief Officer Ross Haggart has informed the Board of the SFRS of his intention to retire from his position later this year. A competitive process to identify a new Chief Officer will commence in the near future. 3.2 The SFRS has launched an online survey to inform future changes to the organisation. This is the first stage in the organisation’s engagement with communities, staff, representative bodies, partners and elected members as it considers implementing changes to the emergency services it delivers across Scotland. This survey opened on 29 April and will close on 30 June 2024. A copy of the accompanying information pack and a link to the online survey are attached (Appendix B) and enclosed for the Police & Fire and Rescue Committee’s consideration: • https://firescotland.citizenspace.com/planning-and-performance/shaping-our- future-service-your-say/ 3.3 On Monday 7 April 2024, the SFRS responded to a commercial building fire in the Byrehill Place area of Kilwinning. This incident attracted a Level 2 Response (six fire appliances and various supporting resources) and required the SFRS to remain in attendance for a period of seven days. An overview of the SFRS’s response to this incident (containing non-personal and non-commercially sensitive only) will be presented to the Police & Fire and Rescue Committee at its meeting on Monday 10 June 2024. 4. Proposal 4.1 It is proposed that members of the Police & Fire and Rescue Committee: a) Note the contents of the performance summary and associated report for the period. b) Note the SFRS updates. 5. Implications 5.1 No implications have been identified at this time in respect of service delivery within North Ayrshire. 6. Conclusion 6.1 Fire and Rescue Service activity is subject to regular monitoring and review by North Ayrshire Council’s Police & Fire and Rescue Committee. The contents of this
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Page | 3 document, and accompanying performance report, forms part of this monitoring process. 6.2 Members of the Police & Fire and Rescue Committee will be kept up to date on progress against the Local Fire and Rescue Plan and to any future fire and rescue service updates as they arise. Area Commander Ian McMeekin Local Senior Officer East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire Scottish Fire and Rescue Service For further information please contact Area Commander Ian McMeekin 01294 606811
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North Ayrshire Performance Report 1st April 2023 - 31st March 2024
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North Ayrshire Performance Report Table of Contents Local Fire and Rescue Service Plan Priorities 3 North Ayrshire Activity Summary 4 Domestic Safety - Accidental Dwelling Fires 5 Domestic Safety - Accidental Dwelling Fire Casualties 6 Unintentional Injury and Harm 7 Deliberate Fire Setting 8 Non-Domestic Fire Safety 9 Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals 10 Prevention & Protection 11 Retained Duty System 11 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 2
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14 1 8 45 2 15 3 0 0 0 0 33 9 1 22 45 2 77 5 0 4 9 0 4 11 0 12 45 6 65 14 3 6 88 9 132 14 2 14 36 3 52 16 0 16 25 6 36 29 0 12 130 8 63 115 7 94 423 36 477 4% -22% -2% -10% 38% -35% -6% -28% 7% -1% 15% -6% -7% -23% -11% -7% -6% -5%5 Year Average Change North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Total Incidents Year on Year Change 3 Year Average Change Irvine West Kilwinning Accidental Dwelling Fires Accidental Dwelling Fire Casualties Unintentional Injury and Harm Deliberate Fire Setting Non-Domestic Fire Safety Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Local Fire and Rescue Service Plan Priorities The Local Fire and Rescue Service Plan has been developed to set out the priorities and objectives withinNorthAyrshire and allows our local authority partners to scrutinise the performance outcomes of these priorities. We will continue to work closely with our partners in North Ayrshire to ensure we are all “Working Together for a Safer Scotland” through targeting risks to our communities at a local level. The plan has been developed to complement key partnership activity embedded across North Ayrshire'sCommunity Planning Partnership. Through effective and co-ordintated partnership working we will seek to deliver continuous improvement in our performance and effective service delivery in our area of operations. The Local Fire and Rescue Plan for North Ayrshire identified six areas for demand reduction and is subject to regular monitoring and reporting through the Police & Fire and Rescue Committee. A summary of the priorities and current activity is detailed below with further detail and analysis contained within this performance report. About the statistics within this report The activity totals and other statistics quoted within this report are published in the interests of transparency and openness. They are provisional in nature and subject to change as a result of ongoing quality assurance and review. Because all statistics quoted are provisional there may be a difference in the period totals quoted in our reports after local publication which result from revisions or additions to the data in our systems. The Scottish Government publishes official statistics each year which allow for comparisons to be made over longer periods of time. Activity levels have reduced by more than 5% Activity levels have reduced by up to 5% Activity levels have increased overall Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 3
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North Ayrshire Delivery Activity Summary Hour (am) Total Hour (pm) Total Midnight 58 Mid-day 130 1am 59 1pm 133 2am 40 2pm 138 3am 41 3pm 148 4am 43 4pm 163 5am 32 5pm 194 6am 39 6pm 184 7am 45 7pm 188 8am 118 8pm 181 9am 138 9pm 130 10am 136 10pm 105 11am 141 11pm 92 27% 16% 57% 26% 17% 57% Fires Special Services False Alarms Incidents by Classification Annual Ratio 3 Year Ratio 28.81% 17.85% 11.60% 8.79% 5.20% 5.09% 4.83% 2.51% 2.10% 1.87% 1.68% 1.61% 1.46% 1.38% 0.86% False Alarm (Dwelling) False Alarm (UFAS) Outdoor Fire False Alarm (Good Intent) Refuse Fire Special Service - Effecting… Dwelling Fire Special Service - Assist other… Special Service - RTC Vehicle Fire Other Building Fire Special Service - Flooding Special Service - No action (not… False Alarm (Malicious) Other Primary Fire Top 15 Incident Types by % of Total Incidents 700 fires primary & secondary special services 448 false alarms 1,525 -13% totalnumber of incidents 2,673 -8% 0% fire casualties 7 -22% non-fire casualties 94 -5% -2% 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11121314 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 00 Activityby Time of Day 57.49%RDSHome Fire Safety Visits Carried Out 916 Fire Safety Audits Carried Out 269 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 4
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4% -6% -7% Main Source of Ignition Year on Year 3 Year Average 5 Year Average Domestic Safety - Accidental Dwelling Fires Domesti 163 150 137 139 111 115 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Performance Summary AccidentalDwelling Fires to Date Detection Present 83% 92% Detection Actuated Calls Made via Linked Alarms 23% Automatic Detection & Actuation 14 3 9 5 11 14 14 16 29 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine Sout Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston 12.1 2.4 7.1 4.5 7.3 10.5 8.1 9.9 22.0 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine Sout Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Incidents Per 10,000 Population - North Ayrshire Human Factors Accidental DwellingFires by Ward Area Alcohol/DrugImpairment Distraction Incidents Per 10,000 Population - Ayrshire 7.4 8.5 6.0 7.4 East Ayrshire North Ayrshire South Ayrshire Ayrshire Severity of Accidental Dwelling Fires No FirefightingAction Direct Firefighting 39% 18% 66% 17% 11% 3% 1% 0% 0% 1% Not applicable Item 1st ignited Room of origin Floor of origin Limited to 2 floors More than 2 floors Whole building Whole Roof Extent of Fire Damage 29% 16% Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 5
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-22% -28% -23% Year on Year 3 Year Average 5 Year Average Domestic Safety - Accidental Dwelling Fire Casualties 0 0 0 0 00 0 3 2 0 0 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 79 80+ 30 16 22 22 9 7 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Unintentional Injury or First Aidat Scene Hospital Serious HospitalSlight Injuries 3 Fatal Injuries 0 Performance Summary Accidental Dwelling Fire Casualties Year to Date Extent of Harm Age / Gender Profile Casualties Per 10,000 Population - North Ayrshire Fire Casualties by Ward Area 1 0 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston 0.07 0.00 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.05 0.00 0.00 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Casualties Per 10,000 Population - Ayrshire 1.06 0.52 0.18 0.59 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 East Ayrshire North Ayrshire South Ayrshire Ayrshire 0% 100 4 2 4 1 Breathing difficulties Asphyxiation Burns – slight Other medical condition Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 6
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-2% 7% -11% Year on Year 3 Year Average 5 Year Average Unintentional Injury or Harm 0 3 22 23 5 0 5 8 14 13 0 - 9 10 - 19 20 - 49 50 - 79 80+ Slight Injuries 151 93 76 84 96 94 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Deliberate Performance Summary Special Service Casualties Year to Date Age / Gender Profile 6.9 0.0 17.4 3.6 7.9 4.5 8.1 9.9 9.1 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Extent of Harm Non-Fire Casualties by Ward Area 8 0 22 4 12 6 14 16 12 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Casualties Per 10,000 Population - North Ayrshire Non-Casualties Per 10,000 Population - Ayrshire 6.0 6.9 6.0 6.3 East Ayrshire North Ayrshire South Ayrshire Ayrshire 57% 43% First Aidat Scene Hospital Serious 21 37 Fatal Injuries 13 1 Hospital Slight Injuries Road Traffic Collision Water Rescue Assisting Other Agencies 45% 2% 46% All Other Incidents 7% Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 7
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-10% -4% -7% Year on Year 3 Year Average 5 Year Average Deliberate Fire Setting 629 619 483 580 472 423 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 629 619 483 580 472 423 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 All Deliberate Fires Non Performance Summary Deliberate Fires Year to Date Deliberate Fires by Classification Deliberate Fires Compared to OperationalActivity Incidents Per 10,000 Population - North Ayrshire 38.9 0.0 35.6 8.1 29.8 66.1 20.7 15.5 98.7 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Deliberate Fires by Ward Area 45 0 45 9 45 88 36 25 130 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Slight Injuries Incidents Per 10,000 Population - Ayrshire 36.5 31.1 23.4 30.5 East Ayrshire North Ayrshire South Ayrshire Ayrshire All Other Incidents 11% 8% 10% 8% 8% 13% 89% 92% 90% 92% 92% 87% 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Primary Secondary Secondary Fire Ratio by Activity Type 31% 69% Refuse Other Secondary Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 8
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38% 15% -6% Year on Year 3 Year Average 5 Year Average Non-Domestic Fire Safety 48% 41% 11% Accidental Deliberate Not Known 3 4 8 2 2 5 2 6 Industrial Food and Drink Retail Industrial Manufactoring Other Residential Residential Home Unwanted PerformanceSummary Non-Domestic Fires Year to Date Non-Domestic Fires by Nature of Origin Incidents Per 10,000 Population - Ayrshire Non-Domestic Fires by Premises Type Incidents Per 10,000 Population - North Ayrshire 1.7 0.0 1.6 0.0 4.0 6.8 1.7 3.7 6.1 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Non-Domestic Fires by Ward Area 2 0 2 0 6 9 3 6 8 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston 1.4 2.6 2.2 2.1 East Ayrshire North Ayrshire South Ayrshire Ayrshire 46 46 24 31 26 36 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Not applicable Limited to item 1st ignited Limited to room of origin Limited to floor of origin Roof space and other floors Whole Building Extent of Fire Damage Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 9
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-35% -6% -5% Year on Year 3 Year Average 5 Year Average Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals 656 613 594 712 729 477 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 UFAS Percentage Against all False Alarms Performance Summary Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals Year to Date Incidents Per 10,000 Population - North Ayrshire 13.0 25.9 61.0 3.6 43.1 99.2 29.9 22.3 47.8 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston 1,809 27% 28% 22% 26% 29% 16% 0%0 300 600 900 1,200 1,500 1,800 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 All Incidents UFAS Activty UFAS Percentage Against all Incidents 48% 50% 43% 49% 51% 33% 0%0 300 600 900 1,200 All False Alarms UFAS Activty Home Fire Safety Visits Unwanted FireAlarms Signals by Ward Area 15 33 77 4 65 132 52 36 63 Ardrossan Arran Garnock Valley Irvine East Irvine South Irvine West Kilwinning North Coast Saltcoats and Stevenston Incidents Per 10,000 Population - Ayrshire 23.2 35.1 32.6 30.4 East Ayrshire North Ayrshire South Ayrshire Ayrshire 7% 38% 18% 16% 4% Education Residential Home Other Residential Hospitals & Medical Care Warehouses & Bulk Storage Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals - Top 5 Premises Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 10
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28.75% 68.69% 52.38% 50.79% 148 78:18:28 10 750% 21.79% 81.62% 73.89% 61.03% 415 216:21:51 14 1025% 9.76% 66.13% 36.47% 38.40% 135 69:14:18 6 475% 53.54% 79.10% 73.20% 69.34% 345 216:34:04 13 1100% 18.46% 13.38% 32.74% 22.10% 179 98:56:35 8 625% 68.63% 62.01% 57.91% 62.44% 287 182:46:29 10 850% 30.80% 56.46% 32.50% 39.94% 121 67:28:16 6 450% 98.20% 99.15% 90.27% 95.56% 18.93% 40.42% 5.79% 21.16% 97.59% 98.48% 97.26% 97.76% 65 40:47:34 8 775% 98.99% 99.45% 98.53% 98.97% 66 39:17:52 8 800% 47.56% 70.80% 56.43% 57.49% 70.18% 96.28% 90.41% 86.36% Mon - Thu (18:00 - 08:00) Weekend (Fri 18:00 - Mon 08:00) Total Lamlash North Ayrshire Ayrshire Total Mobilisations Total Time Deployed Largs Skelmorlie Millport -1 Millport - 2 Brodick Ardrossan Dreghorn Dalry Beith Kilbirnie Appliance Availability Mon - Fri (08:00 - 18:00) No. of Personnel Contracts 44 13 1150%37:28:08 Home Fire Safety Visits Home Fire Safety Visits Carried Out Percentage of HighRisk Home Fire Safety Visits Carried Out Percentage of Visits Carried Out FollowingAttendance at an Incident 916 35% 48% Top 5 Premises Smoke Detectors Fitted During Home Fire Safety Visits Fire Safety Audits Carried Out 269 New Audits 88% Post Fire Audits 10% Complaint Audits 2% Re-Audits 1% 7% 85% 7% 0% 0% Broadly Compliant Areas of Improvement Notice of Deficiencies Enforcement Notice Prohibition Notice Fire Safety Audits Retained Duty System Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 11
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Glossary of Terms Term- What it means ADF Accidental Dwelling Fire CSET Community Safety Engagement Toolkit is a internal IT system used to record home fire safety visits and community safety activities FSET Fire Safety Experiential Training is a bespoke training programme developed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Ayrshire and delivered to community planning partners to raise awareness of fire safety within the domestic environment HFSV Home Fire Safety Visit PDIR Post Domestic Incident Response, a term used by Prevention and Protection Directorate to indicate actions taken following attendance at a fire or other incident in the home. PDIRs include amongst things the offer of a free follow-up home fire safety visit Primary Fires These include all fires in buildings, vehicles and outdoor structures or any fire involving casualties, rescues or fires attended by five or more appliances RDS Retained Duty System. Professional on call firefighters who may have other primary employment responsibilities outside the Fire and Rescue Service but respond to emergency calls within their local area as and when required RTC Road Traffic Collision Secondary Fires These are the majority of outdoor fires including grassland and refuse fires unless they involve casualties or rescues, property loss or fire or more appliances attend. They include fires in single derelict buildings Special Service Calls to incidents which are not fires or false alarms such as RTCs, rescues, flooding, incidents involving hazardous materials or the provision of assistance to other agencies UFAS Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals. When an automatic fire detection and alarm system is activated as a result of anything other than an actual fire the activation is classed as a false alarm. If an attendance is made to such an event by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, then the event is recorded as an UFAS incident Scottish Fire and Rescue Service | North Ayrshire Performance Report 12
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY
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It has been 200 years since the world’s first ever municipal fire service was established in Scotland. 1 Photo by Iain Masterton CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 2. What we do 2 3. Why we need to change 4 4. Investing in change 12 5. What changes could we make? 14 6. Summary and next steps 19 7. Questionnaire 21
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 1 1 INTRODUCTION We have a proud history of serving our communities and have always worked hard to keep people safe. The role of the firefighter has evolved over time and we want to build on this success to be a modern fire and rescue service that is ready for the challenges of Scotland’s future. As we outlined in our Long Term Vision, we want to do more for our communities – not just by responding to incidents but by stopping them from happening in the first place. The types of incidents we respond to are changing and different parts of Scotland need different services from us. This means we need to change how we work. For example, we are seeing fewer house fires but more flooding and wildfire incidents – often in areas that do not have permanently staffed fire stations. Where we do have stations, some are located in areas to support historical risks that are no longer there – such as heavy industry like shipyards or coal mines. Some of our stations are also no longer fit for purpose and require significant investment to make them safer and more suitable for our staff. To make sure we have the right resources in the right place at the right time we need to change. We believe the status quo is no longer an option. This is why we are developing a Strategic Service Review Programme (SSRP) to look at how we deliver our services to become the modern service Scotland needs. There are different ways to do this and we have outlined some of the areas we could change in this booklet. But we need your help to make sure we get this right for the communities we serve. This is the first stage in our engagement with staff, communities, trade unions, partners, elected representatives and people across Scotland. We will be running events and speaking to communities over the next two months to find out what you want and need from your fire and rescue service. You can also complete our online survey or return our questionnaire on page 21. The views we gather will help us to develop change options for full public consultation later this year.
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42 WHAT WE DO At any given time, we can send our firefighters to any incident across Scotland. We have specialist appliances and resources that are used across Scotland. These appliances are crewed by firefighters from local community fire stations, but they provide specific skills and equipment to support complex emergencies across the whole country. We respond to every emergency and will always send the nearest appropriate and available appliances based on their location and the type of incident. But keeping people safe starts long before any 999 call is made and our role is to prevent an emergency incident or harm from happening in the first place. We have a proven track record in delivering effective prevention activity across a wide range of issues. This means helping people to make their homes and communities safer. We also regulate businesses and workplaces to ensure that the places we visit or work in are safe from fire. We support all of Scotland’s communities, from educating children and young people, through to supporting adults and older people to live safely and independently.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 3 As a service, we exist to make Scotland a safer place. We do this by: Promoting fire safety Responding to serious transport incidents Enforcing fire legislation Responding to road traffic collisions Responding to chemical, biological and nuclear incidents Dealing with structural collapse of buildings Undertaking inland water rescue Responding to serious flooding Carrying out rescues at height Responding to fires
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3 WHY WE NEED TO CHANGE We want to ensure communities are resilient and safe from extreme weather events, such as flooding and wildfires. Our communities are changing too with more people living longer at home. Some people are vulnerable and require additional support so we need to adapt to meet these needs. We know we can do more to keep Scotland safe. We want to focus on prevention so we can reduce demand on us and other public services. This means considering how we can develop our prevention work through the use of our people, technology and safety interventions, making communities, homes and businesses safer and more resilient. We are also committed to reducing our carbon footprint which means investing in more energy efficient buildings and vehicles. Scotland is changing and this means we are responding to different types of incidents.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 5 Fires still make up the majority of incidents we attend. But the number of fires has reduced over time. This includes house fires and other building fires. While fires overall have decreased, the number of other incidents we attend has increased. 3.1 What we respond to Non-fire incidents increased from 11% in 2013-14 to 17% last year of the total incidents we attended. We expect this rise to continue. At the same time, we have witnessed a continued reduction in fire-related deaths and casualties. Other Building Fires 1,893 2022/23 STATISTICS House Fires 4,305 Fires 26,825 Outdoor Fires 18,217 -56% (since 2003/04) -47% (since 2003/04) -55% (since 2003/04) +5% (since 2013/14*) Non-Fire Incidents 16,783 +83% (since 2013/14*) * Incident statistics of this type are not held for 2003/04
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY6 Wildfire Wildfires in Scotland are getting bigger, last longer. Ultimately this requires a more significant response. Since 2010 there have been eight wildfires recorded which have lasted more than five days. All eight of these incidents have been since 2018. In that same time, there have been 15 wildfires lasting two to five days. Incidents of this duration involve hundreds of staff and resources, mainly our on call staff in rural communities. We know that wildfires are becoming larger in scale, burning for longer periods of time and requiring a more significant volume of emergency response. This is damaging to the environment and causes significant disruption to local communities. Due to the impact of climate change, we are seeing milder, wetter winters and drier, warmer summers. The expansion of vegetation growing seasons and changes in land management practices in Scotland are creating more fuel for wildfires, so we expect this trend to increase. WILDFIRES are classified as outdoor fires with more than 1,000 square metres of burned area. 2,500 wildfires since 2010 average of 178 each year Photo by JASPERIMAGE
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 7 Flooding Flooding incidents have increased steadily over the past decade and as the impact of climate change is predicted to intensify, we anticipate this trend to continue. In 2023, we witnessed the impact of Storm Babet, in which people sadly lost their lives and communities in the north east were devastated by flooding. This type of large-scale incident presents a significant demand on our service, local and specialist national crews, and requires the deployment of hundreds of staff from across Scotland to the affected areas. We must ensure that we have the resilience and the correct equipment in place to respond effectively. * Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reference: www.sepa.org.uk/data-visualisation/nfra2018/ More than 280,000 homes and buildings are at RISK OF FLOODING in Scotland; with an additional 110,000 properties at risk by 2080.* 15,000 flooding incidents attended since 2013-14 Photo by Iain Masterton Photo by PA Images
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY8 3.2 Matching resource to risk We have spent years building our knowledge of changing community risk across Scotland through the development of our Community Risk Index Model (CRIM). This model considers historical incident data and captures information about the people we serve, including where they are located, the types of buildings and environments they occupy and the way that nature may impact them. This helps us to identify where our stations and appliances should be based to best meet current risks and keep communities safe. The modelling we have done has shown that some stations and appliances are not in the right places to meet risk and demand. Our knowledge of risk will help to inform where we need to locate stations, how we crew our appliances and how we operate from our stations.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 9 The success of SFRS is down to our staff. Our firefighters, operations control, fire enforcement officers, community action teams and support staff are all dedicated to keeping Scotland safe. We want all our staff to receive the highest quality of training which equips them with the skills, expertise and values the public expect. For operational staff we want to invest in more training sites and more instructors across Scotland to better prepare our staff to deal with the modern risk and challenges. We also need to work harder to make SFRS representative of the communities we serve. Diversity is important in creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome and included. Having a diverse workforce has been proven to improve decision making and performance. 3.3 Our people We are committed to improving diversity and building the leadership and culture to ensure that SFRS is a great place to be for everyone. We also need to do more to support our on call firefighters. On call firefighters respond to emergencies via a pager but often have other jobs. There are significant challenges with our on call system and as our communities change, we cannot recruit enough to crew appliances in remote and rural areas. While this is not unique to Scotland, our geography means that we rely heavily on our on call firefighters. This model needs to be sustainable so that communities can remain resilient. To do this we need to consider what response and – more importantly – prevention activities could better serve these communities.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY10 Many of our ageing buildings are no longer fit for purpose and require urgent action. It will require significant investment to make them safer and more suitable and we must find a way to rectify this. Doing nothing is not an option. In 2018 Audit Scotland described our backlog in capital spend requirements as “insurmountable”. That means we will never be able to modernise all our buildings and vehicles without additional investment or changing how we work. Our capital funding has remained at £32.5million for the last seven years. We have received an additional £10million for 24/25 but as a minimum we need at least £60million each year to bring our buildings and equipment up to standard. We are also spending more money on repairs as the condition and suitability of our estate continues to deteriorate. We have 14 fire stations with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) panel issues. This was identified in 2019 and we took measures to protect our staff and operations, however we have been unable to repair or replace the stations and this requires a permanent solution. We need £60m each year to bring our buildings & equipment up to standard. 3.4 The state of our estate We need £60m to bring our buildings and equipment up to standard each year
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 11 There is growing evidence of the health risks associated with exposure to a range of contaminants for our firefighters. The safety of our staff is paramount, and we continue to work with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and other representative bodies to reduce contamination risk for our firefighters. We have undertaken a substantial review of how our appliances, staff and personal protective equipment (PPE) are decontaminated during and following an incident. We know that some of our buildings do not have appropriate decontamination provisions and, in some cases, limited welfare facilities. To mitigate this risk, specialist decontamination wipes have been supplied to all fire appliances and training centres; a station zoning system has been trialled to limit contaminant spread; and our medical tests now include enhanced cancer screening questions. But we know there is more we must do. Further investment is needed, particularly in relation to creating proper decontamination facilities in our stations. 3.5 Contamination risk to firefighters * Scottish Firefighters Occupational Cancer and Disease Mortality Rates: 2000-2020: academic.oup.com/occmed/article/73/1/42/6964909?login=false Firefighters’ mortality rate from all cancers is 1.6 times higher than the general public, and firefighters are developing cancer at higher rates and at younger ages.*
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44 We recognise that the need to modernise as a service and address the issues with our estate requires investment. But this comes against a backdrop of economic and financial challenges for the whole public sector in Scotland. SFRS is not immune to this. We face pressures in both our resource and capital budgets so we must find ways to better use our resources. INVESTING IN CHANGE
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 13 Our budget is set annually by the Scottish Government and we have a legal duty to deliver a balanced budget. The Scottish Government’s Resource Spending Review published in May 2022 predicted our budget will remain the same for the next three years. In 2023, the SFRS Board approved an initial savings plan across the whole organisation. This included the temporary withdrawal of 10 second or third wholetime fire appliances for an initial 12-month period. This decision was supported by data and modelling from our CRIM which identified the appliance withdrawals that would have the least impact on emergency response times. However we need to make permanent changes to move forward. In December 2023, the Scottish Government increased our budget by £13.6million for 2024-25, from our budget allocation at the start of 23/24 and increased capital investment by £10.3million. We need to plan beyond 2025 and ensure we are a sustainable organisation that is able to continually improve and invest in the services we provide. This is why we are seeking your views. This budget increase gives us an opportunity to look at how we best use our staff, equipment, estate and fleet over future years to make sure we develop and improve for years to come. 4.1 Balancing our budget
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5 These are some of the areas we think could change to use our resources differently and invest in developing our services. WHAT CHANGES COULD WE MAKE?
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 15 We are committed to working in partnership with our staff and trade unions to develop the role of the firefighter in Scotland to take on wider prevention and emergency response activities. To achieve this, we would need to agree a new employment contract and role of firefighters with their representative bodies. We have an ‘agreement in principle’ with the Fire Brigade’s Union (FBU) but this would need additional funding to fully implement. We would also need to invest further in training and equipment to support our firefighters to take on any new roles. We believe that diversifying the role of firefighters could provide additional support to meet the needs of local communities. For example, we could provide an emergency medical response and support the most vulnerable in our communities. The benefits to the people of Scotland in working closer with our public service partners could be significant. Building upon our success in delivering preventative activities and interventions, we believe that we could go beyond the traditional role of the fire service and further enhance our partnership working. This could improve wider community outcomes, reduce demand on partners services and ultimately reduce the risk to the most vulnerable within Scotland’s communities. We also want to be a leader in reforming how our public services are delivered. An example of this would be to build on our current approach of sharing premises with our partners. This provides a more integrated delivery model that reduces the need for separate buildings while providing the services that communities need and the facilities that staff deserve. 5.1 Developing the firefighter role
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY16 The location of our community fire stations and fire appliances across Scotland has not changed significantly over time. As we outlined in section 3.2, we know that some of our stations are not located in the best places to meet the current risks faced in communities. There are potential options to change where our stations and appliances are located. This could involve merging stations in similar geographical locations to better reflect risk and demand. Merging or moving stations would allow us to better use our resources elsewhere in the Service and invest in new stations where required. By changing our footprint, we can reduce our running costs, reduce our capital backlog and potentially generate income from sites being sold. The construction of new buildings would also help to address issues with contamination and suitable welfare facilities while providing staff with a newer, modern workplace. 5.2 Changing where our stations and appliances are based £1m for one wholetime fire appliance crewed 24/7 each year
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 17 Our on call (retained) firefighters respond to emergencies via a pager but often have other jobs while carrying out these duties. They also undertake training and carry out community safety and prevention work. We also have a number of on call (volunteer) stations and Community Response Units (CRUs) who respond to specific types of incident via a pager system. We currently have 23 stations which operate using a mixed duty system arrangement. This is where a station has more than one pumping appliance – typically two pumping appliances and/or a specialist vehicle. One pumping appliance is crewed by wholetime 5.3 Changing how and when we staff our resources firefighters on the 5WDS whilst the other pump is crewed by on call firefighters who respond from their home or primary workplace. We also have one community fire station which combines a wholetime and day duty crewing model. The day duty system and other alternatives mean appliances are crewed based on data which shows when they are needed. A mix of duty systems is common elsewhere in the UK. There may be some areas where changing our duty systems would be appropriate to meet the risk and demand. This could allow staff to be deployed into other risk critical areas such as training and prevention. Our wholetime firefighters are split across five groups (watches). This is called the 5 Watch Duty System (5WDS) and allows us to provide permanent crews at our wholetime stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY18 Our crewing model – which is the number of firefighters in appliances that attend an emergency – is another area we could explore for change. Different models are used throughout the UK and there could be options to change the crewing arrangements for different appliances in individual stations. We could also adopt bespoke measures to increase availability in other areas. For example, blended crewing, where on call firefighters can be temporarily posted to wholetime stations to ensure appropriate levels of crewing are maintained or wholetime firefighters are deployed to on call stations to fill short-term crew or skills shortages. Our corporate buildings provide working space for both uniformed and support staff. We have already closed our West Service Delivery Area Headquarters (HQ) at Hamilton after the site was designated as surplus to requirements. The closure of this site will save approximately £500,000 in annual running costs with future potential for capital receipt following the sale of the corporate building. There is similar potential to achieve further savings by closing additional sites in other parts of the country. 5.4 Changing how we attend emergencies 5.5 Rationalising our corporate buildings
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 19 6 Scotland has changed and so must its fire and rescue service. We have analysed the changing community risk and we know that some of our stations and appliances could be better located. At the same time, many of our ageing buildings are also no longer fit for purpose and require urgent action to make them safer and more suitable. Through our Strategic Service Review Programme (SSRP), we want to address those challenges and free up or redistribute our resources to invest in other areas such as training, innovation and prevention. To achieve this, we may need to consider changes to where our stations and appliances are based; and how and when we staff our resources. SUMMARY AND NEXT STEPS So we want to hear your views on what you want from your fire service now and in years to come. We are engaging with communities across Scotland to find out what people think of the potential changes we have outlined in this document and what the future role of the Service could be in communities. To share your views please complete our online survey. You can also fill out the questionnaire on page 21 and send it to: SFRS.PublicInvolvement@firescotland.gov.uk You can also return a copy of the questionnaire to: FREEPOST SFRS Communications, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Westburn Drive, Cambuslang, G72 7NA. If you require this information in a different format, such as braille or audio, please email: SFRS.PublicInvolvement@firescotland.gov.uk Once we have completed this exercise at the end of June 2024 we will review all the feedback we have received. We will then use this feedback to help develop options for change before running a full public consultation exercise later this year.
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1. About you How would you best describe yourself? (Tick the one that best applies) 7 QUESTIONNAIRE SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY Please use this text box to give other description. Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this. … SFRS staff – operational … SFRS staff – support … Member of the public … Other emergency service … Business / commercial sector … Local authority … Elected member … Other public organisation (e.g., NHS) … Third sector / voluntary organisation … Community group … Trade Union / Representative bodies … Other: 2. Our people Section 2 of the ‘Shaping Our Future Service: Your Say’ document describes the variety of incidents within SFRS and the different responsibilities we have. To ensure the highest possible levels of community and firefighter safety, SFRS needs to have firefighter duty systems with the right staffing levels available to attend incidents at the time of day when there is most risk. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY22 3. Service priorities The ‘Shaping Our Future Service: Your Say’ document (Section 3) outlines the need for SFRS to change. From the list below, please select UP TO FOUR issues that you feel should be priorities for SFRS. Please RANK THESE IN ORDER with 1 being the most important. Rank Issues Crews should be based in areas where there is more risk and demand. SFRS should have the right resources (i.e. fire appliances) in the right place – based on analysis of risk. SFRS should work alongside communities to build resilience and better prepare for significant events, including flooding and wildfire. Fire stations should have dignified changing facilities for firefighters. Reassurance that any changes won’t make me or my family less safe. There should be a visible SFRS presence near where I live. SFRS should undertake prevention work to protect the most vulnerable in communities SFRS needs to demonstrate best value for public money. SFRS should strive to reduce its carbon footprint wherever possible.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 23 4. Investing in change Section 4 of the ‘Shaping Our Future Service: Your Say’ document outlines the need for SFRS to make better use of our resources. One way we can do this is to work in partnership with other public bodies (e.g., Police Scotland and others) to explore how we can provide better value for the public. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this. 5. Our appliances Section 5.2 of the ‘Shaping Our Future Service: Your Say’ document (Changing Where Our Stations and Appliances Are Based) outlines why we need to review where our appliances are located. For communities to be safe, we need to have the right resources in the right place. SFRS should have fire appliances located based on risk in local communities. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY24 6a) SFRS should have fire stations located based on risk in local communities. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this. 6b) SFRS should consider sharing premises with partners (e.g., Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland and local authorities) to provide a better service for our communities. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this. 6. Where we’re located Section 5.2 of the ‘Shaping Our Future Service: Your Say’ document (Changing Where Our Stations and Appliances Are Based) outlines why we need to review where our fire stations are located. To do this, we must consider how the communities we serve have changed and are continuing to change.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 25 7a) SFRS should work with community partners (e.g., local authorities, and others) to further reduce these risks. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this. 7b) SFRS should contribute towards Net Zero by, for example, reducing our own carbon emissions. Do you: … Agree strongly … Agree … Neither agree nor disagree … Disagree … Disagree strongly … Prefer not to answer Please use this text box to give us any additional thoughts on this. 7. Our role in local communities Our Prevention and Protection work can help reduce the risk of fires and other potentially life-threatening situations. It can also help us better plan for events such as flooding and wildfires.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY26 8. Consulting with our communities SFRS may wish to hold a future public consultation on some of the issues detailed below. Please tell us to what extent you think the public should be consulted on each issue. Change Proposal The public should be fully consulted The public don’t need to be consulted, but should be informed The public don’t need to be consulted Unsure Changes to firefighter role (e.g., to include emergency first aid responder) Modernisation / upgrade of a fire station(s) Closure of a fire station Moving a fire station to a new location Permanent removal or relocation of a fire appliance(s) Changes to firefighter duty systems Sharing locations with other partners (e.g., Police, Ambulance, local authorities.) Building a new fire station
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 27 9. Any other comments Please give us any other comments that SFRS should take into account when considering the future of the Service.
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY28 10. Equality monitoring Why are we asking for equality information? We collect equality information to help us plan and deliver services as part of our Equality Duties (Equality Act 2010). The information you provide: • helps us assess and improve our performance; • helps us to identify and address the needs of our employees and the communities of Scotland • ensures we are interacting in a balanced way with people with protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act (2010). Do you need to answer every question? No. The information you provide is voluntary and anonymous, but by answering as many questions as possible, it will give us a better understanding of who we are engaging with and what we need to do to continue to be as inclusive as possible. Data Protection and Privacy Notice Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is committed to protecting your personal information. The processing of personal data is covered by the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and Data Protection Act 2018. Further information on how SFRS will process this data can be found at www.firescotland.gov.uk/publications/document/?id=7586 Your Age … Under 16 … 16-25 … 26-40 … 41-55 … 56-70 … Over 70 … Prefer not to say Your Sex … Male … Female … Prefer not to say Do you consider yourself to be trans, or have a trans history? (e.g., non-binary, trans man, trans woman) … Yes … No … Prefer not to say
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY 29 Your Sexual Orientation … Heterosexual / Straight … Gay / Lesbian … Bi … Prefer not to say If you prefer to use another term, please provide this: Disability – Do you consider yourself to have a disability? … Yes … No … Prefer not to say Care Experienced – Do you have experience of having been in care? … Yes … No … Prefer not to say Ethnicity – What is your ethnic group? … Scottish … Other British … Irish … Gypsy / traveller … Polish … Roma … Other white ethnic group … Pakistani / Scottish Pakistani / British Pakistani … Indian / Scottish Indian / British Indian … Chinese / Scottish Chinese / British Chinese … Black or Caribbean / Scottish Black or Caribbean / British Black or Caribbean … Arab / Scottish Arab / British Arab … African / Scottish African / British African Religion / Faith … Church of Scotland … Roman Catholic … Other Christian … Jewish … Muslim … Sikh … Hindu … Buddhist … Other … None … Prefer not to say Postcode In the box below, please give only the first part of your postcode (e.g., KY12):
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE SERVICE: YOUR SAY – Information Pack Version 1.0 April 2024 firescotland.gov.uk