Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 February 2025
Back to Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group — 11 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Helensburgh & Lomond CPG Briefing Report Q3 2024/25 Performance & Activity Report From: 1st October 2024 To: 31st December 2024
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Introduction Welcome to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Community Board Performance Report. This performance report is designed to provide citizens, stakeholders and partners with information relating to Community Board based activity undertaken by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Whilst using historic statistical benchmarking data, consideration must be taken of the random nature of fire related incidents and events, and how this can pose difficulties in interpreting emerging patterns and trends. This is of specific relevance where Community Board level data is analysed due to the small number of actual incidents/events that occur in Community Board areas. However, regardless of statistical anomalies, emerging patterns and trends in fire related incidents and events can assist the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Community Planning Partners plan and implement preventative intervention initiatives to target reducing fire related incidents and events. Local Firefighter Training Plan Below is a list of subjects the operational crews have been focusing on within this period. Each subject has been covered both practically and theoretically and recorded in the Fire Service Training recording system. Training Subjects October/November/December • BA – Quarterly Wear, Technical & Practical Session • Pump & Ladder Drills • RTC and Extrication Q3 – Cutting Techniques & Casualty Rescue • Water Awareness – Casualty Care • SWAH – Tier 1, Single & Multi Edge Work Restraint • TFOC Farms Module • TFOC Local & Civil Disturbances Module • HFSV Module
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Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF) Ward 3 Year Average 2023/24 2024/25 Helensburgh & Lomond South 1.3 3 1 Helensburgh Central 1.3 0 1 Lomond North 1 1 2 Community Board Total 3.7 4 4 ADF Casualties Ward 3 Year Average 2023/24 2024/25 Helensburgh & Lomond South 0 0 0 Helensburgh Central 0.3 0 1 Lomond North 0 0 0 Community Board Total 0.3 0 1 Deliberate Secondary Fire Setting Ward 3 Year Average 2023/24 2024/25 Helensburgh & Lomond South 0.3 0 0 Helensburgh Central 1 1 1 Lomond North 2 4 1 Community Board Total 3.3 5 2 Fires in Non-Domestic Property Ward 3 Year Average 2023/24 2024/25 Helensburgh & Lomond South 0 0 0 Helensburgh Central 1 2 0 Lomond North 0 0 1 Community Board Total 1 2 1
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Casualties from Non-Fire Emergencies Ward 3 Year Average 2023/24 2024/25 Helensburgh & Lomond South 0 0 0 Helensburgh Central 0.7 0 1 Lomond North 3.7 1 2 Community Board Total 4.4 1 3 Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals Ward 3 Year Average 2023/24 2024/25 Helensburgh & Lomond South 2.3 0 0 Helensburgh Central 9 6 6 Lomond North 5.3 4 5 Community Board Total 16.6 10 11 Incidents/Activities of Note Drowning Incident Review (DIR) We continue to work with partners across Argyll & Bute to support the Drowning Incident Review. This allows us to work together to establish ways in which we can reduce the risks around our waters in Argyll and Bute. Road & Water Safety campaigns Road Safety: We have worked closely with Oban High School in delivering a Road Safety Presentation, including RTC VR input to pupils who have their driving licence or are in the process of obtaining it. This included valued input from Oban Blue Watch and EWDAB (East & West Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute) Community Action Team (CAT). A similar programme has now been timetabled for next year. Oban CAT Team has also worked closely with a pupil from Oban High School who was struck by a car in Oban during a lunchtime last year. The young person (YP) sustained injuries that required surgery. The YP has recovered well and enjoyed a firefighter for a day experience at Oban Community Fire Station. The YP also assisted us in promoting road safety by sharing his story in an interview. This was shared, with permission, on our media page.
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We continue to work closely with schools delivering vital Road Safety messages, using our road safety floorboards in primary schools. The VR Program will now be made available to secondary schools throughout Argyll & Bute. Several CAT Team members are undergoing Child Seat Training in January. This will see the CAT Team putting on events where people who use child safety seats have the chance to get them checked to ensure they are fitted properly and, with the assistance of Police Scotland, receive road safety advice. We are also working in close partnership with Police Scotland and the Institute of Advanced Motoring (IAM) to develop road safety hubs within Argyll & Bute. Oban, Dunoon and Campbeltown Fire Stations are locations in which this is being developed. Water Safety: We continue to participate in Partnership Approach to Water Safety (PAWS) and our Community Action Team are already delivering Water Safety Scotland Ice Safety presentations across schools in Argyll & Bute. The presentation was delivered through a hybrid approach of face-to-face presentations and online via Microsoft Teams. This allows us to engage with the remote schools throughout Argyll & Bute, including the islands, so that remote and rural schools benefit from the same safety messages as larger schools. Community Engagement Activities • Post Domestic Incident Response (PDIR) following every domestic incident. • Continue to deliver Fire Safety advice via HFSVs (Home Fire Safety Visits). • Working closely with Sensory Impairment officers throughout Argyll & Bute providing much needed assistance to people with complex hearing and sight issues. Equipment is being made available to those in need, along with a HFSV being conducted. • Representation on Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) for those affected by domestic violence. • Supporting Developing the Young Workforce through Careers Days in Oban, Tobermory, Lochgilphead, Dunoon and Rothesay High Schools. • Supporting Partnership Approach to Water Safety (PAWS) group and engaging with the public: #RESPECTTHEWATER campaign. • We engaged with community groups utilising the Winter Thematic Action Plan (TAP) • The annual Bonfire & Fireworks Presentations sessions were delivered by CAT in conjunction with Police Scotland to schools across Argyll & Bute, including Dunoon Grammar, Oban High School and Lochgilphead Joint Campus. This approach was met with enthusiasm. We also engaged with remote and rural schools over Microsoft Teams, where the safety message was well received. • We continue to support MCR Pathways in secondary schools. Several SFRS employees give up their time to support young people for an hour a week throughout term time, engaging with and mentoring each young person to make informed choices. • In Oban, the CAT team is supporting Planet Youth engagement. • Our partnership working continues with Oban, Lorn and the Isles Alcohol & Drug Forum, with quarterly meetings being held in the conference room at Oban Community Fire Station. • We continue to work alongside the Ukrainian Multi-Agency Resettlement Programme within Argyll & Bute. • SFRS continues to support Violence Against Woman Group (VAWG) in Argyll & Bute. • In partnership with Sensory Impairment, SFRS are delivering vital safety messages into Sheltered Housing & Independent Housing complexes throughout Argyll & Bute. • SFRS continues to support and assist in Adult Support & Protection (ASP) meetings, alongside partner agencies, to ensure safety measures are in place for vulnerable people throughout Argyll & Bute. • Oban CAT Team has been busy engaging with local Scout Groups, assisting and delivering vital safety information to allow local young people to obtain their Fire Safety Badge and Communication Badge. • Members of the Argyll & Bute CAT Team have been involved in Child Support Training and Trauma Informed Training, delivered in conjunction with partner agencies. • Oban CAT Team, with the assistance of Oban Wholetime Crews, helped the local charity Home Start Lorn to collect and deliver presents to be donated to the local Christmas Appeal in Oban.
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• Oban CAT and Fire Crews are working closely with the local LGBTQIA+ community. We are showing our support by bringing the Firefighter Experience to them. We have extended the Firefighter Experience Day to allow members of the LGBTQIA+ community the opportunity to come up and learn vital lifesaving skills and understand what it is like to be a Firefighter over several sessions. Firefighter Experience Day: The Oban CAT Team has been working closely with Live Argyll, Oban High School and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) to develop the Firefighter Experience Day. We have now extended this to a 4-week program. Most of the pupils involved have attendance issues, are care-experienced and/ or have behavioural issues. The programme brings these pupils into a disciplined environment where they work as a team, rely on that team and are pushed out of their comfort zones. They attend the station once a week, learn skills including CPR, Trauma Recognition, Water Safety, Road Safety and Drill Ground Activities. After each session they are given a written assessment. After the 4 weeks, these are checked and marked. This information is collated and submitted to the school and works towards an award. These sessions have proved very successful, to the extent that we are delivering a programme in Dunoon for 10 pupils from Dunoon Grammar in February. We are hoping to develop this programme and bring it to other towns in Argyll & Bute EWDAB LSO Activities • Ongoing On-call recruitment campaigns – Participation in Practical Selection Tests for new candidates as well as successful completion of Task and Task Management by new On-call Firefighters across the area. • SFRS personnel across EWDAB took part in supporting the 16 Days of Activism, tackling gender-based violence against women and girls. • Recruitment process for two vacancies within the Community Action Team, concluded with the appointments of Gerrard Ralston (Salen Volunteer Leader) and Lisa Cox (previously CSA in PKAD LSO) as two new Community Safety Advocates in our team. We extend a warm welcome to them both. • Our Christmas Gift Appeal reached out to partners and communities across Argyll & Bute, allowing us to collect toys to distribute to children, in partnership with Home-Start Lorn. Our thanks to all who supported the appeal. Home Fire Safety Our new Home Fire Safety Visit (HFSV) policy and associated application will go live on Wednesday 12 February. In preparation of the new policy going live, Stations have been managing pending lists and actioning HFSV requests. Referrals for the public and partners We will continue to support our partner agencies, to assist in this move. The current links to CSET (referral platform) will be replaced on our external website, members of the public and partners will then request a HFSV online via the new app. This will go live during February. Social media content and communications to partners will also be issued to highlight the changes to our criteria and processes. We will also invite partners to attend Microsoft Teams training sessions, to support this transition. One of the main highlights being SFRS commitment to protecting personal data in accordance with legislation, it is imperative that all data sharing containing personal information of individuals such as name and address etc., is transmitted to and from us via the new HFSV Portal or by Egress Secure Email. Therefore unfortunately, we are now unable to accept referrals via emails To register for use of the new SFRS referral app, please contact our Safer Homes Team for support. Email - SFRS.HFSVadministrators@firescotland.gov.uk and one of the Safer Homes Team members will be in touch to provide further information.