The Scottish Government

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SECTION 3 - DELIVERING THE VISION - PREVENTION

"Works with local communities to reduce risk to life, property and the environment, from fire and other emergencies."

The Policy

25. The fire service recognises that prevention is the key to reducing the tragedies and hardships caused by fire. Stopping fires from starting requires the community and the fire service to work together to deliver safer communities. In this regard, the importance of the prevention work of the fire service has been fully recognised. Within Scotland a new group - the Scottish Community Fire Safety Strategy Group (SCFSSG) - has been formed with the aim of co-ordinating and maximising the Community Fire Safety (CFS) activities of both the Scottish Executive and the individual fire brigades. The HMCI for Scotland noted that this strategy:

"... recognises the long-term nature of community safety work and envisages a five-year rolling programme starting in April 2000 with constant evaluation. Through the adoption of this programme the incentive and opportunity is now there to fully integrate education and advice activity, legislative and technical fire safety roles and also the operational response by brigades to maximise the effectiveness of their service delivery". ³

At the same time we know that two high-risk groups within the community - the elderly and those living alone - are set to increase in size. There is therefore a need to deliver CFS not only in schools but to target all vulnerable groups including the over 65s and single householders. In addition, there is also the need to find better ways of getting fire safety messages across to those areas of society for whom existing strategies and publicity - such as smoke alarm installation and maintenance - have had no impact. The aim is to continually build on this education platform in an incremental way to achieve a safer society, so that targeting specific groups becomes a thing of the past and the fire safety message is fully integrated within communities.

26. Community Fire Safety work is not currently subject to a statutory duty in the same way that other elements of the service's work are recognised as obligations.

Community Safety Partnerships

27. A central plank on which to build safer communities are community safety partnerships. With the support of the Scottish Executive, these are now well established throughout Scotland. In 1998 a joint Scottish Executive/CoSLA/ACPOS strategy was launched under the "Safer Communities Through Partnerships" banner. All Scottish local authorities and police forces currently participate in multi-agency activity designed to improve safety within their communities. While these partnerships were initially directed towards crime prevention, they are now viewed very much as part of the broader "community safety" agenda encompassing fire safety, health promotion, road safety, etc.

28. There are already a number of excellent examples of Scottish brigades working within their communities with other organisations particularly on matters of fire safety. For example, the Safe Highlander Project, which is a multi-agency approach which has demonstrated a more effective use of resources and a more effective delivery to the community. The fire service has a vital and important role to play in the community. Specifically by working in partnership with other public sector organisations in the areas of crime, health, education and housing, it can provide both consultative and joined-up service delivery.

29. Audit Scotland published a value for money study into community safety in May 2000. ⁴ A number of fire brigades across Scotland have become involved with community safety partnerships in their particular areas. At a national level the Executive has announced the setting up of a Scottish Forum on Community Safety to co-ordinate and provide national direction on a range of public safety issues such as crime prevention, drug prevention, road and fire safety and other public safety-related matters. Fire service interests are currently represented on the Forum by CACFOA and the Executive is keen to promote wider fire service involvement in Community Safety Partnerships.

Working with Young People

30. Youth represents all our futures. Brigades work hard, often alongside other agencies or with local support and business sponsorship, to assist young people to grow into responsible and active members of society. The fire service ethos of team working in a high-risk environment makes it well placed to help young people - especially those who believe they have been left out by society - gain self-respect and capitalise on their own abilities. Work of this kind makes a long-term contribution to every community. The Fire Cadet Scheme recently introduced by a number of brigades and support for Prince's Trust Volunteers, are to be welcomed as are the countless contributions made by brigades and their staff to established youth organisations or local youth groups. The fire service is well placed to support this work.

Working with the Private Sector

31. Paragraph 15 pointed out that distinctions between services delivered by the public and private sectors are being eradicated and that opportunities for partnership working are being created.

32. Good examples of collaborative working with the private sector include involvement in the Lead Authority Partnership Scheme (LAPS). Under this partnership the Fire Authority acts as a focal point for liaison on fire safety issues between a company with outlets in a number of local authority areas. Such an approach has benefits for both partners.

Enforcing Fire Safety

33. Implementation of the EU framework Directive has signalled a change in responsibilities for inspections and the adoption of a more definitive enforcement role for the fire service. The main responsibility for ensuring that workplace risks are minimised falls now to the employer/owner. The fire service function as a wider enforcer of safety standards - working in the community safety area - will therefore change. Maintaining statutory powers to control unacceptable risks will continue but new approaches also need to be developed. A lighter touch and reduction in hierarchy need not, and must not, become a pre-cursor to lower safety standards. This approach has organisational implications and a number of legislative changes are required to place this work on a statutory footing. The Executive will promote these changes. In addition, the Executive has welcomed the responses to its consultation paper Improving Building Standards ⁵ and hopes to bring forward improvements in due course.

Fire Investigation

34. Effective work on fire protection requires a strengthening of the powers of the fire service in the areas of fire investigation and seizure of goods. HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services in Scotland is tackling the issue of arson through a joint thematic on Wilful Fire-Raising in partnership with HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. The result of this study will be available in the summer and will help inform how both the police and fire service might best tackle this crime.

Domestic Sprinklers

35. Experience in other countries suggests that residential sprinklers can make our homes much safer, and indeed, they are already fitted in numerous commercial buildings in this country. There may also be areas where a preventative approach through the fitting of sprinklers may be more effective than the traditional interventionist approach. The Executive considers that it is not a simple task to translate experience from other countries with different built environments to this one and recognises we lack an objective assessment of the effectiveness of sprinklers in domestic properties in this country. The current research by DTLR and the Executive is ongoing and will extend at least over the next two years. This research covers:

• Sprinklers for life safety.
• Design for fire safety systems utilising fast or standard response sprinkler heads.
• Effectiveness of sprinklers in residential premises.
• Sprinklers in new-build residential premises - regulatory impact assessment.

There is already some good partnership approaches involving fire brigades, local authorities and the fire product industry working together to evaluate the role of sprinklers in the home. However, a recent consultation exercise by the Building Standards Advisory Committee revealed limited support for the introduction of residential sprinklers. A UK validated standard for domestic sprinkler systems will be required before they can be fully considered for inclusion in Technical Standards for new buildings.

Opening up the fire service

36. Fire stations are often located at the heart of the community. This physical presence is not always utilised to the benefit of the community surrounding the fire station, whether that is in a remote agricultural setting or within the hustle and bustle of an urban district in a busy city. In some locations, especially outside towns and cities, the fire station is the only public building within a community.

37. Some brigades have begun to use the opportunity presented by this central (whether rural or urban) location with developments like a "one stop shop" accessing all fire services and providing the services of a "community fire station" engaged in the wider range of community activities. The fire service is a community-focused service and should continue to foster and encourage activities and ideas of this kind. Making premises available, with due regard to operational and safety requirements, is one way in which participation and involvement can help communities to develop. It also helps improve the fire service's own ability to listen and respond to local needs, removing the mysteries of what happens behind the big "red doors".

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