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PRINCIPAL INSPECTION REPORT HIGHLAND AND ISLANDS FIRE BRIGADE

FIRE SAFETY

Prevention of fires requires a fully integrated programme of positive actions based upon realistic targets. Changes to enforcement regimes and the introduction of wide community safety objectives provide the foundations. Fire investigations and call reduction require similar positive action.

Overview

141. The fire safety function of the Brigade is beginning to change following the introduction of new key staff and the conclusion of an extensive data review. Good information was forwarded to the Inspectorate, which indicated a clear enforcement process was in place with an active community fire safety work programme. Practical actions in community fire safety and the joint working with the Police provide optimism that fire safety is progressing.

142. Fire Safety issues identified as significant were:

• A functional task or business plan is needed to incorporate the two main strategic links of promoting fire safety in the community, through statutory duties and agency requirements and the advance of fire safety education and awareness.
• Validation shows a clear enforcement and inspection policy in operation, together with a recently introduced audit and performance management framework.
• Improvements have been made in the delivery of fire safety legislation through better use of data, improved internal communications and protocols and better planning arrangements.
• The management and delivery of legislative fire safety in particular would benefit from the provision of a customised fire safety management software package and the consideration of the electronic storage of all files and relevant correspondence.
• Community Fire Safety (CFS) was seen to be an active strategic priority of the Brigade, there being a tangible CFS cultural shift in evidence at District level.
• Improved internal data sharing has been extended to joint transfer of appropriate information with the Northern Constabulary. This is commended and seen as good practice.

Management of Fire Safety

143. Within the past year both the head of Fire Safety and the deputy have been respectively replaced and promoted. It is evident at this early stage that the Brigade will benefit from the appointment of a well-motivated and focused team of committed and knowledgeable officers. This can be gauged from the increased enthusiasm and attitude displayed by the District Officers, who constitute the inspecting and community safety staff, in conjunction with Fire Safety Officers based at Headquarters.

144. The task of validating the current Brigade systems of work was considerably enhanced by the written evidence supplied by the use of the functional self-assessment tool provided by the Inspectorate. It is acknowledged that within the Brigade Service Plan there is a formal policy and commitment to the delivery of fire safety matters and the Department contributes to the Brigade aims through the delivery of a strategy designed to provide a system of fire safety education and enforcement throughout the Highland and Islands area.

145. The Fire Safety Department does not yet have a formal fire safety plan to support the corporate policy of the Brigade. It is evident, however, that most of the constituent elements to provide such a plan exist in extant and dispersed Brigade documentation. It is recommended that a functional task or business plan be produced to incorporate the two main strategic links to the Brigade of promoting fire safety in the community through statutory duties and agency requirements and the advance of fire safety education and awareness. This should also result in a re-worked presentation of the Brigade functional self-assessment of fire safety from the initial policy and strategies to the performance monitoring and quality control measures adopted and including a summary of the business risk assessment approach.

146. The Brigade provided written evidence to show that the legislative obligations of the Fire Board, devolved through the Firemaster, are being delivered through initial and re-inspection programmes that are risk-based, thereby concentrating its resources where most required. System validation shows that the legislative strategy of the Brigade has a clear enforcement and inspection policy in operation and has recently introduced an audit and performance management framework. This has resulted in an improved qualitative output of fire safety work. It should be noted that although there is a slight reduction in the output of work the long-term advantage of increased quality will ultimately benefit the Brigade and is appreciated by the Inspectorate.

147. An interesting series of initiatives has been advanced recently by fire safety managers on behalf of the Brigade Management Team to:

• Review fire safety workloads.
• Collect data on fire certificate files.
• Prioritise re-inspection programmes.
• Re-issue departmental notes.
• Re-introduce the Quality Service Questionnaire (QSQ).

148. These initiatives have been driven by the requirement to initiate performance management systems and partly through the lack of information forthcoming from the Brigade database which was inoperative at the time of this Principal Inspection. It is noted that there is good evidence to support this process which resulted in remedial action being taken by supervisory staff.

149. The most important aspects of these initiatives and others recently introduced to improve the delivery of fire safety legislation have been:

• The quantitative and qualitative information drawn from an extended data trawl of fire safety premises files.
• Improved communication links and intelligence transfer between operational, fire safety and mobilising and control functions to support community risk management objectives.
• Amendments to existing Brigade procedures dealing with serving improvement notices, workplace regulations, exemption and prohibition notices.
• District routine planning and performance management.

150. The latter issue deserves to be singled out for special mention as it firmly grasps the ethos of recording fire safety planning process and performance management as an essential tool of the inspecting officer and manager alike. The initial planning process is designed to take account of the volume and time available for inspections as informed by the Brigade priority programmes and the risk perceived from the premises "data trawl".

151. Having previously commented on the unavailability of the existing Brigade computerised data base it is recommended that the management and delivery of legislative fire safety in particular would benefit from the provision of a customised fire safety management software package and the consideration of the electronic storage of all files and relevant correspondence.

Community Fire Safety

Planning and Strategy

152. The Brigade has published, but not fully implemented, a clear and concise CFS plan and strategy approved by the Fire Board. The plan is designed to reduce the number of fires, fatalities, injuries and also raise public awareness of the dangers from fire. The key aims are to be addressed through the implementation of the CFS programme and strategies allied to national initiatives and Best Value practices over a five-year period.

153. Highland and Islands Fire Brigade has been historically reactive to CFS issues when compared to other Scottish brigades' output statistics. It can, therefore, currently be said that although CFS is being moved forward on a broad front, both geography and the existing demographic elements of the Brigade area continue to present a severe challenge to the effective delivery of community fire safety in its fullest sense.

154. In recognising the foregoing it is pleasing to note that CFS is an active strategic priority of the Brigade and that there is a tangible CFS cultural shift in evidence at District level. This can be evidenced from the way in which the Wellbeing Alliance Partnership is being replicated at local level both within and external to the Brigade.

Information

155. By means of incident profiling the Brigade has effective arrangements to use operational data at its disposal to inform District Officers of localised trends. This data-handling system was designed in-house at the Brigade Command and Control Centre and provides a full suite of data to District Officers on a rolling three-month programme. This allows an exchange of meaningful local information to be delivered through partnership working wherever it is deemed to be most effective.

Implementation

156. The implementation of CFS education initiatives stems from a small team at Brigade Headquarters who assess the impact of new legislation and other obligations, develop and monitor policies and tactics to support the delivery of CFS. The day-to-day delivery of CFS rests mainly with the 10 multi-referenced District Officers and forms one of their primary roles. Very often they are the main point of contact with the public, developing and maintaining the vital links with local partnership organisations.

157. The current principal projects running in the Brigade are:

• Fire Safety education in schools - the "Risk Watch" project.
• Home fire hazard intervention.
• Hazard awareness advertising.
• Support for National and Local domestic sprinkler campaigns.
• Incident profiling.

Partnerships

158. The Brigade are supporting "Risk Watch" as a strategic programme as it is a broad- based safety package delivered in schools by regular teaching staff to pupils aged from 5-14 years assisted by subject specialists. This method is seen as an ideal vehicle for Highland and Islands Fire Brigade who have dispersed communities, size of classes and year peer groups. To this end "Risk Watch" is being piloted in five schools situated in Skye, Dingwall, Inverness and Nairn. Presently discussions are ongoing with the Scottish Executive, who are supportive of the long-term objectives of "Risk Watch" with a view to incorporating the system into the national education system for Scotland.

159. Other major and established partnerships continue to educate and inform the wider community of many and varied dangers to the public health such as the Safe Highlander scheme and the well supported Wellbeing Alliance Community Safety Partnership for which the Brigade is commended for their involvement. During the inspection it was ascertained that the Western Isles have recently engaged in a domestic smoke detector project with financial backing of some 20,000.

Domestic Sprinklers

160. Through the Firemaster's involvement the Brigade has supported the effort to introduce a national domestic sprinkler Bill for Scotland and has opened discussions with Highland Council, the area's largest housing landlord. Initial installation targets are fire damaged properties in Markinch, Inverness and Alness that have a profile of fire history data. This methodology has also resulted in one Sutherland property being identified as suitable for such an installation. The Brigade is currently engaged in providing risk assessment tools to community care workers to conduct self-assessments. The Brigade will then assist the Council in determining priorities.

Fire Investigation

161. An advanced draft joint fire investigation protocol is being discussed between Northern Constabulary and the Brigade and follows the good practice demonstrated at the CACFOA Scottish Fire Investigation Forum.

162. The Brigade recognises both its obligations to the judicial process and the importance of fire investigation data to its own community safety strategy. District Officers have received nationally accredited Fire Investigation training and a small team of Headquarters Officers have had further specialist skills added to their national accreditation.

163. Information sharing is seen as an essential element of joint working practices which include mobilising, prevention and investigation. A good example of prevention activity benefiting from sharing is that of police officers who, in the course of their duty observe potential fire hazards to occupants of a building, passing the information on to the Brigade for assessment and possible action using Section 93 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

164. Along with other improved communication links and intelligence sharing between operational, fire safety and control staff, the extension of joint information transfer with the Police is commended and seen as good practice. It is also pleasing to note that early discussion and data transfer has taken place following the joint thematic inspection report Fire: Raising the Standard issued earlier this year on behalf of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland and HM Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland.

Reduction of Unwanted Fire Calls

165. Within the last month the Fire Safety Department has issued a new procedural note, CR1, detailing the Brigade's call reduction strategy. The Command and Control Centre collates all statistical information on automatic fire alarm calls and provides a monthly summary to the Fire Safety staff who analyse the data and take appropriate action.

166. As the current volume of false alarm calls accounts for approximately 30% of the Brigade total emergency response it is imperative that this essential strategy is followed through by all parties concerned to drive down wasteful unwanted fire calls.

167. A system of local performance indicators exists as does an audit trail of all occasions that the Brigade receives a call to individual premises. Where no improvement is made despite the efforts of all parties there is a six-monthly review period at which time such cases are referred to the Senior Fire Safety Officer for further discussion and action.

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