As CFOA President Lee Howell reflects on his year in office and his association’s objectives of becoming ‘stronger professional, influential politically, stable financially’, it brings to mind concerns voiced by many on the current position of the Fire and Rescue Service. How does it fair under economic constraints? Is the Fire Service really providing a better service than it did ten, 20, 30 years ago? Are these comparisons even possible?

Looking into the progression of personal protective equipment in the September issue of FIRE, Correspondent Julian Pinhey raises interesting anomalies in the field of firefighter safety – that of being overprotected. Is there an abundance of technological knowledge developing alongside declining operational nous? If so, it could lead to a lethal combination and an unprecedented problem. 

Broadening the perspective, in the same issue FIRE Correspondent David Wright assesses policing reform and determines what could and could not work for the Fire and Rescue Service. Would the Commissioner model work? Is it necessary? Does anyone outside of the Fire Sector really care?

Another challenge comes from experienced public sector reformer Lord Bichard who is well-versed in the restrictions of silo working (see blog and FIRE September). Whilst acknowledging the strengths of the Fire and Rescue Service, particularly in being able to teach other public sector organisations about outcomes and results, there is clearly more that can be done.

Part of the problem he identifies is a traditionally risk-averse Service, where innovative working practices are not necessarily welcomed as they would be elsewhere. Are the on-going complications presented by protracted investigations following the likes of the Atherstone on Stour tragedy holding the Service back? They certainly do little to instil confidence in a Service ravaged by the intense media spotlight.

None of this, however, gives any impression as to whether the Fire and Rescue Service has declined or risen in recent years. Certainly, the evidence is overwhelmingly positive in terms of reduction in deaths and injuries from fire in the home. However, the outfall of radically reducing operational or prevention activity in some areas is yet to be seen.

Anomalies abound in the modern Fire Service: kit is massively improved whilst insightful operational understanding is occasionally patchy, although simulation training is developing apace.

Above all, the recurring theme is a strong element of the unknown. It is a rare concoction of economic and resource pressures, alongside a social media and information revolution, supplemented by continual technological advancement.

As Lord Bichard says: “The very best always want to find out what the others are doing well and will always be comparing their performance with ‘best in class’. They are – like the best people – always self-critical, always learning, always using the best intelligence available and always ensuring they spend their money well.”

That is not, I suspect, where the Service is but it is where it should be heading.

Posted October 5th, 2012 at 1115 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andre.lynch@pavpub.com

UK public services are facing unprecedented challenges with reduced resources and rising expectations from government and citizens − and the Fire and Rescue Service like everyone else has to find new ways of improving service at less cost. That will not be achieved just by trying to squeeze more efficiency from services which continue to be delivered in the same old way. We need to be prepared to confront some of the flaws which have long afflicted the public sector and, at the same time, ensure that we are better at using the information and intelligence at our disposal to assess our capability and make intelligent decisions about priorities and investment. But where do we start? What are the flaws we need to confront?

Crumbling Empires

It does seem to me that our public services have failed in some key respects and although I have huge respect for the Fire and Rescue the Service, it has not been immune from many of these. For example, we have all failed to work effectively across organisational boundaries. 

Government in particular has tended to work in silos but, if we are honest, few of us have worked imaginatively across departments or with other organisations to ensure that citizens receive services which meet their needs and provide good value for money. That is why the new Fire and Rescue National Framework places such an emphasis on working with partners and on intra-operability between fire and rescue authorities. 

The time has gone when we can afford to defend our professional or organisational empires, because the public expect to see all services working together effectively to meet their needs, and in the Fire and Rescue Service we have to be sure that our own house is in order. We all know that within the Service there are at least four distinct groupings: a uniformed service, a corporate service, control and a retained duty community. These four sub organisations have vastly different roles, different terms and conditions and different cultures, and to be truly effective, barriers need to be broken down. 

The role of many in the Service is not just to provide a service, but to ensure it is being used by other parts of the organisation effectively. So, for example, the role of the Head of Fleet is to help uniformed officers make effective use of the appliances, equipment and technology that we have, not just to provide a quality maintenance service. Similarly, the role of the Head of ICT is to ensure every piece of software and hardware is utilised to its fullest extent, and that the potential of what the Service has invested in is maximised. 

Walking the Talk

We have all talked positively about collaboration, cooperation and partnerships, but now is the time to deliver. We have focused much more on designing and, endlessly, redesigning the structure of our organisations than we have on designing and redesigning the services we provide. It is sometimes necessary to change the shape of the organisation, but more often than not it has little real impact on the quality of service or costs − and it is always very disruptive. 

Instead, we need to spend more time thinking about how we can reshape the Service to be more effective and deliver better results, and that means being prepared to ask fundamental questions about what our communities want from us, our priorities and whether the Service in its current form can deliver what the public needs. In other words, we need to spend time not just thinking about doing things better but doing better things.

Thinking more about how services are designed should inevitably cause us to reassess our use of ICT. Traditionally ICT has been about wires, boxes and service desk calls − and the majority still see it in those terms. But technology, not least mobile technology, should be an integral part of the Service, and if it is, it can transform the way we work. How many services still have duplicate forms to record the results of fire safety inspections when simple available technology could do the job quicker and cheaper and allow more inspections to be carried out? The ICT profession has been its own worst enemy by over promising, but the potential of technology to transform the Service is now immense and it is difficult to see how we can provide better service at less cost unless we realise that potential. 

Technology Transformation

Giving a greater priority to service design does not mean we can afford to neglect greater efficiency − and that means being prepared and open to benchmark performance, to seek out best practice elsewhere and to rigorously assess the return on investments made.

Public service organisations − including Fire and Rescue − have spent too much time on what is happening within the Service and not enough finding out what is happening outside. Too many organisations still believe they are unique yet, in my experience, the very best always want to find out what others are doing well and will always be comparing their performance with ‘the best in class’. They are − like the best people − always self-critical, always learning, always using the best intelligence available and always ensuring they spend their money well. 

Fire and rescue services spend a significant amount of money, for example, on training (some six per cent of their total budget), but how rigorously is that investment evaluated? How sure are senior officers that as a result of that training their people have the skills and confidence to deal effectively with operational challenges? Is success still measured by days of training input and certification, or does it assess what individuals understand, do not understand and the levels of their confidence in applying their knowledge? Can we be sure that we are not wasting money training people who are competent and confident and do not need training? It is all about using information intelligently to prioritise investment and, in this case, ensure the safety of both staff and public.

Radical Thinking

Public services have tended to be risk averse and therefore quite conservative in their behaviour, and for some services like Fire and Rescue the public do not want to see avoidable risks being taken in an operational setting. The problem is that the conservative approach to operational risk can affect the way change is viewed generally in the organisation. This is a time when we need to think radically and encourage all staff to share their ideas on how things could be done better. So leaders need to create a climate where people feel able to contribute and challenge and where they feel innovation is valued. All of that poses particular problems for command and control type organisations and external partners can sometimes help to ensure that sufficient pace of change is achieved. It is not fashionable at the moment to engage consultants, but they can be invaluable if properly commissioned and effectively managed. One way or another we need people to feel that, in the right settings, innovation is welcomed.

Most public services have become preoccupied with compliance at the expense of value. That is not surprising given the emphasis which successive governments have placed on regulation, inspections, assessments, targets and detailed procedural guidance. Success has been about negotiating the next inspection or meeting the next round of targets often set by civil servants with little experience of the operational realities. But when resources are scarce it is adding value that matters most and we all need to work hard to change this aspect of the prevailing culture by ticking fewer boxes and focusing on doing the right things that add value to the service and the community. That is what staff want to do, but they have sometimes been prevented from doing it because of the need to hit a particular target.

Fire Service Lead

When I talk about the need to reform public services I often refer to examples of Fire and Rescue leading the way. I have long felt, for example, that the public sector has been overly concerned with responding to crises rather than preventing them. But during the past 25 years Fire and Rescue has transformed its focus so that we are now about ‘prevent, protect, and respond’ in that order.

Equally the Service can teach the sector a thing or two about the importance of outcomes and results, because of course lives depend on it. In my view, not enough people in government pay enough attention to what Fire and Rescue can teach us. But the Service really cannot rest on its laurels. It has to respond to the new challenges by exploring new ways of working. I am sure that the future will need to be about more effective collaboration, and a focus on the design of the Service and not its structure, and willingness to encourage innovation and realise the potential of ICT. Perhaps most of all it is about seeking out and using intelligently the information and support that could turn a well respected Service into an exemplar.

Posted October 5th, 2012 at 1105 by Andrew. Comment by emailing:

From his unique vantage point inside the Police Gold Command Team in Weymouth, Dr Dave Sloggett reflects on the last two weeks and the delivery of a safe and secure Olympic Games from all the emergency services:

With the lowering of the Olympic Flag the mantle of host city passes to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The closing ceremony was also the moment that those involved in the security cordon around the Olympic Games breathed a collective sigh of relief. Despite some dire forecasts and serious teething issues at the start of the event, the police, military and private security contactors G4S have delivered a safe and secure Olympic Games. Given the uncertainty that exists on the international security landscape at the moment that achievement was no mean feat.

For those tempted to question the scale of the operation, a moment’s reflection is in order. The nature of the threat from terrorism changed fundamentally on 11 September 2001. This was not the act of a group that had a recognised political agenda. It was mass murder, pure and simple.

In Madrid, meanwhile, the terrorists chose a target at rush hour. Fourteen bombs were placed on four trains that detonated over a two minute window. Given the scale of the attack and the deliberate attempt to target rush hour it was amazing that less than 200 people died. At that point over 5,000 people in Madrid were in the cross wires. Had the terrorists achieved their aims the death toll would have been so much larger.

On 6 July 2005 – the day after the International Olympic Committee awarded the games of the XXX^th Olympiad to London – 52 people died as three terrorists detonated bombs in an initial one minute window that was followed by a fourth bomb nearly an hour later. As with Madrid, a detailed analysis of the pattern of detonations on the Underground shows that had the timing varied slightly the death toll would have been so much worse.

In Mumbai a carefully planned and orchestrated attack saw nearly 200 people killed, as terrorists conducted a systematic spree shooting and seizure of hostages. Events in Norway and more recently in Aurora and Wisconsin in the United States provided additional evidence if any were actually needed of the death toll that could arise from a single lone gunman.

That was not the end of it. In Northern Ireland on the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games dissident Irish republican groups chose to announce that they were uniting and giving a re-birth to the Irish Republican Army. Given the backdrop of increasing sectarian violence and the attempt to disrupt the journey of the Olympic Torch that occurred when it visited Northern Ireland, the potential for either a sophisticated hoax or real attack from the re-born IRA had to be considered.

Regarding Muslim extremists, the question had to be asked – could a group have been trained and held back with the specific objective of attacking the Games? Operating below the intelligence services’ radar screen, real concerns surrounded a bolt-from-the-blue attack. This could have also come from a single disenfranchised lone wolf whose mindset had been shaped by a deep seated sense of grievance.

In the run up to the start of the games, the police and their security colleagues had conducted a number of high profile arrests. A message was being sent out. That – coupled with the high profile arrival of HMS Ocean in the Pool of London, Typhoon fighter jets and surface-to-air missile systems ringing London hammered the point home. Despite the austere times every effort was being made to secure the games. Ministers who had professed a willingness to take risks in defence and security in order to cut departmental budgets were not prepared to take a risk with the Olympics. That was a reputational issue for the country.

In the end nothing untoward came to fruition. As ever people will speculate as to whether the reported budget of £500 million was too much. The simple fact is that we will never know the answer to that question. What we do know is that the games passed off peacefully. That is probably a result of a combination of things.

The careful planning, emphasis on detailed study of key terrorist attacks and tactics, and developing counters to them helped create a resilient posture. It is also likely that the high visibility policing would have had a deterrent effect on any wannabe terrorist – they do not want to die needlessly, and an attack would need a high-casualty target to have the desired effect on the population. The presence of more military unquestionably added to that impact.

There are other factors too – for instance, Al Qaeda’s obvious problems in conducting any form of terrorist activity outside a small number of countries where it has an established footprint. It is very possible to argue that we benefited from holding the games in 2012.

How that international security landscape will change in the next four years before the flag is raised over the new stadium in Rio de Janeiro is hard to guess. However, it is very unlikely that even in four years international terrorism will have been consigned to history.

Returning to the events of the last two weeks it would be wrong not to praise the work of the police, their multi-agency colleagues and the military for stepping up the mark when a response was required. Many of them were understandably looking a bit tired on Sunday night. But as the fireworks lit up the closing ceremony they could bask in the limelight of a job superbly well done.

FIRE Editor Andrew Lynch questions how the Fire and Rescue Service can hope to protect the public and safeguard its firefighters in an age of austerity

FIRE gives much of the July/August issue over to firefighter safety in the wake of the Atherstone on Stour trial verdict, setting out the foundations of incident command before scrutinising the realities of operational training under the glare of the modern media spotlight.

Chief Fire Officer Graeme Smith’s presentation at the Institution of Fire Engineers international conference in early July was an eye-opener, offering a powerful insight into the tragic events of that day. The Olympic Games does not so much shrink in comparison (see next issue for our special feature), but for all of London Fire Brigade’s long-term and highly influential input, it is just a part of their colossal risk catalogue.

The scale of the challenge of protecting the public is unprecedented, not just from terrorists and natural disaster, but also from spending cuts that could bring a lesser Service to its knees. It may well do in the unlikely event of a 27 per cent cut for the Association of Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Authorities, a move described in their report, Potential Impact of the 2013−15 Finance Settlement, as ‘catastrophic’. In the more likely event of a cut of around 15 per cent, one of the chiefs told me that would still result in the equivalent of culling a brigade the size of the West Midlands.

The report is seeking a fair financial settlement across the board and seeks to shatter the myth that Metropolitan areas receive bigger increases in government funding than elsewhere (from 2005/06−2010/11 they received less than the national average increase). Certainly their argument for distributing the capital grant through the revenue grant mechanism to give greater flexibility for authorities to manage their resources, makes perfect sense. As does the call for a flat percentage cut to all fire services in the next financial settlement, whether 13.5 or 15 per cent. Make no mistake, everybody suffers, but everybody suffers equally. Anything higher and the suffering becomes intolerable.

The government has taken their concerns seriously, holding what amounts to an emergency Select Committee meeting in mid-July to hear their case. One can only hope that reason prevails, that all fire and rescue services are put on an even footing and have a fighting chance of protecting the public and ensuring safety of firefighters in the process. Here’s hoping.

Spirit of Fire

When it comes to spending wisely, I can do no better than commend The Fire Fighters Charity’s Spirit of Fire Awards at the Park Plaza Westminster Hotel on October 19th. For the past couple of years I have had the privilege of being on the judging panel and witnessed the courage and dedication of supporters, combined with the incredibly high standard of care and commitment from volunteers and health workers. The feedback from beneficiaries going through the re-enablement programme at the centres is consistently outstanding and worthy of further attention.

Don’t just take my word for it, visit: www.firefighterscharity.org.uk

Posted July 27th, 2012 at 1000 by Andrew. Comment by emailing andrew.lynch@pavpub.com

FIRE Editor Andrew Lynch was entirely justified to call for the UK Fire Sector to raise its game in pushing sprinklers onto the green agenda. We need to move sprinkler awareness to the next level – we have certainly managed to preach to the converted, now is the time to galvanise the public and sectors outside of the Fire and Rescue Service, including the housing and environmental sectors.

I think it is fantastic that in the US the National Protection Association has partnered with industry to launch a new green home exhibition to show the environmental benefits of domestic sprinklers. As Andrew Lynch mentioned in his piece, we may not have as high a profile location as Walt Disney World Resort; however we have a number of popular exhibitions such as the Ideal Home Show and Grand Designs Live. These could provide us with the platform we need to showcase the benefits of domestic sprinklers to those who are forward thinking and are willing to embrace innovation and change. 

Latest research shows that installing sprinklers in commercial and industrial buildings alone would save England and Wales over nine billion litres of water every year in extinguishing fire – the equivalent of five times the UK’s entire annual bottled-water consumption. Think how much further this figure would increase by if it were to include residential properties.

I certainly agree with the suggestion that we need a new high profile leader to pick up the domestic sprinkler challenge. There will be an ideal opportunity in the near future as the merger which has taken place between the Federation of British Fire Organisations (FOBFO) and the Fire Sector Partnership, filling the gap left by government as it steps back from central control of Fire UK, and hands it over to the sector.

Ultimately we still need greater co-ordination. As we all know, it is government policy which creates market conditions and currently one of the big barriers for sprinklers is the cost. Introduce legislation which results in greater use of sprinklers and we will see the market flourish and the cost come down as a result.

The draft Energy Bill has recently been published and if we get in there early enough, we may have the opportunity to influence this legislation. The Bill details ambitious targets, such as an 80 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. A recent report, Assessing the Role for Fire Sprinklers, states 350 tonnes of CO2 are released into the atmosphere every year due to commercial building fires. This figure could be drastically reduced by 22 per cent if all commercial buildings were fitted with sprinklers. Clearly on these statistics alone we have a valid case to put forward that we can help them achieve their aims for greater sustainability.

There is some promising work taking place, but there is still much more to do particularly in relation to highlighting the environmental benefits of sprinklers. Yes it will be a challenge to raise our game further, but one we are willing to accept in order to make a real difference. But we do need the help of others, others who design and build houses and commercial premises.

See next issue of FIRE for CFO Sean Frayne’s article in full on behalf of the Chief Fire Officers Association.

Posted July 17th, 2012 at 1440 by Andrew. Comment by emailing andrew.lynch@pavpub.com

With the start of the Olympic Games rapidly approaching it is understandable that the emergency services in the Midlands reacted in the way they did when a passenger on a bus rang in to express her concerns about a substance that was apparently releasing vapours.

Whilst the overall response was ultimately a fruitless exercise and the whole event a false alarm, the teams involved gained a useful remainder of what could actually happen to them one day in a real event.

This was not the usual staged exercise. An immediate sense of danger would have prevailed in the multi-agency response. Whilst the immediacy of danger may have passed quite quickly, it was important that appropriate operational procedures were followed and lessons drawn in its aftermath.

The television pictures of the professional response of the emergency services on the motorway will have had a deterrent effect upon some that may have contemplated getting involved in terrorism. For others, deeply committed to their cause, the pictures would have had an opposite effect.

A matter of hours after the M6 Toll incident had been successfully resolved the police announced that earlier in the week they had made a number of arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. A routine inspection of a car concerning the validity of its MOT certificate had resulted in a small quantity of arms being seized. With visions of a Mumbai-style attack ever-present in the thinking before the Olympic Games it is clear that the police had to act upon the discovery.

Those directly implicated had to be taken into custody and an investigation launched into the circumstances surrounding the discovery. The outcome of that investigation remains to be seen. This may again turn out to be a false alarm. However, the fact that this was not an intelligence-led operation serves to remind everyone that there are those that may have intent to create mayhem that may yet be operating just below the radar horizon of the security services. They cannot be everywhere and the public does have a duty to report in its concerns.

The events have had an equally understandable impact upon the media. Reports that two people had been acting suspiciously around one of the Olympic sites had also emerged over the previous few days. Arrests of others thought to be involved in terrorism just a matter of a few hundred yards away from the main venue also inevitably added extra weight to the media’s coverage. It seemed as if suddenly the security environment had got dramatically worse.

This sequence of events all serves to heighten tensions ahead of the start of the Olympic Games. Perhaps given the uncertainty over the security situation this was inevitable. If the police or the security services had any realistic intelligence on any group thought to be planning an attack, irrespective of any apparent link to the Olympics, they would need to act. This may not be the last arrests that get reported over the coming days.

These are nervous times as the Olympic Torch enters the final stages of its journey into London. Its success to date is not an excuse to let our guard down. An act of terrorism designed to leverage the international media’s coverage of the sporting events could occur at any time. For all members of the public and the emergency services the next few days are crucial. The person that made the phone call reporting the vapours on the coach should not reproach herself for the inconvenience caused to their fellow passengers. The call was the right thing to do.

Posted July 11th, 2012 at 1320 by Andrew. Comment by emailing andrew.lynch@pavpub.com

I am currently seconded from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to The Prince’s Trust, where I work with others in the fire sector to support thousands of disadvantaged young people across the UK.

The Prince’s Trust is the UK’s leading youth charity and helps young people to develop the skills and confidence they need to change their lives. The Trust has helped over 650,000 young people since being established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1976.

In 1978, just two years after the formation of The Prince’s Trust, I joined the Fire and Rescue Service and was initially stationed at Burnley as a firefighter.
I honestly feel that the Service saved me from myself. I did not shine at school, leaving with very few qualifications and going on to work in a local textile mill. Joining the Fire Service was one of the best decisions I ever made.  I am sure I am not alone when I remember that my recruit’s course came as a huge shock. However I soon recognised that I had joined a family – and a family that quickly helped me recognise the skills and abilities that were hidden within me through team work.

Helping Young People

With this background I was extremely pleased to be given the opportunity to manage the Prince’s Trust Team Programme, which was to be run with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, in 2001. The Prince’s Trust works with young people who have struggled at school or are long-term unemployed and gives them the skills and confidence to find a job. On meeting the young people who were taking part in the team programme I was reminded of my former self – a young person who needed help, guidance, direction and to be given a chance. I was proud to have the opportunity to help other young people who are facing the problems that I once did.

“All these young people need is someone who believes in them, a helping hand and a second chance”

Time after time, the young people we help have so often been told they are useless and they end up believing this. They think no one cares what happens to them, so they in turn end up not caring themselves. From my experience, all these young people need is someone who believes in them, a helping hand and a second chance. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service was the first to work with The Prince’s Trust in supporting disadvantaged young people. Now, from these humble beginnings, 15 fire and rescue services work with The Prince’s Trust to deliver its team programme from as far north as Cumbria to as far south as Dorset. Together, they have helped 15,000 young people gain the skills and confidence to find work. Many other fire and rescue services support the team programme in other ways: seconding officers, offering fire safety training and offering work placements to unemployed young people.

Fire Service Opportunities

The team programme is beneficial not just to the young people that go through the scheme but also to the fire and rescue services themselves. The scheme gives the Fire Service the opportunity to engage closely with the communities it serves. It also offers the opportunity to support vulnerable young people, some of whom may have been unemployed in the long term or in trouble with the law in the past.

There are also excellent opportunities for fire and rescue staff development. Fire service employees have professional and personal skills that make them particularly well suited to be effective leaders and influential role models for young people. Through The Prince’s Trust I have met many remarkable young people who – under the guidance of team leaders from the Fire Service – have turned their lives around and developed an amazing amount of confidence, skills and qualifications.

For more information on how you can work with the Prince’s Trust to support unemployed young people, contact George Martin on tel: 07900 268701, or email: fireandrescue@princes-trust.org.uk

FIRE Editor Andrew Lynch reports on introducing an integrated approach to fire protection:

Fire UK is facing a difficult dilemma: how to provide an effective service in a restrictive economic environment. Throw in an increasingly divided society and the problem is magnified. Speaking to James Cleverly, the new Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority on his first official day at work this week, it became apparent that London is at the forefront of this complicated issue.

The Shard and countless architectural wonders are redefining the London skyline and bringing with them a whole new ball game when it comes to modern methods of construction. At the recent Fire Lecture the Building Research Establishment admitted it does not have data on the materials used in many of these constructions. Whilst London Fire Brigade’s fire engineers have had close involvement in these constructions, it is not the same throughout the rest of the UK.

At the other end of the spectrum, old building stock provides an on-going threat to the vulnerable population, as evidenced at the tragic Lakanal House fire. Retrofitting sprinklers would seem like an ideal solution, although it is easy to get carried away with a one-size fits all, off-the-shelf answer. A risk profile of a five mile circle around the City of London would show a staggering range of buildings, combined with shifting populations and demographics.

Crucial is risk management and becoming involved in building construction at the earliest opportunity. This reporter is passionate about championing the sustainable qualities of sprinklers, which unites the cutting-edge architectural genius of new constructions with saving lives and reducing property and environmental damage, regardless of building type.

A lot of attention has been focused on retrofitting sprinklers; the time is right to illustrate the engineering advancements that have taken place to make them valuable additions to new, complex builds. The next issue of FIRE will illustrate how this approach is garnering support from across the sector, not least from the Chief Fire Officers Association.

In an increasingly complex and divided world, the solutions are surprisingly simple. More thought is required on how to integrate all aspects of fire protection and present as a compelling and undeniable argument for the earliest possible inclusion. Once again, over to you…

Posted June 20th, 2012 at 1550 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com

‘Fire: Cost and Consequence’ was the theme of this year’s Fire Lecture, hosted by the Worshipful Company of Firefighters and held in partnership with the Building Research Establishment.

BRE’s Chief Executive Carol Atkinson gave a global overview and bemoaned the silo mentality inherent in building construction, calling for the simplest of solutions: all parties sitting around the same table and working together from the start. It is a familiar observation/recommendation − one the fire world struggles to deliver.

It is because the contradictions have yet to be weeded out. Every topic raised presented the anomaly. Commendably, BRE are developing an integrated code for a sustainable built environment; on the other hand they have no data on the materials used in modern methods of construction. Do not let that statement pass by: if they do not know, who does?

London Fire Brigade’s Commissioner Ron Dobson and Deputy Commissioner Rita Dexter disputed the legislative approach to sprinkler installations and condemned challenges to the insurance industry to reduce premiums.

“Poor people are dying in poorly constructed properties; the potential pitfalls of materials and structural complexities arising in modern methods of construction are perhaps disasters that future generations will have to deal with.”

As at the Callow Mount project report launch they called for targeted response: the poor and vulnerable are dying in fire [as illustrated by the Lakanel House and Derby tragedies].

This reporter would add that poor people are dying in poorly constructed properties; the potential pitfalls of materials and structural complexities arising in modern methods of construction are perhaps disasters that future generations will have to deal with.

Last month’s editorial appealed for the US model futuristic home − fully-integrated with environmentally-friendly sprinklers − to be showcased here. The exercise is intended to raise general and political awareness to zone in on those most at risk. The Callow Mount project findings raised some hope: if sprinklers can be retrofitted cheaply in high-rise properties, there is nowhere that cannot be reached.

We are missing a link however: how to target the full gamut of escalating socio-economic problems with a combination of technological solutions and CFS outreach?

Throw in funding restrictions and ‘striking a balance’, the theme of CFOA President Lee Howell’s presentation, and it becomes a perilous juggling act. Fire Minister Bob Neill closed the debate by discussing breaking down the silos through empowerment and enlightened self-interest. Improved fire safety for occupiers, constructers, insurers and emergency responders is of course in their best interest but without a clear guide − a real understanding of how it all hangs together − there is no incentive.

That is the real missing link and one that no-one has yet to articulate clearly.

The end of April witnessed the annual Counter Terror Expo, taking place, as in previous years, at London Olympia. As ever, it proved to be one of the year’s most interesting events, offering many perspectives on a subject which – to this writer’s mind at least – is one of the most compelling for anyone involved in the emergency services.

However, as well as providing delegates with up-to-the-minute intelligence on how to respond to the ongoing terror threat, the event is also instructive from a broader strategic, cultural perspective. In other words, not just on how to tackle those intent on causing massive disruption and mitigate the effects of their actions, but how to stop them in the first place by persuading them that it’s a bad idea.

The past 12 months has seen a raft of game-changing developments taking place across the globe. These include UK-wide riots, the rise of the Occupy movement, the sudden prominence of global hacking organisations such as Anonymous, the ascendance of what is being called ‘political Islam’ via the Arab Spring, and last but by no means least, a seeming-shift of Al Qaeda’s operational base from Pakistan and Afghanistan to parts of Africa.

Other than sharing a certain disruptive potential, these developments all have the same thing in common in that they speak of an environment where borders are beginning to mean much less, whether in relation to the movement of people, money or information.  This in turn reveals a world where power itself has shifted, and traditional notions of identity themselves are being profoundly challenged. 

How can the emergency services appear as anything other than ‘the enemy’ to a young man who sees Osama Bin Laden as the latest in a line of folk heroes? 

One illustration of this is the way social – and indeed criminal – movements now organise and gather in ways that their predecessors would not necessarily have recognised. Whereas previously groups would have assembled mainly according to traditional, top-down notions of self (class, ethnicity, national or even gang identity), they now connect through often disparate and rapidly changing ‘narratives’ (anti-capitalism, anti-westernism, anti-police, pro-mischief, consumerism), endlessly proliferated via the media and social networking.

Clearly, this has profound implications for the emergency services from an operational point of view, as the Met found out during recent civil disturbances which saw trouble-makers being able to change their tactics on an almost minute-by-minute basis using social media. Just as urgent an issue however, is the impact that these developments may have on community engagement across the board. Just how do you begin to connect with large portions of a population who have little or no moral compass beyond what they see on the television? How can the emergency services appear as anything other than ‘the enemy’ to a young man who sees Osama Bin Laden as the latest in a line of folk heroes?      

One of the most interesting speakers at Counter Terror was Maajid Nawaz, Director of Quilliam, an organisation dedicated to de-‘Islamisation’ through debate and citizenship-based political participation. He suggested that in order to stop the ongoing process of radicalisation it is essential to defeat extremism at the level of ideas themselves. The best way to do this he said, is by putting new discourses in place through what he called the ‘rebranding’ of the democratic west at a cultural level, in order to make extremist ideas as unacceptable in civil society as racism and homophobia have been for the past decade. Tear up the narratives before they even have the chance to take root in other words, by embedding inclusivity, empathy and mutual respect across the board. 

To take this forward, he called for new ‘symbols’ of leadership, in particular on the part of politicians and community figureheads. This chimed with me because it is exactly this kind of community leadership that the emergency services have been involved in for years to different degrees – for instance the equality and diversity agenda has been central in ensuring ongoing liaison with ‘minority’ groups across the board in the Fire and Rescue Service’s continuing quest to reduce fire deaths. .  

At a time when money is becoming increasingly scarce, and the political will is entirely focussed on what is known as the frontline, the temptation might be for services to turn their attention from this area. However, with the world becoming less predictable all the time, there is clearly a necessity for this work not just to continue, but to become even more integral to everything the emergency services do.