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Health and Safety in the Fire and Rescue Service - Embedding Lessons Learned
Work between the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) and the national Health and Safety Executive means the importance of firefighter safety remains at the forefront of Fire and Rescue Services agenda.
A meeting took place between the HSE, CFOA, CFRA England, CFRA Wales and HMI Scotland to discuss the subject.
‘Health and Safety in the Fire and Rescue Service – Embedding Lessons Learned’ has now been created. This document has been jointly produced by the CFRA in England & Wales, HM Fire Service Inspectorate in Scotland and the HSE but with full support and involvement of CFOA.
You can read the full document here.
This is a simple and cost effective way to keep the health and safety of firefighting staff on the agenda. It touches upon a number of subjects, with particular emphasis as a reminder to all UK FRSs that lessons learned must be recognised at the initial stages of planning and development within organisations.
CFOA fully endorses the content and principles within the document and encourages FRSs to use the document as appropriate. As an indication of the positive working relationship between all parties and CFOA, the Association will disseminate this document using the CFOA network to all fire and rescue services.
Fire and rescue service move to the Home Office
Following the formal announcement this afternoon that fire and rescue services will be transferred to the Home Office from the Department of Communities and Local Government, The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) makes the following statement:
CFOA is supportive of emergency service collaboration and views the transfer of responsibility for fire and rescue services to the Home Office as an opportunity to improve co-ordination in areas such as national resilience, interoperability and operational response. This builds on the extensive collaboration that already exists, particularly at local level. The organisation of government departments and ministerial responsibilities are matters for the Prime Minister, but we are pleased that fire and rescue will remain a ministerial responsibility with suitable representation, and look forward to working with the Rt Hon Mike Penning MP and meeting with him in the near future.
However, as the transfer takes place over the coming months, CFOA will seek clarity about the arrangements for a range of matters, including transitioning policy, funding and provision to meet national and local emergencies. CFOA will seek assurance that fire and rescue service funding will be sustainable, consider in-depth UK national risks as a whole, and remain distinct from police and other Home Office budgets.
Read the rest of the statement on the CFOA blog
CFOA view on Government response to Collaboration Consultation
The Home Office, Department of Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health have published their response to the consultation held on enabling closer collaboratio between emergency services.
CFOA welcomes the confirmation that a duty to collaborate will be introduced and we will support instances where a robust local business case is made for collaboration. We will provide guidance and input to the Home Office and local services to ensure that all plans for collaboration consider the full range of issues and will produce the right outcomes for the services involved and the public they serve. CFOA has already met with the new Fire Minister and officials from the Home Office to discuss the advice and guidance that the Association can offer as the department seeks to implement its reform agenda.
To read the full CFOA response visit the CFOA blog.
The Chief Fire Officers Association Launches "Beyond Blue Lights" News-Style Programme at AGM Conference
Following a unique communications partnership with ITN Productions, CFOA premiered their first news and current affairs-style programme called ‘Beyond Blue Lights’ at the AGM conference on Monday the 14th of September.
With the prevention message cutting through and reducing fire call-outs, officers are extending their skills to help reduce and create safer and stronger communities. ‘Beyond Blue Lights’ uncovers the latest innovations and technology, new preventive partnerships and the changing role of fire and rescue services in our society.
Introduced by national newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, the programme combines key industry interviews and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles of some of the leading organisations in the sector.
The full video is available below:
For more information, visit the Beyond Blue Lights pages on our website
