Warwickshire County Council Cabinet has approved Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s (WFRS) Integrated Risk Management Action Plan for 2021/22.
The plan is part of the wider Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) 2020-2025, which sets out the Fire Authority’s vision and priorities for the next five years - approved by the County Council in March.
The annual action plan is about improving public safety, reducing the number of emergency incidents and saving lives. The IRMP means targeting resources to prevent incidents from happening, while also making sure resources are in the right location to best protect the community.
This is a process carried out by every fire and rescue service in the country to ensure that local plans are tailored to meet local needs.
Some key actions of the IRMP Action Plan 2021/22 include:
- Work around the People Plan: Including attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce, representative of Warwickshire’s communities.
- Review processes introduced during the pandemic and keep where appropriate: including reinstating businesses.
- Support other programmes of work with partners across the county: including developing the Citizenship course and pushing the Firefit project to improve the health and fitness of young people and their families in more deprived areas.
- Reviewing shift patterns and improving training facilities at Lea Marston, Kingsbury and Stratford to increase operational capacity and performance
- Develop a delivery hub model in the North and South of the county, strengthening links between Prevention and Protection Teams and increasing operational capacity.
- Transforming Nuneaton Fire Station into a community hub. Convert the current Rugby Fire Station into a community hub and progress the building of a station in Rugby South.
- Explore possibilities for collaboration and co-location with Warwickshire Police.
- Continue multi-site training model as outlined in previous IRMP. Also develop new facility at Kingsbury to work in partnership with other agencies to incorporate outdoor education alongside training and community safety and further links with young people.
- Monitor and implement any recommendations from the Grenfell Phase 1 and Hackitt Review.
- Assess capacity to restart prevention activities including school visits, road safety and Biker Down. Increase involvement in Hospital to Home programme, welfare calls to vulnerable and delivery of food parcels.
- Improve technology so that WFRS can align with other regional and national emergency services including replacing Control technology to bring capacity into line with the Government’s Emergency Services Network.
- Embed recommendations from the recent HMICFRS inspection.
The WFRS Action Plan identifies key activities that will enable the service to support Warwickshire’s communities and individuals to be safe, healthy, and independent, taking into account the commercial, economic, environmental and heritage concerns of the community.
Cllr Andy Crump, portfolio holder for fire and rescue and community safety, said: “This plan has been shaped by extensive public consultation as well as thorough study of data showing what type of incidents happen where. The priorities are sensible and address the major issues that the county might face so that we have a plan which our resources – whether that be personnel, or assets – are in the right place at the right time to most effectively serve the communities of Warwickshire and make the county the safest and best it can be.
“The drive to gain a more diverse workforce and to work with local partners to push messages of health, as well as safety, is an indication that the service is broadening its offer and changing to meet both the needs and the makeup of the communities it serves.”
For further information on Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Integrated Risk Management Plan can be found here: https://api.warwickshire.gov.uk/documents/WCCC-1770617716-309