Lancashire Combined Fire Authority

Performance Committee

Meeting to be held on 2 July 2025

Performance Management Information For Quarter 4, 2024/25

(Appendix 1 refers)

Contact for further information – Sam Pink, Assistant Chief Fire Officer (ACFO)

Tel: 01772 866801

Executive Summary

This paper provides a clear measure of our progress against the Key Performance

Indicators (KPI) detailed in the Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027.

Recommendation

The Performance Committee is asked to note and endorse the Quarter 4 Measuring Progress report, including one positive, and two negative exceptions.

Information

As set out in the report.

Business Risk

High

Environmental Impact

High – the report apprises the Committee of the Authority's progress.

Equality & Diversity Implications

High – the report apprises the Committee of the Authority's progress.

HR Implications

Medium

Financial Implications

Medium

Legal Implications

None

Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985

List of background papers

Paper:         

Date:           

Contact:      

Reason for inclusion in Part 2 if appropriate: N/A

Measuring Progress

Performance Report

Quarter 4: January 2025 – March 2025

Introduction

The following pages set out Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s (LFRS) Performance Framework, an explanation of how our Key Performance Indicator’s (KPI) are measured and how we are performing.

The document illustrates our performance across all our KPI’s and where appropriate, by an analysis of the KPI’s which are classified as being in exception, along with an analysis of the cause and actions being taken to improve performance.

Contents	Page (s)
Introduction	2
Table of Contents	3
Explanation of Performance Measures	4
Performance Framework and Indicator Trends	5 – 7
Key Performance Indicators	8 – 45

Table of contents

Explanation of Performance Measures. 4

Performance Framework and indicator trends. 5

1.1 Overall Staff Engagement 8

1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime (WT) 10

1.2.2 Staff Absence On-Call (OC) 13

1.2.3 Staff Absence Green Book. 14

1.3.1 Workforce Diversity. 17

1.3.2 Workforce Diversity Recruited. 18

1.4 Staff Accidents. 19

2.1 Risk Map. 20

2.2 Overall Activity. 21

2.3 Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF) 23

2.3.1 ADF – Harm to people: Casualties. 24

2.3.2 ADF – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity) 25

2.4 Accidental Building Fires (ABF) - Commercial Premises. 26

2.4.1 ABF (Commercial Premises) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity) 27

2.5 Accidental Building Fires (Non-Commercial Premises) 28

2.5.1 ABF (Non-Commercial Premises: Private Garages and Sheds) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity) 29

2.6 Deliberate Fires Total: Specific performance measure of deliberate fires. 30

2.6.1 Deliberate Fires – Dwellings. 31

2.6.2 Deliberate Fires – Commercial Premises. 32

2.6.3 Deliberate Fires – Other (Rubbish, grassland, vehicles etc.) 33

2.7 Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSC) 34

2.8 Prevention activities delivered. 35

2.9 Business Fire Safety Checks. 36

2.9.1 Fire Safety Activity. 38

2.10 Building Regulation Consultations (BRC) 39

3.1 Critical Fire Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance. 40

3.2 Critical Special Service Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance. 41

3.3 Total Fire Engine Availability. 42

4.1 Progress Against Allocated Budget 43

4.2 Partnership Collaboration.. 44

4.3 Overall User Satisfaction.. 45

Explanation of Performance Measures

KPI’s are monitored either by using an XmR^[1] chart, comparing current performance against that achieved in the previous year’s activity, or against a pre-determined standard - for example: the response standard KPI’s are measured against a range of set times.

The set times are dependent upon the risk rating given to each Super Output Area (SOA), which is presented as a percentage of occasions where the standard is met.

^[1]XmR chart explanation (Value [X] over a moving [m] range [R]).

An XmR chart is a control chart used to highlight any significant changes in activity so that interventions can be made before an issue arises. It can also highlight where activity has decreased, potentially as a result of preventative action which could be replicated elsewhere.

Activity is deemed to be within standard if it remains within set upper and lower limits. These limits are based upon the previous three years activity and are set using a statistically derived constant, approximately equivalent to three standard deviations.

An exception report is generated if the upper, or lower, XmR rules are breached.

The following rules are applicable to the XmR charts and define when an exception has occurred:

· A single point beyond the Upper Control Limit is classified as a negative exception.

· A single point beyond the Lower Control Limit is classified as a positive exception.

Example XmR chart: In the example below, this KPI would produce a negative exception for meeting rule 1, as the activity, represented as a dark blue line, for May 2021 (    ) is above the Upper Control Limit (UCL) and a positive exception in September 2021 (    ) for meeting rule 2, being below the Lower Control Limit (LCL).

Performance Framework and indicator trends

The Combined Fire Authority sets the Service challenging targets for a range of key performance indicators (KPI) which help them to monitor and measure our performance in achieving success and meeting our priorities. Performance against these KPI’s is scrutinised every quarter at the Performance Committee.

The following graphic illustrates our priorities and how their respective KPI’s fit within the overall performance framework.

This section also provides an overview of the performance direction of the KPI’s. Each KPI is shown within its priority, with an indicator called Sparkline’s; which are the inset summary charts and indicate the relative direction of travel over the last four quarters. The last point of the chart represents the most recent quarter. Sparkline’s are simple indicative indicators and are not intended to have labelled points or axes.

1.1 Overall Staff Engagement

A written update on staff engagement will be provided on a quarterly basis.

Scope and definition:

Staff engagement is achieved through a variety of activities carried out every day across the service including station visits, digital staff sessions, appraisals, and team meetings. This includes a programme of wellbeing interactions such as workplace toolbox talks, station visits, workshops, and wellbeing support dog visits.

All members of staff can raise questions, ideas and improvements on the Service’s intranet and staff are regularly involved in testing and trialling new equipment and ways of working. Surveys and consultations are held on specific matters when required such as proposals for emergency cover reviews and working the on-call duty system.

A comprehensive staff survey is undertaken periodically to gain insight from all staff on a range of topics including leadership, training and development, health and wellbeing, and equality, diversity, and inclusion. The feedback is used to shape future activity and bring about improvements and new ideas. The survey includes a staff engagement index which is a measure of overall staff engagement based on levels of pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration and motivation. The current staff engagement index score is 74% (2023).

Measurement/update:

A pulse survey, a short survey designed to measure staff engagement levels in between full staff surveys, was conducted from 18 December 2024 to 7 January 2025. It was an online survey only and received 252 responses (20%).

The resultant staff engagement index score of 79% is a 5% increase on the 2023 score (page 9). 

From January to March 2025, 17 station visits were carried out by principal officers and area managers as part of our service-wide engagement programme. In addition, six engagement sessions were held across the county for station, watch, and crew managers and community fire safety team leaders with heads of service delivery to reflect on progress achieved in 2024-25 and consider priorities for 2025-26. 

Thirty wellbeing interactions were undertaken ranging from workshops with crews to wellbeing support dog interactions. 

Seven online sessions were held to update all operational staff on the final stage of implementing our dynamic cover software. Two On the Menu digital sessions were held: the first was about leadership and development pathways and attended by 56 people, and the second was about digitisation of the incident ground and attended by 33 people. 

The Service engaged with staff over several topics relating to our fleet and equipment and views were sought by survey and through our employee voice groups in relation to a new project to replace breathing apparatus. Staff engagement over improvement works at Blackpool and Preston fire stations continued.

An engagement index is calculated based on five questions measuring pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration and motivation; factors that are understood to be important features shared by staff who are engaged with the organisation.

For each respondent, an engagement score is calculated as the average score across the five questions where strongly disagree is equivalent to 0, disagree is equivalent to 25, neither agree nor disagree is equivalent to 50, agree is equivalent to 75 and strongly agree is equivalent to 100. The engagement index is then calculated as the average engagement score in the organisation. This approach means that a score of 100 is equivalent to all respondents saying strongly agree to all five engagement questions, while a score of 0 is equivalent to all respondents saying strongly disagree to all five engagement questions.

During the survey period, the corporate communications department visited wholetime and on-call crews on 51 occasions to encourage participation in the survey. Five focus groups were held with on-call units by the Service’s independent researcher to obtain qualitative feedback on on-call specific matters, to complement the survey data.

1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime (WT)

Quarter shifts lost 2.235

The cumulative number of shifts (days) lost due to sickness for all wholetime staff divided by the total average strength.

Annual Standard: Not more than 8 shifts lost.
(Represented on the chart as annual shifts lost ÷ 4 quarters = 2)

*Revision to previously published 2024/25 quarter 2 & 3 return.

Cumulative total number of shifts lost:

8.284

The agreed target performance level is 8 shifts lost per employee per year across both Grey (KPI 1.2.1) and Green Book (1.2.3) staff. The actual combined shifts lost for both for 2024/25 was 7.97 shifts lost per employee, which is within the overall target.

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a negative exception report due to the number of shifts lost through absence per employee being above the Service target for quarter 4.

The element of this section of the report refers to sickness absence rates for the period 1 April 2024 to March 2025.

The agreed target performance level is 8 shifts lost per employee per year for wholetime staff. The actual shifts lost for the period for this group of staff is 8.28, which is 0.28 shifts above target. During the previous year, 8.72 shifts were lost which is a reduction of 0.44 shifts lost per wholetime employee compared to the same period last year.

Analysis

5,186 wholetime absence shifts lost = 8.28 against a target of 8.00

The number of cases of long-term absence which spanned over the total of the 3 months reduced from 2 cases in Q3 to 1 case in Q4. Forty-six shifts were lost during the quarter as a result of the one case of long-term absence, this is in comparison to 158 shifts were lost during the same quarter of 2023-24. This case accounts for 0.07 shifts lost per person over the quarter.

There were 27 cases of long-term absence which were recorded within the 3 months:

Reason	Case/s
Musculo Skeletal	8
Hospital/Post Operative Procedure	8
Mental Health (Other 4 cases)	4
Other absence types	8

64 shifts lost were related to Respiratory related absences, this includes Coronavirus absence. This is compared to 154 shifts lost in the same quarter of 2023-24.

Measures the Service takes to manage absence

The Service has an Absence Management Policy which details our approach to managing absences to ensure that staff time is managed effectively, and that members of staff are supported back to work or exited from the Service in a compassionate way.

The Human Resources (HR) system iTrent automatically generates monthly reports to line managers and HR Business Partners in relation to employees and their periods and reasons for absence, and these are closely monitored. Where employees are absent due to a mental health, or a stress related condition, they are referred to Occupational Health Unit (OHU) as early as possible. Employees returning to work have a return-to-work interview and stress risk assessment, or individual health risk assessments are completed where required.

The Service has several support mechanisms available to support individuals to return to work or be exited as appropriate including guidance from Occupational Health, access to Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), access to an Employee Assistance Programme and the Firefighters Charity.

Where an employee does not return to work in a timely manner an absence review meeting will take place with the employee and the line manager and a representative from Human Resources. The meetings are aimed at identifying support to return an individual back to work which can include modified duties for a period, redeployment, but ultimately can result in dismissal, or permanent ill health retirement from the service.

The Absence Management Policy details when a formal review of an employee’s performance levels would normally take place. In terms of short-term absence, a formal review would take place where an employee has 3 or more periods of absence in 6 months, or an employee has 14 days absent. In terms of long-term absence, a formal review will normally take place at 3, 6, 9 and 11 months.

A key challenge for supporting operational staff return to work is that the threshold for fitness and return to work for operational firefighters is higher than in other occupations due to their hazardous working conditions.

1.2.2 Staff Absence On-Call (OC)

Cumulative Absence 1.27%

The percentage of contracted hours lost due to sickness for all OC contracted staff. An individual’s sickness hours are only counted as absent where they overlap with their contracted hours.

Annual Standard: No more than 2.5% lost as a percentage of available hours of cover.

Cumulative On-Call absence, as a percentage of available hours of cover at end of the quarter, 1.27%.

Cumulative On-Call absence (as % of available hours of cover):

1.27%

1.2.3 Staff Absence Green Book

Quarter shifts lost 2.123

The cumulative number of shifts (days) lost due to sickness for all Green Book staff divided by the average strength.

Annual Standard: Not more than 8 shifts lost.
(Represented on the chart as annual shifts lost ÷ 4 quarters = 2)

Cumulative total number of shifts lost:

7.221

The agreed target performance level is 8 shifts lost per employee per year across both Grey and Green Book staff. The actual shifts lost for both combined for 2024/25 was 7.97 shifts lost per employee, which is within the overall target.

What are the reasons for an Exception report

This is a negative exception report due to the number of shifts lost through absence per employee being above the Service target for quarter 4.

The agreed target performance level is 8 shifts lost per employee per year for Green book staff. The actual shifts lost for the period for this group of staff is 7.22, which is 0.78 below target. During the same period the previous year, 7.04 shifts were lost which is an increase of 0.18 shifts lost per green book employee compared to the same period last year.

Analysis

During the period, January – March 2025, absence statistics show non-uniformed personnel absence above target for the quarter, with 2.12 shifts lost in the quarter against a target of 2.00 shifts lost.

1,863 non-uniformed absence shifts lost = 7.22 against a target of 8.00 during the quarter 1 to 4. There were three cases of long-term absence which spanned over the total of the 3 months, these related to:

The number of long-term absence cases recorded in the quarter reduced from 13 in Q3 to 10 in Q4:

Reason	Case/s
Mental Health	5
Musculo Skeletal	2
Other absence types	3

188 shifts were lost during the quarter as a result of the above 10 cases of long-term absences, this is in comparison to 93 shifts lost during the same quarter of 2023-24. These cases account for 0.73 shifts lost per person over the quarter.

54 shifts lost were related to Respiratory related absences, this includes Coronavirus absence. This is compared to 28 shifts lost in the same quarter of 2023-24.

Measures the Service takes to manage absence

The Service has an Absence Management Policy which details its approach to how it will manage absence ensuring that staff time is managed effectively, but also members of staff are supported back to work or exited from the Service in a compassionate way.

The Human Resources (HR) system iTrent automatically generates monthly reports to line managers and HR Business Partners in relation to employees and the periods and reasons for absence and these are closely monitored. Where employees are absent due to a mental health, or a stress related condition, these employees are referred to Occupational Health Unit (OHU) as early as possible. Employees returning to work have a return-to-work interview and stress risk assessment, or individual health risk assessments are completed where required.

The Service has several support mechanisms available to support individuals to return to work or be exited as appropriate including guidance from Occupational Health, access to Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), access to an Employee Assistance Programme and the Firefighters Charity.

Where an employee does not return to work in a timely manner an absence review meeting will take place with the employee and the line manager and a representative from Human Resources. The meetings are aimed at identifying support to return an individual back to work which can include modified duties for a period, redeployment, but ultimately can result in dismissal, or permanent ill health retirement from the service.

The Absence Management Policy details when a formal review of an employee’s performance levels would normally take place. In terms of short-term absence, a formal review would take place where an employee has 3 or more periods of absence in 6 months, or an employee has 14 days absent. In terms of long-term absence, a formal review will normally take place at 3, 6, 9 and 11 months.

1.3.1 Workforce Diversity

Diversity Percentage (Refer to charts)

Workforce diversity as a percentage: Performance measure of how representative our staff are of our communities, to monitor equality and diversity within LFRS.

Combined diversity percentage of Grey Book and Green Book staff. Outer circle represents the position at the current quarter, with the inner circle illustrating the position at the same quarter the previous year.

Diversity percentage by Grey Book staff and Green Book staff. Counts will include double counts if dual contract between Grey and Green Book.

Characteristic	Diversity	Grey Book	%	Green Book	%
Gender	Female	Grey	11%	Green	62%
	Male		89%		38%
Ethnicity	Other than white	Grey	3%	Green	6%
	White		92%		85%
	Not stated		5%		9%
Sexual orientation	LGBT	Grey	5%	Green	3%
	Heterosexual		59%		65%
	Not stated		36%		32%
Disability	Disability	Grey	3%	Green	5%
	No disability		95%		89%
	Not stated		2%		6%

1.3.2 Workforce Diversity Recruited

Diversity Percentage (Refer to charts)

Workforce diversity recruited as a percentage: Performance measure of our success in recruiting a diverse workforce to monitor equality and diversity within LFRS.

Combined cumulative diversity percentage of Grey Book staff and Green Book staff. Outer circle represents the current period, with the inner circle illustrating the same period of the previous year.

During quarter 4, there were a total of 59 new recruits.

No further breakdown is provided to prevent the possible identification of individuals due to the small numbers of recruits during certain periods.

1.4 Staff Accidents

Activity 16

This KPI details the numbers of accidents which have involved LFRS staff members at work within the quarter.

As part of our Health and Safety Management System we report and investigate all accidents which occur within LFRS to identify any learning opportunities which can contribute to improving our safety culture within the Service.

As the body ultimately responsible for health and safety performance, this KPI enables Fire Authority members to view LFRS progress on managing health and safety risks within LFRS.

Quarterly activity decreased 33.33% (8 incidents) over the same quarter of the previous year.

Total number of staff	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
accidents	61	16	70	24

2.1 Risk Map

Risk Score 30,750

This indicator measures the fire risk in each Super Output Area (SOA). Risk is determined using fire activity over the previous three fiscal years along with a range of demographic data, such as population and deprivation.

Specifically, the risk score for each SOA is calculated using the formula shown below. Once an SOA has been assigned a score, it is then categorised by risk grade.

The County risk map score is updated annually before the end of the first quarter. Standard: To reduce the risk in Lancashire - an annual reduction in the County risk map score. An improvement is shown by a year-on-year decreasing ‘Overall Risk Score’ value. The inset table below shows the latest count of risk areas against the previous year, along with the overall risk score compared to the previous year.

Risk Grade	Very High	High	Medium	Low	Overall Risk Score
2024 count	11	54	340	536	30,750
2023 count	15	59	331	536	31,170
Direction / % Change

2.2 Overall Activity

Quarter Activity 4,027

The number of incidents that LFRS attend with one or more pumping appliances. Includes fires, special service calls, false alarms and collaborative work undertaken with other emergency services. For example, missing person searches on behalf of the Lancashire Constabulary (LanCon) and gaining entry incidents at the request of the North west Ambulance Service (NWAS).

A breakdown of incident types included within this KPI are shown on the following page.

Quarterly activity increased 9.64% over the same quarter of the previous year, whilst the year to date activity decreased by 2.45%.

Incidents	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
attended	16,963	4,027	17,389	3,673

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	1,414	1,532	1,449	1,570	1,578

2.2 Overall Activity Breakdown

Quarter Activity 4,027

Incidents attended by LFRS consist of a myriad of different types. The breakdown below, whilst not an exhaustive list, aims to illustrate how activity captured within KPI 2.2 Overall Activity is split by the different types of incidents.

The chart figures represent the count and percentage each activity contributes to the quarter’s activity, whilst the inset table breaks the incident types down further.

	FALSE ALARM incidents make up 41% of activity, with 60% being Fire alarm due to Apparatus incidents, 38% good intent false alarm and malicious false alarms accounting for 2%.
	FIRE PRIMARY incidents encompass Accidental Dwelling Fires, which account for 38% of primary fires and are shown in KPI 2.3.
	FIRE SECONDARY incidents are caused by either a deliberate or accidental act, or the cause is not known. Deliberate fires mainly involve loose refuse and currently account for 51% of secondary fires, with 49% being an accidental or not known cause.
	SPECIAL SERVICE incidents are made up of many different activities, so only a selection of types, such as Gaining entry to a domestic property on behalf of NWAS and Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) can be shown, with the remainder being recorded under ‘other types’. These can range from trapped animals or hazardous materials incidents, to spill and leaks or advice only.

2.3 Accidental Dwelling Fires (ADF)

Quarter Activity 168

The number of primary fires where a dwelling has been affected, and the cause of fire has been recorded as ‘Accidental’ or ‘Not known’.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding disused property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity increased 10.53% over the same quarter of the previous year, whilst the cumulative to date decreased by 2.70%.

Accidental Dwelling	Year to date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to date	2023/24 Quarter 4
Fires	686	168	705	152

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/21	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	57	65	59	64	71

2.3.1 ADF – Harm to people: Casualties

Quarter Activity 9

ADF criteria as 2.3. The number of fire related fatalities, slight and serious injuries.

· A slight injury is defined as: a person attending hospital as an outpatient (not precautionary check).

· A serious injury is defined as: at least an overnight stay in hospital as an in-patient.

Casualty Status	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
Fatal	6	0	3	0
Injuries appear Serious	7	1	12	4
Injuries appear Slight	32	8	15	1
Total	45	9	30	5

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	4	4	3	4	4

2.3.2 ADF – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity)

Quarter Percentage 85%

ADF criteria as 2.3. Extent of fire, heat and smoke damage is recorded at the time the STOP message is sent and includes all damage types.

The table below shows a breakdown of fire severity at ADF’s, with a direction indicator comparing the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year.

An improvement is shown if the combined percentage of fires limited to heat and/or smoke damage only, the item 1^st ignited or to the room of origin, is higher than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Combined quarterly percentage decreased 8.00% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Fire severity	24/25 Q1	24/25 Q2	24/25 Q3	24/25 Q4	Ç/ò	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4
Limited to heat and/or smoke	24%	22%	24%	22%	ò	23%	26%	23%	32%
Limited to item 1st ignited	13%	16%	14%	22%	Ç	15%	18%	16%	16%
Limited to room of origin	50%	47%	48%	41%	ò	46%	42%	51%	45%
Limited to floor of origin	7%	7%	8%	11%	Ç	8%	10%	5%	5%
Spread beyond floor of origin	5%	6%	4%	3%	Ç	6%	2%	2%	1%
Whole Building	1%	2%	2%	1%	ó	2%	2%	3%	1%
Combined percentage	87%	85%	86%	85%	ò	84%	86%	90%	93%

2.4 Accidental Building Fires (ABF) - Commercial Premises

Quarter Activity 65

The number of primary fires where a building has been affected, which is other than a dwelling or a private building associated with a dwelling, and the cause of fire has been recorded as Accidental or Not known.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding disused property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity increased 30.00% over the same quarter of the previous year, and by 7.66% in the year to date.

Accidental Building Fires	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
(Commercial Premises)	253	65	235	50

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	21	21	20	21	23

2.4.1 ABF (Commercial Premises) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity)

Quarter Percentage 76%

ABF criteria as 2.4. Extent of fire, heat and smoke damage is recorded at the time the STOP message is sent and includes all damage types.

The table below shows a breakdown of fire severity at ABF’s, with a direction indicator comparing the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year.

An improvement is shown if the combined percentage of fires limited to heat and/or smoke damage only, the item 1^st ignited or to the room of origin, is higher than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Combined quarterly percentage increased 8.00% over the same quarter of the previous year, with whole building decreasing 7.00%.

Fire severity	24/25 Q1	24/25 Q2	24/25 Q3	24/25 Q4	Ç/ò	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4
Limited to heat and/or smoke	15%	27%	16%	23%	Ç	16%	12%	19%	14%
Limited to item 1st ignited	19%	17%	21%	18%	Ç	14%	26%	22%	14%
Limited to room of origin	44%	38%	33%	35%	ò	36%	33%	36%	40%
Limited to floor of origin	13%	13%	12%	17%	ò	15%	10%	9%	18%
Spread beyond floor of origin	1%	2%	9%	2%	ó	6%	0%	4%	2%
Whole Building	8%	3%	9%	5%	ò	13%	19%	10%	12%
Combined percentage	78%	82%	70%	76%	Ç	66%	71%	77%	68%

2.5 Accidental Building Fires (Non-Commercial Premises)

Quarter Activity 13

The number of primary fires where a private garage, private shed, private greenhouse, private summerhouse, or other private non-residential building has been affected, and the cause of fire has been recorded as Accidental or Not known.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding disused property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity increased 30.00% over the same quarter of the previous year, whilst the year to date decreased by 1.39%.

Accidental Building Fires	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
(Non-Commercial Premises)	71	13	72	10

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	6	7	6	7	7

2.5.1 ABF (Non-Commercial Premises: Private Garages and Sheds) – Harm to property: Extent of damage (fire severity)

Quarter Percentage 15%

ABF criteria as 2.5. Extent of fire, heat and smoke damage is recorded at the time the STOP message is sent and includes all damage types.

The table below shows a breakdown of fire severity at ABF’s, with a direction indicator comparing the current quarter to the same quarter of the previous year.

An improvement is shown if the combined percentage of fires is limited to heat and/or smoke damage only, the item 1^st ignited or to the room of origin, is higher than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

As the property types of sheds and garages are typically of a single room construction, there is an increased likelihood of the whole building being affected.

Combined quarterly percentage decreased 5.00% over the same quarter of the previous year.

Fire severity	24/25 Q1	24/25 Q2	24/25 Q3	24/25 Q4	Ç/ò	23/24 Q1	23/24 Q2	23/24 Q3	23/24 Q4
Limited to heat and/or smoke	14%	0%	12%	0%	ó	5%	0%	0%	0%
Limited to item 1st ignited	10%	5%	6%	0%	ó	23%	0%	31%	0%
Limited to room of origin	14%	5%	19%	15%	ò	10%	11%	0%	20%
Limited to floor of origin	14%	19%	19%	8%	ò	5%	0%	0%	10%
Spread beyond floor of origin	0%	0%	0%	0%	ó	0%	0%	0%	0%
Whole Building	48%	71%	44%	77%	Ç	57%	89%	69%	70%
Combined percentage	38%	10%	37%	15%	ò	38%	11%	31%	20%

2.6 Deliberate Fires Total: Specific performance measure of deliberate fires

Quarter Activity 450

The number of primary and secondary fires where the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

This is an overall total measure of deliberate dwelling, commercial premises, and other fires, which are further reported within their respective KPI’s.

Quarterly activity increased 48.51% over the same quarter of the previous year, and the year to date increased by 6.46%.

Deliberate	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
Fires	1,928	450	1,811	303

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	161	168	151	191	162

2.6.1 Deliberate Fires – Dwellings

Quarter Activity 21

The number of primary fires where a dwelling has been affected, and the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding disused property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity increased 50.00% (7 incidents) over the same quarter of the previous year, and the year to date increased 2.38% (2).

Deliberate Fires -	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
Dwellings	86	21	84	14

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	7	7	7	7	8

2.6.2 Deliberate Fires – Commercial Premises

Quarter Activity 38

The number of primary fires where the property type is a building, which is other than a dwelling or a private building associated with a dwelling, and the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

A second incident activity line is shown which excludes Crown premises which fall outside of our legislative jurisdiction.

A primary fire is one involving property (excluding disused property) or any fires involving casualties, rescues, or any fire attended by five or more pumping appliances.

Quarterly activity decreased 5.00% over the same quarter of the previous year, and year to date decreased by 3.45%.

Deliberate Fires -	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
Commercial	140	38	145	40

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	12	11	12	10	11

2.6.3 Deliberate Fires – Other (Rubbish, grassland, vehicles etc.)

Quarter Activity 391

The number of primary and secondary fires where the property type is other than a building, except where the building is recorded as disused, and the cause of fire has been recorded as deliberate.

The majority of deliberate fires are outdoor secondary fires and include grassland and refuse fires. Abandoned vehicle fires are also included under secondary fires.

Primary fires are when the incident involves casualties or rescues, property loss or 5 or more pumping appliances attend the incident, and can include large scale moorland fires or vehicle fires which are not abandoned.

Quarterly activity increased 57.03% over the same quarter of the previous year, and the year to date increased by 7.59%.

Deliberate Fires -	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
Other	1,702	391	1,582	249

	Current mean	3 Year mean	2023/24	2022/23	2021/22
Current mean activity and the monthly mean activity over the previous 3 years.	142	150	132	175	143

2.7 Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSC)

Quarter Activity 55%

The percentage of completed HFSC’s, excluding refusals, carried out by LFRS personnel in the home, where the risk score has been determined to be high.

An improvement is shown if:

· The total number of HFSC’s completed is greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year and,

· The percentage of high HFSC outcomes is greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year.

Quarterly activity decreased 11.3% against the same quarter of the previous year, whilst the high risk outcomes increased 1%. The HFSC’s completed over the 2024/25 year increased by 233 to 23,533 against the previous year’s 23,300.

	2024/25		Ç/ò	2023/24
	HFSC completed	% of High HFSC outcomes	Progress	HFSC completed	% of High HFSC outcomes
Q 1	5,840	53%	Ç/ò	5,807	54%
Q 2	6,340	52%	Ç/ó	5,930	52%
Q 3	6,023	51%	Ç/ò	5,728	54%
Q 4	5,330	55%	ò/Ç	5,835	54%

Cumulative year to date activity

2.8 Prevention activities delivered

Activity	Description	Targets for delivery	Data for quarter 4 2024/25
ChildSafe	Fire Safety education package to Year 2 (key stage 1)	Offered to all year 2 pupils	171 sessions delivered to 5,495 students
RoadSense	Fire and Road Safety education package to Year 6 (key stage 2)	Offered to all year 6 pupils	197 sessions delivered to 5,830 students
SENDSafe	Fire Safety education package for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)	Offered to all SEND schools	5 sessions delivered to 97 students
Wasted Lives	Pre Driver information session in workshop or assembly format. Aimed at Year 10 or Year 11 in high school (key stage 4)	Increase delivery aligned to district risk in the academic year	22 sessions delivered to 3,461 students.
Biker Down	3 hour course aimed at Powered 2 Wheel riders covering incident management, first aid and the science of being seen	Deliver a minimum of 12 sessions per year	4 sessions 38 attendees
FIRES	Fire setting intervention delivered to 4-17 year olds. Referrals made by anyone who might work or support the family of a child who is setting fires	Deliver an intervention to all referrals	48 referrals opened prior to Q4 and carried over. 43 referrals received in Q4. 41 referrals closed in Q4. 53 referrals carried to 2025-26, Q4
Partner Training (including care providers)	LFRS deliver a ‘train the trainer’ package to organisations/agencies within health and social care. There are currently 190 preferred partners, and 73 standard partners registered with LFRS. Partnerships are reviewed and RAG rated quarterly	Increase the number of partners rated green on the RAG report and continue to review partnerships and provide training	22 sessions delivered to 111 delegates.
Specific education sessions such as Water Safety & Bright Sparx	Education package delivered either virtually or in person to educate about Water Safety, Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), deliberate fire setting etc. Covers key stages 2,3 and 4	Increase delivery	Planning undertaken for commencement of water safety campaign. Bright Sparx campaign report and evaluation completed.
Arson Threat Referral	Bespoke service where a threat of arson has been made. Referrals largely come from the Police.	Meet demand from LanCon	193 completed

2.9 Business Fire Safety Checks

Quarter Activity 887

Business Fire Safety Checks (BFSC) are interventions which look at different aspects of fire safety compliance, including risk assessments, fire alarms, escape routes and fire doors. If the result of a BFSC is unsatisfactory, fire safety advice will be provided to help the business comply with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. If critical fire safety issues are identified, then a business safety advisor will conduct a follow-up intervention.

· The pro rata BFSC target is delivered through each quarter.

A +/-10% tolerance is applied to the completed BFSC’s and the year to date (YTD) BFSC’s, against both the quarterly and YTD targets. When both counts are outside of the 10% tolerance they will be deemed in exception. This enables local delivery to flex with the needs of their district plan over the quarters.

	2024/25				Ç/ò	2023/24
	BFSC completed	Quarter Target	BFSC Cumulative	YTD Target	Progress	BFSC completed	Quarter Target
Q 1	924	625	924	625	Ç	826	625
Q 2	943	625	1,867	1,250	Ç	893	625
Q 3	883	625	2,750	1,875	Ç	862	625
Q 4	887	625	3,637	2,500	Ç	791	625

Cumulative year to date activity

Top five completed BFSC’s: satisfactory and unsatisfactory premise types.

*Workplaces undefined.

What are the reasons for the Exception

This is a positive exception due to the number of completed Business Fire Safety Checks (BFSC) being greater than 10% of the quarterly target, and the cumulative year to date target.

Targeting Strategy

Service delivery personnel have been carrying out BFSC’s in their respective districts for over 2 years, and this work is now embedded into business-as-usual activity.

The KPI dashboard and District Intel Profiles are used to identify and target both the business types and business locations for this activity.

2.9.1 Fire Safety Activity

Quarter Activity 8%

The number of Fire Safety Enforcement inspections carried out within the period resulting in supporting businesses to improve and become compliant with fire safety regulations or to take formal action of enforcement and prosecution of those that fail to comply. Formal activity is defined as one or more of the following: enforcement notice or an action plan, alterations notice or prohibition notice.

An improvement is shown if the percentage of audits ‘Requiring formal activity’ is greater than the comparable quarter of the previous year. This helps inform that the correct businesses are being identified.

Quarterly activity increased 1% against the same quarter of the previous year.

	2024/25										2023/24
Quarter	Fire Safety Enforcement Inspections	Formal Activity	% Formal Activity	Informal Activity	% Informal Activity	Satisfactory Audit	% Satisfactory Audit	Business Safety Advice	% Business Safety Advice	Progress	% Formal Activity	% Informal Activity
1	530	31	6%	426	80%	64	12%	9	2%	ò	7%	78%
2	531	32	6%	387	73%	73	14%	32	6%	ó	6%	80%
3	499	38	8%	329	66%	112	22%	20	4%	Ç	5%	82%
4	424	36	8%	268	63%	84	20%	36	8%	Ç	7%	78%

2.10 Building Regulation Consultations (BRC)

Building Regulations: If a business intends to carry out building work it must do so in accordance with the requirements of current Building Regulations.

There are two building control bodies that can be used, the Local Authority or an Approved Inspector.

These bodies are then responsible for ensuring compliance with building regulations which generally apply when:

· Erecting a new building

· Extending or altering an existing building

· Providing services and/or fittings in a building

· Altering the use of a building

Purpose of the consultation process: If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) applies to the premises, or will apply following the work, the building control body must consult with LFRS. LFRS then comments on FSO requirements and may also provide additional advice relevant to the building type which may exceed minimum requirements but, if adopted, would further enhance safety or resilience (e.g. use of sprinklers).

LFRS cannot enforce building regulations but can offer observations to the building control body regarding compliance if it is felt the proposals may not comply. In addition to securing a safe premises, an important outcome of the process is to ensure that the completed building meets the requirements of the FSO once occupied, so that no additional works are necessary.

Building Regulation Consultations	24/25 Q1	24/25 Q2	24/25 Q3	24/25 Q4
Received	208	226	226	247
Completed within timeframe^[1]	207	220	219	235
% Completed within timeframe	99.5%	97.3%	96.9%	95.14%

^[1] LFRS should make comments in writing within 15 working days of receiving a BRC.

3.1 Critical Fire Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance

Quarter Response 07:31

Critical fire incidents are defined as incidents that are likely to involve a significant threat to life, structures or the environment. Our response standards, in respect of critical fires, are variable and are determined by the risk map (KPI 2.1) and subsequent risk grade of the Super Output Area (SOA) in which the fire occurred.

The response standards include call handling and fire engine response time for the first fire engine attending a critical fire, and are as follows:

· Very high risk area = 6 minutes	· Medium risk area = 10 minutes
· High risk area = 8 minutes	· Low risk area = 12 minutes

We have achieved our standards when the time between the ‘Time of Call’ (TOC) and ‘Time in Attendance’ (TIA) of the first fire engine arriving at the incident, averaged over the quarter, is less than the relevant response standard. Expressed in minutes & seconds.

Critical Fire Response	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Year to Date	Previous Year to Date
Very High (6 min)	[06:02]	05:55	[06:03]	05:34	05:52	05:51
High (8 min)	07:12	06:35	06:09	05:31	06:18	06:03
Medium (10 min)	07:00	06:54	07:35	07:01	07:08	06:48
Low (12 min)	08:51	09:02	08:20	08:59	08:48	09:01
Overall	07:40	07:42	07:39	07:31	07:38	07:30

[Out of standard response times are expressed within square brackets]

3.2 Critical Special Service Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance

Quarter Response 09:14

Critical special service incidents are non-fire incidents where there is a risk to life, for example, road traffic collisions, rescues and hazardous materials incidents. For these incidents there is a single response standard which measures call handling time and fire engine response time.

The response standard for the first fire engine attending a critical special service call = 13 minutes.

We have achieved our standards when the time between the ‘Time of Call’ (TOC) and ‘Time in Attendance’ (TIA) of the first fire engine arriving at the incident, averaged over the quarter, is less than the response standard. Expressed in minutes & seconds.

Critical Special Service Response	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Year to Date	Previous Year to Date
(13 min)	08:22	08:36	08:50	09:14	08:46	08:31

[Failures are expressed within square brackets]

3.3 Total Fire Engine Availability

Quarter Availability 89.57%

This indicator measures the total availability of the 1^st fire engine at each of the 39 fire stations. It is measured as the percentage of time the 1^st fire engine is available to respond compared to the total time in the period.

Standard: 90%

Quarterly availability increased 0.69% over the same quarter of the previous year, whilst the year to date decreased by 0.69%.

Fire engine availability	Year to Date	2024/25 Quarter 4	Previous year to Date	2023/24 Quarter 4
WT, FDC, DCP & OC	87.97%	89.57%	88.66%	88.88%

4.1 Progress Against Allocated Budget

Quarter variance -0.80%*

The total cumulative value of the savings delivered to date compared to the year’s standard and the total.

As a public service we are committed to providing a value for money service to the community and it is important that once a budget has been agreed and set, our spending remains within this.

The annual revenue budget for 2024/25 was set at £75.1 million and the spend at the end of the year was £74.5 million. The £0.6 million savings is mainly attributable to bank interest received.

The capital budget was £12 million, with a spend at the end of the year of £4.1 million. The remaining £7.9 million will slip into the 2025/26 year. Extended lead times and a resourcing shortfall ensued the slippage.

*Revenue budget variance:

-0.80%

4.2 Partnership Collaboration

A written update on partnership collaboration will be provided on a quarterly basis.

Scope and definition:

The Police, Fire & Rescue Service, and Ambulance Service have a duty to collaborate

under the Policing and Crime Act 2017. The objectives are to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and deliver improved outcomes.

The following are examples of partnership working come from a number of departments across the Service. Their aim is to increase efficiency and effectiveness of working practices whether this relates to equipment, technology, appliances, or training.

· North West Fire Control (NWFC) Mobilising System replacement – following a successful procurement phase, the implementation phase has now started with a regional collaboration between NWFC, Lancashire, Cumbria, Manchester and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Services to introduce a state of the art mobilising system in Spring 2026.

· Regional Breathing Apparatus (BA) Procurement – This project has been initiated and will ensure new and improved BA sets are procured and successfully rolled out to relevant staff. The procurement exercise will include regional Fire and Rescue Services and will involve operational and support staff from across the region, including procurement, training, fleet, health and safety, policy, ICT, and equipment teams, as well as the firefighters themselves.

· Welfare Unit Project – This project will deliver improved facilities on the incident ground for LFRS staff, it is currently in the scoping phase and discussions are ongoing with LanCon as to whether they want to collaborate on the unit.

· 13/16 agreement for the North West region – 13/16 arrangements form part of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, this enables Fire and Rescue Services to collaborate across authority boundaries to ensure continuity of service and mutual support. An updated regional agreement has been signed by all five Fire and Rescue Services, this has resulted in the removal of any charging for appliances going across the border.

· Hazardous Materials and Environmental Protection Officer training – during the last quarter LFRS hosted initial training for new officers at our Leadership and Development Centre, we collaborated with Cheshire and Cumbria who sent delegates, this reduced the cost per student whilst providing consistency in terms of the skills & training received.

· The chair of both the Strategic and Tactical Blue Light Collaboration Boards has transferred to Lancashire Constabulary until 2026. Terms of Reference for both boards have been updated. The Strategic board has agreed changes to reduce the collaboration subgroups to 4 groups. The Estates subgroup now includes Fleet and Kit – this is with a view to issues such as electric vehicles and charging, where all services face similar challenges and it is useful to work together on potential efficiencies, good practice, or learning from one another. An on-going example of a Fleet collaboration is a new welfare vehicle that LFRS are procuring, and there are possibilities to be explored with a memorandum of understanding and a financial contribution from other agencies if required.

4.3 Overall User Satisfaction

Percentage satisfied 98.68%

The percentage of people who were satisfied with the service received from the total number of people surveyed.

People surveyed include those who have experienced an accidental dwelling fire, a commercial fire, or a special service incident that we attended.

The standard is achieved if the percentage of satisfied responses is greater than the 97.50% standard.

During the quarter, 100 people were surveyed; 97 responded that they were very or fairly satisfied.

Question	Running Total	Number Satisfied	% Satisfied	% Standard	% Variance
Taking everything in to account, are you satisfied, dissatisfied, or neither with the service you received from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service?	3,871	3,820	98.68%	97.50%	1.18%