Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from County Councillors, Lorraine Beavers, Hasina Khan, Paul Rigby and Barries Yates.

Members are asked to consider any pecuniary/non-pecuniary interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the agenda.

None received.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the last meeting held on the 13 December 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer introduced Stephanie Collinson (Head of Media and Communications), Steven Brown (Director of Corporate Services), John Rossen and Neil Taylor (Area Managers, Head of Service Delivery), to Members.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer presented a comprehensive report to the Performance Committee. This was the 3rd quarterly report for 2023/24 as detailed in the Community Risk Management Plan 2022-2027.

This quarter, one Key Performance Indicator (KPI), 2.9 Business Fire Safety Checks, was shown in positive exception and four Key Performance Indicators were shown in negative exception. These were 1.2.1 Staff Absence Wholetime (WT), 1.2.3 Staff Absence Greenbook, 3.1 Critical Fire Response – 1^st Fire Engine Attendance, and 3.3 Total Fire Engine Availability.

Members examined each indicator in turn focusing on those KPIs in exception as follows:

KPI 1 – Valuing our people so that they can focus on making Lancashire safer

1.1          Overall Staff Engagement

Members received an update on how staff were engaged during the period.

From October to December 2023, 23 station and department visits were carried out by principal officers, directors, and area managers as part of the service-wide engagement programme. Seven service delivery briefings were delivered across the Service by area managers and middle managers, and three station visits involving the property and ICT departments took place to engage with members of staff affected by duty system changes as part of the emergency cover review. Forty-six wellbeing interactions were undertaken ranging from wellbeing sessions with crews, to support dog interactions. The Service engaged with staff over several topics that related to fleet equipment which included incident command tabards, appliance tool boxes, and remote-control water rescue vessels.

The Head of Media and Communications explained that a comprehensive staff survey was carried out periodically which gained insight from staff on a range of topics such as health and wellbeing, leadership and management, training and development, and equality, diversity, and inclusion. The survey was anonymous and only asked for an individual’s rank and role. The feedback was used to shape future activity and initiate improvements and new ideas.

Engagement was measured because staff who were engaged with the Service felt more informed, valued, knew how to access support, and felt able to deal with difficulties at work. High engagement was associated with a lower number of accidents; sickness absence levels; conflicts; and grievances.

Data was collected from the latest survey which had been undertaken in September and October 2023 and the engagement index was calculated based on five questions that measured pride, advocacy, attachment, inspiration, and motivation; factors that were understood to be important features shared by staff who were engaged with the organisation.

For each respondent, an engagement score was calculated as the average score across the five questions, where strongly disagree was equivalent to 0, disagree was equivalent to 25, neither agree nor disagree was equivalent to 50, agree was equivalent to 75 and strongly agree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23/23

Stephanie Collinson, Head of Media and Communications presented a report to Members which detailed the outcomes of the Lithium-Ion Batteries Campaign.

Fires in the home were a growing risk nationally, particularly with the growth in popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters. A campaign had been delivered in December 2023 to gain more insight into those most at risk and the behaviours contributing to fires, and to help people adopt safer practices to prevent fires.

Lithium-ion batteries were the rechargeable batteries found in a wide-range of electrical items, such as e-scooters and e-bikes, mobile phones, and laptops. They stored a significant amount of energy in a very small space and were much more powerful than other types of battery.

In the UK, fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in e-scooters and e-bikes had multiplied fourfold since 2020, which had resulted in deaths, hospitalisation, homelessness, and staggering financial losses. Since 2020, over 190 people had been injured, and at least 13 lives had been lost due to this concerning trend.

In Lancashire, there had been a year on year rise in lithium-ion battery related fires in the last three years, and three quarters of those involved a charger. When batteries were charged in communal areas or escape routes, a fire could quickly block the way out. On occasions, batteries could fail catastrophically; they could explode and lead to a rapidly developing fire.

Insight the Service determined from the incident data included:

·       29% of incidents involved e-bikes, e-scooters, or hoverboards.

·       Fires had mainly started in a bedroom or living room.

·       The most fires had occurred in Preston, Blackpool, and Lancaster but all districts in Lancashire had seen these types on incidents.

·       Half of incidents occurred between 3pm and 11pm.

The campaign had been implemented during December in the run up to Christmas, when people were expected to buy electrical goods, e-bikes, and e-scooters in particular, as presents.

Campaign objectives

·       To raise awareness of safety risks associated with e-charging.

·       To educate the public on how to safely charge e-scooters and e-bikes.

·       To gain insight into those most at risk and practices that increase risk.

Target audience

·       Households that had e-scooters/bikes to use as fun for teenagers.

·       Students who used this as a cheaper alternative method of transport (which was an increasing trend) aged 18-30.

·       Those aged between 25-45 and were most likely to have children covering a range of ages and most likely to use or purchase electric goods.

Key messages

·       Always use the charger that came with the device.

·       Never charge lithium batteries on escape routes. If possible, charge and store them away from living areas.

·       If there was a need to buy a replacement battery or charger, always choose a branded, genuine product from a trusted supplier. There were lots of fakes out there, and it could be difficult to spot the difference.

·       Never store lithium batteries together, there was a potential issue with battery short circuits if, for example, the box was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/23

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee has been agreed for 10:00 hours on 26 June 2024 in the Main Conference Room, at Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meetings are:         scheduled for 04 September 2024

                                              proposed for 04 December 2024

The next meeting of the Committee would be held on 26 June 2024 at 10:00 hours in the Main Conference Room at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Fulwood.

Further meeting dates were noted for 04 September 2024 and 04 December 2024 and agreed for 05 March 2025.