Agenda item

The Chief Fire Officer, Justin Johnston presented the report and an accompanying video.

 

The Annual Service Report (ASR) was produced annually by the Service as part of its accountability to measure progress against the items set out as deliverables as part of the Annual Service Plan 2020-2022 which were derived from the Integrated Risk Management Plan 2017-2022.

 

The last Annual Service Plan was produced in 2020 and had been extended to cover a two-year (2020-2022) period due to the Covid-19 pandemic changing organisational direction and priorities. During this time the Service diversified its offerings to support the local, regional, and national response.

 

The Annual Service Report as now considered by Members, reviewed progress through the 2020 – 2021 reporting year and highlighted the fantastic work that had been delivered in the face of a global crisis: -

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Making Lancashire safer during the Covid-19 pandemic

 

The Service played a central role in the response to the pandemic from an early stage, working as one team alongside partner agencies in the Lancashire Resilience Forum. Over 500 members of staff offered to carry out new activities delivering essential services.

 

The Service: i) visited over 1,400 vulnerable residents delivering interventions and welfare checks; ii) co-ordinated distribution of PPE supplies to health and social care settings across the county from the training centre; iii) provided P3 face mask fitting to hospital and social care workers; iv) supported the establishment of a temporary hospital and morgue; and v) trained 54 staff to assist with mass casualties.

 

The Service also adapted to support people in alternative ways including: i) donating 57 reconditioned iPads to hospitals and hospices for virtual visits; ii) creating digital fire safety education sessions when face-to-face engagement couldn’t take place in schools; iii) launching a digital Prince’s Trust programme for vulnerable young people who lost support and coping mechanisms during the pandemic; iv) with public events unable to take place and Bonfire Night presenting an increased risk of fires and injuries across the county with people holding celebrations at home, the Service worked with local authorities, Lancashire Police and North West Ambulance Service to carry out tactical prevention activity in communities and co-respond to incidents over the period; v) delivered digital Bright Sparx education sessions, designed to educate young people about bonfire and fireworks safety, to over 10,000 pupils; and vi) a public safety campaign encouraged people to enjoy the event in alternative ways, including watching a family fireworks display which was streamed online.

 

By Christmas 2020 attention turned to supporting local NHS services to establish vaccination centres. The Service led the sector taking on this role and: provided site management, marshalling, administration and logistics support to mass vaccination venues and community sites.  Firefighters and support services staff worked at vaccination centres seven days a week: meeting and greeting patients, completing patient health checks, reassuring people as they prepared for the vaccine, helping clinical staff when needed, giving post vaccine support and administering vaccines directly to patients.  By the end of March 2021, the Service had supported the delivery of 170,500 vaccinations, with 19,800 vaccines administered by staff.

 

The Service continued to help to deliver Lancashire’s vaccination programme and would continue to do so for as long as needed.

 

Preventing fires and other emergencies from happening and protecting people and property when they do

 

A breakdown of prevention and protection activity showed there had been 17,334 incidents including 5,221 fires attended with an average of 7 minutes 40 seconds attendance time.  There had been 869 accidental dwelling fires of which 2 people sadly lost their lives and there were 35 casualties reported.  The majority, 95% of accidental dwelling fires were of a low or medium fire severity.  In addition, the Service attended 38 missing person searches, 811 gaining entry to property incidents and 497 road traffic collisions.  During the period 44 on-call firefighters were recruited, 11,903 HFSCs were delivered, 21,100 young people received prevention education, 5,957 people took part in road safety education, 63 fire safety enforcement notices were issued and 11 businesses were prohibited from operating.

 

Review of the Home Fire Safety Check

Extensive work with partners involved assessing the quality of Home Fire Safety Check (HFSC) referrals and providing feedback, establishing a focus group to improve communication and referral management and the design of a partnership cycle which enabled the maintenance of effective partner relations.  An ongoing quality assurance process ensured appropriate referrals were received and identified any gaps.  Improvements had been made to the HFSC re-visit policy, aligning it to the person and risk identified within the property, and the establishment of a seamless process when unable to contact someone. A trial with referring partners to increase the opportunity for successful contact which resulted in a visit was ongoing.

 

Embed Adverse Childhood Experience awareness

Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) awareness toolbox talks had been held across the Service and an e-learning module released to the whole organisation. ACE awareness was now part of the wholetime firefighter recruits’ course so, from the start of their careers new recruits learned about the impact of traumatic experiences in childhood on behaviour and how this related to community engagement.

 

Built Environment Assessment Team

The built environment assessment team was established to address the evolving risks posed by an increasingly complex built environment and the potential for buildings to perform unexpectedly in a fire, the team increased our knowledge and understanding of buildings in Lancashire.  A series of recommendations to strengthen and improve core services across prevention, protection and operational response was currently being implemented within the Service.

 

Responding to fires and other emergencies quickly and competently

 

Strengthen operational assurance

There had been significant progress made in developing an assurance monitoring system (AMS), which was improving the way data was analysed, trends were identified and learning from exercises and incidents was applied.  The AMS was enabling the Service to plan training more effectively and track actions robustly, including those related to national learning. The development included features, such as the automatic transfer of data from the incident debrief app and the ability to review key metrics on an intuitive dashboard. This automated end-to-end process was leading the way in the fire sector in terms of assuring safe and effective operations.

 

Respond to the impacts of climate change

The Service’s commitment to reducing environmental impact recognised the reality of climate change and the carbon management plan contained a target to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.  As part of an ongoing vehicle replacement programme, which had included a move away from diesel vehicles, the Service had introduced several hybrid blue light response cars into the fleet and planned to trial all-electric cars in prevention and protection services.  During the year, there had been continued development of response capabilities in relation to the increasing impact climate change was having on certain incident types, particularly wildfires and flooding.  Investment had been made in specialist equipment and highly trained people had been developed, such as wildfire tactical advisors and waste fire tactical advisors, to respond to and manage incidents at local and national levels. Tactical flood plans in known flood hot spots had greatly improved preparedness for dealing with flooding incidents effectively.

 

Optimise rota management

During 2020-21, a comprehensive trial was carried out to introduce several new processes designed to make detachment and overtime planning more efficient. This included a new staffing management app to advertise opportunities for people to cover shortfalls and maintain operational response arrangements and the procedure for identifying rota breaches and causes.  Feedback and learning from the trial were being used to inform policies and the Service was working with its rota management provider to devise a more automated approach, further streamlining how staffing levels were managed across shift systems.

 

Replace incident command units and software

Work was ongoing with the incident command software. A supplementary document had been produced to describe in simplistic terms how the incident command worked, what was required and why.  A further review of the whole project had been undertaken to broaden the scope to incorporate additional requirements that supported needs in relation to large scale incident management. This had included collaborative work to ensure a regional and consistent approach was taken in the procurement of command support resources and software.

 

Evaluate tools to strengthen our response

During 2020-21 a pre-alerting system, designed to reduce incident response times to wholetime and on-call fire stations was rolled out. As a result of findings during initial trials, a system had been created to fully assess each pre-alert and provide accurate reporting. This data showed that the system improved average reaction times across all duty systems by 55%. The improvement ranged from 26 seconds up to 1 minute and 31 seconds dependent on the shift system and time of day.  All mobilisations were previously based on a standard delay that was appropriate to the shift system. The Service had now moved to a data-led, real-time response across all stations which would effectively mobilise the nearest and quickest asset for any specific incident type.  The next step was to implement pre-alerting at stations with both wholetime and on-call appliances. The system was constantly under review to identify learning and improve processes.

 

Valuing our people so they can focus on making Lancashire safer

 

Develop a strong organisational culture based on values and well-being

A programme of work to develop an organisational culture that promoted a healthy state of well-being and truly represented the Service’s STRIVE values: service, trust, respect, integrity, value and empowerment included:

 

·         Planned leadership development events were moved online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this led to identifying new ways of delivering future events. The events focused on the leadership framework within LFRS, the concept of psychoneuroimmunology, leadership styles, the importance of positive emotions at work, how to encourage engagement and innovation whilst building resilience and maintaining productivity;

·         The Service’s approach to talent management was developed and this was being rolled out across the Service. Promotion pathways were being reviewed to ensure that opportunities to identify and develop future leaders for the future were fully explored and utilised;

·         Health and well-being support during 2020-21 principally focused on the impacts of Covid-19 and supporting staff through uncertain times. This included how to access urgent mental health support, supporting family and friends through the pandemic, how to apply a positive mindset, managing anxiety, well-being support for our Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff, coping with grief, and helping managers to support their staff.

·         To embed revised performance management arrangements, briefing sessions continued to be delivered across the Service in relation to talent management and the importance of coaching and developmental feedback within the appraisal conversation. The appraisal process had been built within HR systems enabling more accurate reporting and accessible information to inform workforce planning.

·         Promotion process policies and guidance had been merged into one holistic policy, making the communication of options and opportunities more straightforward, and shared across the organisation. The internal selection process for fire protection roles had been refined to ensure staff who wished to develop and work in this essential area were selected based on aptitude and suitability for the demanding specialism, rather than incident command skills which was historically the case.

·         360-degree assessments were delivered to all station managers and above to inform their personal development. This was now included as an element within supervisory and middle manager development programmes.

·         The Service supported 36 operational members of staff to access the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) levels 3 and 6, and five business support staff had undertaken ILM levels 3 and 5, one via an apprenticeship. Three operational and two business support leaders had been supported to achieve Level 7 Strategic Leadership, with two people completing these through apprenticeships. External coaching was provided to 47 members of operational and non-operational staff.

 

Promote equality, diversity, and inclusion within the Service

Recruiting, developing and retaining a workforce that is inclusive and more reflective of Lancashire’s communities is central to serving our communities as effectively as we can.

 

•      During the pandemic, community engagement was particularly focussed on Lancashire’s BAME communities in Preston and East Lancashire. Local radio, targeted publications and online platforms and material in alternative languages were used by staff in those areas to help share critical health information and encourage vaccination take-up. Members of staff working in vaccination centres were able to correct misinformation and reassure people. We also worked with mosques to discuss fire safety and the need for updated fire risk assessments and fire drills when students returned to study. The Service’s equality, diversity and inclusion employee voice groups steered this work, identifying needs and opportunities to improve engagement to help keep people safe.

•      A trial of flexible annual leave arrangements began at Blackpool and South Shore fire stations, with all staff at those locations volunteering to participate. A mid-year evaluation had been completed and findings would be considered once the trial was complete.

•      Face to face opportunities to engage with our diverse communities and promote opportunities to work for the Service was a challenge last year due to the pandemic. However, the recruitment approach was broadened through targeted online media, which proved successful in increasing the number of female applicants interested in joining the Service as an apprentice firefighter.

 

Expand apprenticeship opportunities

The Service continued to offer firefighter apprenticeship courses throughout the pandemic to ensure the needs of the workforce profile were met.

Development of apprenticeships remained a priority to ensure the most appropriate apprenticeship programmes were offered relative to the

knowledge, skills and behaviours of those employed.

 

Upgrade fire station accommodation

South Shore fire station had been extended and work to improve accommodation and facilities completed, providing a positive working environment that enhanced health and wellbeing. Similar plans were in place to upgrade Blackpool and Hyndburn fire stations.

 

Delivering value for money in how we use our resources

 

Invest in training and equipment

•      Investment in a programme of significant, long-term improvements continued to ensure that our people had the best equipment and training available to deliver effective services now and in the future.

•      Construction work was underway to expand the existing fleet garage and provide a purposely designed breathing apparatus training school at our training centre in Chorley, with completion expected in 2021-22.

•      A review of drill tower provision across the Service had now been completed to produce a medium to long term replacement plan based on specialist skills and the condition of existing facilities. Implementation would start in 2021-22.

•      Following extensive staff consultation and trials, the Service introduced new duty rig uniform for operational and business support staff purchased through regional collaborative procurement arrangements. More comfortable and practical trousers and new safety boots offered increased versatility to meet the needs of our activities (both emergency and non?emergency)

•      Due to the need to rationalise on-vehicle technology and consider integrated vehicle systems, plans to install CCTV on fire appliances were paused during 2020/21 while further exploration and analysis was undertaken. This had the potential to reduce the number of stand-alone vehicle systems, enabling remote monitoring of specific vehicle operations. As a result, and in collaboration with regional fire and rescue services and blue light partners, the Service was currently evaluating emerging cloud-based, in-vehicle technology with a view to integrating CCTV, telematics, and on-board diagnostics.

 

Collaborate with other public services

Covid-19 caused plans through the Blue Light Collaboration Board to be put on hold but presented new ways for the Service to diversify and work with partners to support the pandemic response in Lancashire, as noted in the Service’s response to the pandemic discussed earlier.

 

Replace performance and analysis software

Initial plans to replace reporting software had developed due to technological advances.  The project now included a wider range of key performance indicators across all areas of the Service, to enable more efficient and effective monitoring.  The new requirements had been scoped and underpinning work to support the new developments was underway, with a view to delivering a phased approach over the next two years.

 

Members also noted the details of a number of significant, complex and demanding incidents which included multiple wildfires, widespread flooding and numerous large-scale fires attended during the period.

 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Hennessy in relation to the review of the Home Fire Safety Check, as detailed on page 20 of the agenda pack Area Manager, Mark Hutton advised that the Service engaged extensively with ‘preferred partners’ who were organisations that already worked with people most at risk.  Details of any vulnerable person would then automatically be referred to the Service to carry out a home fire safety check.  He advised that circa 70% of referrals were those classed as at high or very high risk.

 

In response to questions raised by County Councillor Hennessy in relation to the response activity detailed on page 21 of the agenda pack, the Deputy Chief Fire Officer confirmed that part of the process to improve rota management included a new staffing management app which replaced a manual telephone system.  The app advertised to staff opportunities to book onto shifts where there were shortfalls and thereby maintain operational response.  The Deputy Chief Fire Officer also advised that work was ongoing to replace performance software to improve data quality to front line staff to assist to bring performance reports to the Performance Committee.  Work was also ongoing that looked to tweak the key performance indicators, which would be brought back to relevant committees in due course. 

 

County Councillor O’Toole expressed thanks to all staff for their hard work and dedication during such a difficult year.

 

RESOLVED: - That the Planning Committee noted and endorsed the Annual Service Report.