Agenda item

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) presented the report. The Annual Service Report 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. These actions were derived from the medium-term strategic goals highlighted in the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP).

The Annual Service Report highlighted a number of key deliverables against the priority areas of: i) people, ii) prevention, iii) protection, iv) response and v) value for money related work streams:

i) Valuing our people so they can focus on making Lancashire safer

• Create an organisational culture where diversity is encouraged and valued.
• Deliver tailored learning and development opportunities
• Encourage and listened to employee voice
• Staff feedback leading to Service improvements
• Invest in training and technology to improve health and safety
• Service headquarters and leadership and development centre masterplan
• Upgraded fire station facilities
• A Celebration of LFRS’s people
• Honours and awards

ii) Preventing fires and other emergencies from happening

·         Lancashire led the way in reducing accidental house fires

·         Invest in improvements to LFRS’s home fire safety check service

·         Deliver targeted fire prevention activity

·         Fire engines displayed prevention messages

iii) Protecting people and property when fires happen

·         Supported living care provider prosecuted for fire safety breaches

·         Transform fire protection and business safety

·         Strengthen LFRS’s fire safety inspection programme to meet evolving standards

iv) Responding to fires and other emergencies quickly and competently

·         Implement LFRS’s emergency cover review

·         Introduce more resilient crewing arrangements

·         Review emergency cover in Preston

·         Optimise emergency cover through dynamic cover software

·         Strengthen firefighting and rescue capabilities in high-rise and commercial buildings

·         Two new water towers joined the Service fleet

·         Broaden on-call firefighting capabilities to strengthen operational response

·         Lancashire’s new on-call planning tool is a UK first

·         Strengthen the services response to climate change emergencies

·         Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service tests drones for wildfire prevention

·         Invest in LFRS’s Learning and Development Centre

·         Drill tower replacement programme

·         Invest in LFRS’s fleet and operational equipment

·         Lancashire firefighter delivered international flood rescue training in Malawi

The report included a summary of the Service’s performance in relation to responding:

Overall activity

• 16,963 incidents attended
• 4,723 fires attended
• 678 road traffic collisions attended
• 85 missing person searches
• 948 gaining entry to property incidents in support of North West Ambulance Service

Average attendance time

• Overall - 8 minutes 20 seconds
• Critical fire response – first fire engine attendance – 7 mins 38 seconds
• Critical special service response – first fire engine attendance – 8 minutes 46 seconds

Total availability of the first fire engine at each of LFRS’s 39 fire stations - 87.97%

v) Delivering value for money in how we use resources

·         Create a new rota management team

·         Review productivity and efficiency

·         Drive efficiencies through digitalisation

·         Introduce Microsoft Power BI dashboards

·         Collaborate with other public services

·         Community fire responder collaboration

County Councillor J Tetlow congratulated the DCFO on his award of the King’s Fire Service Medal, details of which were contained within the report.

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