Agenda item

The ACFO presented the report which provided Members with information relating to operational incidents of note up to 30 March 2026. As the operational period had been very busy, the report detailed only the larger deployments or more complex incidents. As a result, some incidents that Members had been made aware of locally, may not have formed part of the report. Full details of the following incidents were provided in the report:

·         Building fire in Burscough (5/2/26)

·         Mud rescue in Skelmersdale (6/2/26)

·         Commercial building fire in Blackpool (6/2/26)

·         Road traffic collision in Tarleton (11/2/26)

·         Hazardous materials incident in Middleton (18/2/26)

·         Commercial building fire in Hapton (22/2/26)

·         Domestic building fire in Preston (3/3/26)

·         Rescue of person in Preston (9/3/26)

·         Barn fire in Preston (13/3/26)

·         Explosion at domestic house in Hambleton (27/3/26)

·         Commercial building fire in Morecambe (28/3/26)

County Councillor N Alderson expressed his thanks for the bravery shown by firefighters at the incident in Hambleton. He asked how the service would have attended should there have been road closures preventing access. The CFO explained that contingency mobilising arrangements were in place should any road closures be known, should road closures not be known the situation would be risk assessed and reported to the control room who would consider sending alternative resources via differing routes.

In response to a question from County Councillor E Worthington in relation to the mud rescue in Skelmersdale, the ACFO explained that sand had washed away and left a muddy sea front and it was not uncommon for people to get stuck. She explained that this was a technical rescue involving a boat team.

In response to a question from County Councillor I Duxbury in relation to access being blocked by double parking, particularly on terraced streets, the ACFO explained that this was becoming more of a challenge and the service was looking to introduce a more agile fleet to assist with access issues. The CFO added that the service was proactive on social media and with leafleting vehicles where double parking was identified.

The chair requested that a report relating to drones be brought to the next fire authority meeting, the CFO suggested that this could be brought to the next Strategy Group meeting. The chair asked how many incidents drones had been deployed to, the DCFO explained that the attendance of drones was pre-determined depending on the incident type and scale.

Members received a presentation from Station Manager (SM) Dave Curran and Area Manager (AM) Tom Powell in relation to the commercial building fire in Blackpool on 6 February 2026.

SM Curran explained that the fire started at Smart Mart, which had significant fire loading due to the nature of products sold. The building was ‘land-locked’ with several buildings in very close proximity or attached to Smart Mart. Additionally, there were residential buildings in very close proximity and difficulties accessing all sides of the building. SM Curran explained that this was a significant fire with strong winds carrying embers towards residential areas, additionally the fire was only two roads away from the main promenade.

There were 15 fire engines, two aerial ladder platforms, a drone unit, a command support unit, a water tower and a high-volume pump in attendance. Members were shown a series of photographs and videos of the incident and SM Curran explained that the hazards and considerations included a large thick smoke plume, rapid fire spread, structural collapse, establishing water supplies, the impact on businesses and the community and public safety and reassurance including social media messaging. The Blackpool crew knew that they would need a significant amount of water and therefore connected to a hydrant and prepared hoses ready for the arrival of the aerial ladder platform.

The priorities throughout the incident included establishing adequate water supplies, extinguishing the fire to prevent fire spread, evacuation of neighbouring commercial and residential properties, identification of any hazards to maintain firefighter safety, protecting the environment and ensuring an effective fire investigation.

AM Powell explained that LFRS led the incident but was supported by a number of partners including Lancashire Police, Blackpool Council, NWAS, utility companies and the Salvation Army.

Local residents were evacuated and kept updated in relation to the incident. LFRS worked alongside partners for five days with multi-agency meetings continuing throughout to monitor for hotspots, complete the fire investigation, agree post-incident closure responsibilities, reduce the impact on local businesses and the community, return occupants to residential properties and provide community reassurance.

AM Powell summarised that this was a challenging incident with good decision making preventing spread of the fire and limiting damage. Following the incident the building had been demolished.

In response to a question from County Councillor L Parker in relation to additional regulation for ‘land-locked buildings’ and retrospective planning applications, AM Powell explained that the service was involved in consultation stages of planning applications and the service worked with partners to ensure a robust response to fire safety issues. He added that the service would educate and raise awareness of issues to building owners. The DCFO added that the service was responsible for enforcing fire safety legislation and ‘land-locked buildings’ were required to have 60 minutes of separation between buildings, owners were also required to work with adjacent building owners to ensure compliance with fire safety legislation.

In response to a question from County Councillor E Worthington in relation to the cause of the fire, AM Powell explained that the fire investigation had concluded and the cause could not be determined but was likely to be either an electrical fault or deliberate.

In response to a question from County Councillor A Blake in relation to video footage and photographs captured at incidents, AM Powell confirmed that appliances captured CCTV footage, body worn cameras were used by flexi-duty officers and a Media Liaison Officer from the Corporate Communications Team attended to capture video footage. Additionally fire investigations utilised video footage and photographs which then informed organisational learning.

Councillor Fred Jackson expressed his thanks to everyone involved in the incident and commented that this was a good example of partnership working which was appreciated by the residents of Blackpool.

In response to a question from County Councillor L Parker in relation to using social media to interview members of the public to share experiences, the ACFO explained that feedback from the public was used and shared on social media where possible, additionally officers were interviewed for news features. The ADCE added that incidents were often very traumatic for the members of the public involved but the service did use case studies upon conclusion of any investigation.

The CFO explained that this incident was an example of good incident management with resources deployed quickly with risks identified and actions taken. He acknowledged the skills, knowledge and competence of firefighters and the investment in equipment such as drones. He added that the service was an operationally busy service with a diversity of incidents attended.

In response to a question from County Councillor I Duxbury in relation to regulation of businesses with a high level of combustible material, the CFO explained that the law applied equally to all businesses and the building owner should conduct an effective risk assessment relevant to the business and it’s risks.

In response to a question from County Councillor L Hutchinson in relation to the services capability to manage two large scale incidents simultaneously, the CFO explained that the services mobilising system, dynamic cover tool and Command Support Room ensured that resources were deployed effectively to meet risk. The service had 58 fire engines and historically that arrangements were predicated on managing two ten fire engine incidents simultaneously. Arrangements were in place for mutual aid from neighbouring services such as Manchester and Cheshire and national resilience support through National Coordination Advisory Framework (NCAF) should the service require additional appliances such as in the event of spate conditions or major incidents.

The chair thanked those involved in the incident and the presenting officers.

The report was proposed by County Councillor R Walsh and seconded by County Councillor E Worthington.

Resolved: That the Authority noted the report.