Agenda item

The report and the attached six-month evaluation of Dynamic Resource Management (DRM) focused on its application, frequency, and effects across operational and financial areas. Also provided, was a review of the impact of DRM on response standards, availability, prevention and prevention activities, and impacts on mobilisations. Members were provided with assurance that the DRM had provided the required efficiency savings whilst maintaining excellent operational response performance within the standards set by the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) over the first six months of implementation.

Area Manager, Tom Powell informed Members that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS) had robust systems in place to monitor, manage, and dynamically deploy fire engines and firefighters to respond to emergencies across Lancashire. There were 58 fire engines and a number of specialist appliances in the county, however some were often unavailable due to many reasons: ongoing incidents; training; maintenance, leave or sickness absence; unavailability of on-call staff; and other operational reasons.

Dynamic resource management had introduced smarter and more efficient deployment of firefighters based on county-wide risk and was used for advance planning. There were 39 fire stations across Lancashire: 22 of these had at least one wholetime crewed fire engine and 17 had at least one on-call fire engine. Additional wholetime, day-crewed or on-call fire engines were also available at some of those stations which meant they had two fire engines.

There were four fire stations with two wholetime crewed fire engines in the county: Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and Preston. All four also had other fire stations close by, with additional fire engines ready to respond. Previous policy was that when one of the two fire engines at the four stations with two wholetime engines was unavailable due to training or maintenance, it was not replaced or backfilled. However, if one was unavailable due to a crewing shortage (for example, due to leave or sickness) it was kept available by bringing in firefighters from other stations (this was called detached duties), or on overtime once detached duty options had been exhausted.

On 1 July 2025, the Service changed this approach to ensure sufficient resources were available to cover all risk areas across the county, using the latest technology and data. This provides the most effective and efficient use of resources for all communities across Lancashire. On some occasions, this also reduces costs through overtime requirements. For example, firefighters at the four stations which had two wholetime fire engines could be detached, making the second engine temporarily unavailable, to maintain availability of a first fire engine somewhere else in the county. This was a methodical and strategic decision that ensure that the Service maintained a balanced, risk-based level of fire cover across the whole of Lancashire.

Before detaching firefighters from a station with two fire engines and making one temporarily unavailable, the first fire engine must be available as well as other fire engines in the area. The Service ensured a fire engine was available at every wholetime station in the county as a minimum. Detachments were always used where possible before overtime, although overtime was still required on some occasions.

Following an initial three-month evaluation, LFRS had undertaken a six-month evaluation of DRM, with the full evaluation in Appendix 1. Over the first six months (1 July – 31 December 2025), DRM had been used a total of 208 times in quarters 2 and 3 (Q2 and Q3) which represented that DRM had been enacted 14% of available shifts across the four stations.

Critical fire response times at DRM stations had improved by 8 seconds during Q1 – Q3 2025 compared with Q1 – Q3 2024, whereas response times across all LFRS stations over the same period had increased by 8 seconds. Whilst DRM could not be attributed to the improved response times, it did highlight that DRM had not had detrimental impacts on response times and public safety.

Critical special service call response times at DRM stations had increased by 30 seconds in Q1 – Q3 2025 compared with Q1 – Q3 2024, whereas response times across all LFRS stations over the same period had increased by 8 seconds. Whilst this was a higher increase than overall, response times had remained substantially under the 13-minute average response time target, and the Key Performance Indicator demonstrated that performance levels continued to be met since the introduction of DRM.

The average number of Wholetime fire engines available had reduced by one in the six months since DRM was introduced, however this had been offset by an increase in On-Call fire engine availability over the same period. Combined availability had resulted in LFRS maintaining an average of 48 fire engines available at any one time since 1 July 2025, which was higher than the average availability over the same period last year.

The total cost of overtime shifts across Q2 and Q3 2025 was £47,185. For the same period in 2024, the overtime bill was £596,270, this equated to a saving of £549,085. This figure included on-costs (such as national insurance) and was for overtime shifts directly related to maintaining fire engine availability. To enable direct comparison, one pay figure had been used (2025), therefore the 2024 cost would be slightly over reported as a 3.2% pay rise was awarded from July 2025.

The numbers of detachments in Q2 & Q3 2025 increased by 0.6% from 713 in 2024, to 717 in 2025. In Q2 and Q3 2025 the cost of detachments was £22,055, in 2024 the cost of detachments over the same period was £21,198 (equivalent including 2025 pay rise), representing a 4% increase in 2025.

Enacting DRM and temporarily removing a resource from a two-pump station for a shift was anticipated to reduce the available time to complete prevention and protection activity. Overall, LFRS operational crews carried out 16% less Business Fire Safety Checks (BFSC) in Q2 and Q3 2025 compared with Q2 and Q3 2024, and 17% less Home Fire Safety Checks (HFSC) over the same period. Stations where DRM occurred had experienced a similar drop in Business Fire Safety Check (BFSC) numbers (14%) and Home Fire Safety Check (HFSC) numbers (16%).

It was also anticipated that enacting DRM would impact the activity at neighbouring stations due to an increase in mobilisations. Whilst mobilisation numbers had increased for some surrounding fire engines, activity levels remained within tolerable levels, and most were within standard deviation. The Service had also seen a similar drop in BFSC and HFSC at those neighbouring stations aligned to increased operational activity.

In response to a question from the Chair regarding firefighters’ perception of the overtime reduction, Area Manager, Tom Powell stated that the response had been mixed. Overtime had never been guaranteed, however, there had been a significant reduction which had affected those firefighters that had frequently chosen to undertake overtime. Although there had been a shift in the level of overtime, firefighters understood the need for the Service to make efficiencies. The ACFO further advised that, from a national and HMICFRS perspective, there was an expectation that Fire and Rescue Services should utilise their resources more effectively.

County Councillor J Tetlow asked how Wholetime and On-Call crews operated within a station and whether this had been taken into account regarding the DRM and potential cost savings. Area Manager, Tom Powell explained that the data Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) was being refreshed in the current year, alongside an additional Service Review that considered emergency cover arrangements in relation to risk, demand, resources, and placement. Duty systems would also be reviewed with each presenting its own challenges.

Councillor S Sidat left the meeting at 12.03pm.

County Councillor A Riggott commented that the outcomes were excellent, though he stressed the importance of monitoring the HFSCs and BFSCs and for the Service’s and national targets to be met whilst balancing what was realistically achievable. The ACFO responded that targets to be met and measurement against those were regularly discussed, deploying staff effectively across high-risk, commercial and prevention activity. Ongoing work was taking place to develop an evidence-based approach to identifying and targeting high-risk individuals and premises to ensure that activity was based on risk rather than volume. Going forward, evidence used would align resources to identified risks with crews identifying low level risk which could be elevated to high-risk where required. The importance of meeting targets was emphasised using an evidence-based framework with updates brought back to the Committee in due course. The priority was to ensure that the right people with the right skills were deployed effectively. Area Manager, Matt Hamer added that aspirational targets aided the Service in maximising potential and reiterated the importance of the right intervention, with the right person and the right place. Operational crews helped with capacity to ensure and business fire safety, and the community safety staff focused their expertise on high-risk individuals. A paper detailing a targeted approach would be presented to Members in summer/autumn.

County Councillor a Riggott moved to note the report and evaluation; seconded by County Councillor S Asghar.

Resolved: - That the Performance Committee noted the report and evaluation.