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Prevention

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SERVICE DELIVERY Prevention

Prevention

DESIRED OUTCOME

A fire and rescue service that works to educate its communities to adopt safer behaviours, improving their safety, health and wellbeing. One that reduces community related risks identified through its community risk management planning and reduces incidents through delivering effective, efficient and targeted prevention activities.

A service with a learning and sharing culture, working collaboratively with others where appropriate, seeking to improve and innovate prevention activities. One that contributes to a more consistent national approach to reducing risk and keeping communities safe.

Date of approval: 29/07/2021
Date of issue: 30/07/2021
Review date: 31/07/2024
Reference number: FSD-PRE01

WHAT IS REQUIRED TO MEET THE FIRE STANDARD

A fire and rescue service must:

  1. identify those who are most at risk in its community and target prevention activities in an inclusive way, through its community risk management planning;
  2. adopt a person-centred approach that places the individual and the community it serves at the core of its prevention activity;
  3. develop a prevention strategy and plan with the flexibility to proactively respond and adapt to the changing needs of its community, and for this to be supported by a named lead for prevention from within the service;
  4. recruit, train, and develop employees and volunteers, working with others where relevant, to establish and maintain a competent and professional prevention workforce. This includes being qualified in accordance with relevant legislation and requirements for example safeguarding;
  5. optimise resources to proactively engage and educate the community it serves, working collaboratively with others as and when appropriate;
  6. demonstrate inclusivity by recognising the diversity of its community and providing equality of access;
  7. utilise and share accurate and consistent data and intelligence, from a variety of sources to support evidence-based decision making and the deployment of appropriate resources for prevention activities;
  8. demonstrate how it monitors and evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of its prevention activity; and
  9. generate a culture which embraces national and organisational learning allowing it to identify and capture feedback from a range of sources; evaluate, share and act upon it to drive innovation and continuous improvement and enhance future performance.

A specific Fire Investigation Fire Standard is under development which will provide more detail. However, where Fire Investigation is managed within its prevention function, a fire and rescue service must:

  1. investigate, report on and learn from the cause and behaviour of fires, working with others when appropriate.

To support this Fire Standard, a fire and rescue service should:

  1. contribute to the continual improvement of prevention activities coordinated through the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) network; and
  2. contribute and support national campaigns, where appropriate and where resources are available.

EXPECTED BENEFITS OF ACHIEVING THE FIRE STANDARD

  1. Improved safety, health and wellbeing of communities leading to a reduction in incidents, injuries, serious injuries and fatalities.
  2. Improved competency in the prevention workforce, including an increase in the number of employees and volunteers trained.
  3. Improved evaluation to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of prevention activities.

If you took part in the consultation for this Fire Standard, you may be interested to read the post-consultation “You said, we did” report to see how your feedback has shaped the Fire Standard.

You can download the Prevention Fire Standard implementation tool to allow you to self-assess your service against the Fire Standard.

Note: Please contact the Fire Standards team within the NFCC CPO for any queries or support with regards to this Fire Standard [email protected]