Prevention and Protection Strategy

Prevention and Protection Strategy 2014 2019

Contents Introduction...4 Where are we now?...5 Where do we want to be?...18 How will we get there? Our strategy and targets...19 Measuring our performance...27 Review...27 Page 3

Introduction Where are we now? This Strategy sets out how Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) will protect the public and business community in Northern Ireland from the dangers of fire and other emergencies. In particular we will describe how we will: measure the risk from fire and other emergencies to the people of Northern Ireland and describe how we will use this information to help us decide on where how and when we deliver our services; work to educate and inform the community of the dangers of fire and in doing so help prevent fires and other emergencies from happening; work in partnership with other services, stakeholders and volunteers to help deliver a safer community; prioritise our prevention work to work most closely with those most at risk; Performance Management of Targets and Action Plans Figure 1 Evaluation of Outcomes engage with all sections of our community, in particular those most at risk of becoming involved in offending behaviour; carry out a risk-based audit programme to measure fire safety in non-domestic premises; take steps to educate stakeholders to help reduce the risk in non-domestic premises, and provide professional advice on matters relating to Fire Safety; and enforce The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. This Strategy will not be concerned with how we respond to fires and emergencies. However, where appropriate it will outline how we will employ an integrated response to risk reduction as demonstrated below. This Strategy supersedes our previous Strategy and will last until 1 April 2019. Community Risk Intelligence Delivery of Community Safety Activities Integrated Development of Risk Reduction Solutions Planning of Service Delivery Activity Strategic Context PESTELO Analysis A PESTELO analysis is an established method of analysing the various elements of the operating environment that an organisation exists in, with a view to making strategic planning decisions. Political The political environment for NIFRS is dominated by the devolved assembly. With full devolution completed in 2011, there are 13 government departments each headed by a minister. NIFRS is included in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS). The impact of the pending Review of Public Administration is still to be determined for NIFRS. Depending upon the final make-up of the council structure and decisions relating to council and NIFRS boundaries, the structure and service delivery model of NIFRS is likely to need to be developed accordingly. NIFRS is increasingly involved in crossborder engagement. The success of the Driving Change programme and the North-South Fire Safety Week have led to increasing cooperation and the development of Memoranda of Understanding between NIFRS and a number of services from the Republic of Ireland. Economic Northern Ireland remains one of the most economically challenged regions of the UK. An increase in unemployment and unoccupied properties is often associated with an increase in deliberate fires. The NIFRS revenue budget allocation is currently around 75m per annum. During the life of the Strategy there will be a Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) that will impact upon all of the public sector in Northern Ireland. The likelihood is that budgets for NIFRS will come under increasing pressure in the years to come, and we will need to develop innovative ways of delivering our service to meet budgetary constraints without cutting back on the service to the public. The introduction of the Northern Ireland Community Safety College at Desertcreat will present an opportunity to enhance our partnership working, and will develop economic benefits for the partners involved and Northern Ireland in general. The nature of Prevention activities is such that they are a cost to the organisation and the financial benefits to the public purse are often not immediately apparent. NIFRS will need to produce accurate data to enable the proper and accurate evaluation of prevention work. Social Society in Northern Ireland is changing. People live longer and are more likely to become vulnerable as a result. People are more likely to live independently, or when unwell, be treated in the community, than they might have been in the past. This can lead to increasing difficulty around keeping people safe from fire due to health and mobility issues. The way in which we communicate as a society has changed significantly in recent years; the explosion in the use of social media and ICT has led to a culture of instant information and scrutiny. Northern Ireland is a community emerging from a long and difficult conflict. There is currently much less likelihood of widespread public disorder and serious terrorist incidents than there has been in years gone by; however, community tensions remain in some areas, and where this is the case there is always an increased possibility of deliberate fire setting and more challenges in relation to community engagement as a result. Page 4 Page 5

Technical Fire Safety technology has improved hugely in recent years. Fire Safety equipment such as automatic detection, sprinklers, and other forms of active and passive fire protection are more sophisticated and effective than ever before. Technology which helps keep people safe in their homes, such as monitoring devices, has also developed hugely in recent years and provides an opportunity to get assistance quickly to people who need it. Technology also creates expectations amongst the public in relation to how we deal with them. There is a growing expectation that NIFRS will provide a range of contact options and, as well as the expected involvement with social media, tools such as specialised phone applications and Bluetooth messaging allow communities to communicate in new and innovative ways. Environmental Changes in our environment are leading to challenging conditions for NIFRS. In recent years we have seen an overall increase in the numbers of calls where we are called to attend flooding incidents or those involving large rural areas. We have also seen other weather-related incidents caused by events such as prolonged cold spells leading to difficulties with water supplies and gaining access to people due to road conditions. as protecting the safety of the public. In doing this, we are always working to ensure that we meet the requirements of a range of health and safety legislation/guidance, chiefly the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978, while following the guidance set out in the Health and Safety Executive Guidance HSG65. Organisational NIFRS is undergoing a period of sustained and significant organisational change. In recent years there have been a number of changes of senior personnel and the NIFRS Board. It is proposed that there will be a fundamental review of NIFRS. This is likely to lead to a programme of reform and possible restructure of the organisation. Incidents, deaths and injuries in the last five years Between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012, NIFRS received 198,031 calls through its Regional Control Centre (RCC) and subsequently attended 146,090. 1 Of these incidents, 19,140 were Primary (Major) Fires and 9,685 Special Service Calls. The tables that follow provide a summary of the types of incidents that NIFRS has attended. Legal The legal framework that governs much of the work of NIFRS is captured in The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. The job of the Fire and Rescue Service can be difficult and dangerous, making it even more important than ever that we take cognisance of the need to keep our people safe at work, as well Page 6 1 Excludes exercises, tests and standby mobilisations

Table 1 Mobilised Calls Type Description Calls Fatalities Casualties Rescues MF Major Fire 19,140 91 2,572 703 FG False Alarm with Good Intent 14,270 FM False Alarm Malicious 4,882 CF Chimney Fire 7,483 FD False Alarm due to apparatus 38,901 SS Special Service Call 9,685 374 6,774 5,097 SF Secondary Fire 51,729 Total 146,090 465 9,346 5,800 Table 4 Casualties Incident Type Incident Type 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total Boiler House 1 2 3 Defective Flue 1 8 11 20 Domestic Oil Tank 1 1 2 Domestic Shed 1 1 2 1 6 11 Dwelling 392 372 361 419 379 1,923 Miscellaneous 33 29 37 37 21 157 Other Residential 6 10 3 3 26 48 Police Station 11 11 Prison 4 1 4 10 19 Primary Fires Table 2 Primary Fires by Supposed Cause Year Accidental Deliberate N/A 2 Total 2007/08 1,863 2,646 4,509 2008/09 1,757 2,167 3,924 2009/10 1,775 2,026 1 3,802 2010/11 1,793 1,823 3,616 2011/21 1,698 1,589 2 3,289 Total 8,886 10,251 3 19,140 Private Garage 2 8 2 5 11 28 RTC Fire 32 18 12 20 9 91 Sheltered Housing 5 6 7 20 20 58 Vehicle non-rtc 15 27 22 21 14 99 Workplace 20 15 23 16 28 102 Total 512 494 481 547 538 2,572 Dwellings Over this period, NIFRS has attended 4,085 5 accidental fires in dwellings (Table 5). Forty-nine people (Table 6) lost their lives as a result of these fires with a further 1,549 (Table 7) being injured. Of the 49 fatalities, 23 were over the age of 65. Table 5 Accidental Dwelling Fires 6 Table 3 Fatalities Incident Type 3 Incident Type 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total 859 843 820 813 750 4,085 Aircraft 3 3 Car No RTC 1 1 Care Home 1 1 Dwelling 20 4 12 8 11 10 61 Late Call Fumes 2 2 Table 6 Accidental Dwelling Fires (Fatalities) 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total 10 11 7 11 10 49 Private Garage 1 1 RTC Fire 2 8 4 14 Suicide 1 1 3 3 8 Total 24 21 14 17 15 91 Table 7 Accidental Dwelling Fires (Casualties) 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total 316 298 288 332 315 1,549 Page 8 2 Not applicable incidents no fire classed as MF due to firefighter injury 3 Cause not determined; deemed as accidental as per Home Office (CLG) guidance for Primary Fires 4 Includes multiple fatalities at Lammey Crescent incident 5 There were a further 1,589 deliberate dwelling fires (28%) 6 Excludes domestic oil tanks, defective flues, boiler houses and sheltered dwellings Page 9

Table 8 Fatal Dwelling Fires by Cause Source of Ignition Total Open Fire 5 Smoking Materials 18 Chip Pan 4 Electrics 3 Electric Blanket 2 Child 1 Clothes near Source 2 Gas Appliance 1 Other 8 Cooking Appliance 1 Non-Cooking Appliance 2 Candles 2 Total 49 Table 9 Casualty Sex and Age Range where known 7 Age Range Female Male Total 65 148 112 260 0 18 60 83 143 19 29 107 170 277 30 49 206 271 477 50 64 126 179 305 Total 647 815 1,462 Whilst attending dwelling fires (All Causes), personnel recorded 1,209 homes where there was no smoke alarm fitted, or where the smoke alarm was defective, disconnected or had the battery removed. Over the 5-year period, the main causes of accidental fire in the home have been smoking materials, chip and grill pan fires, cooking appliances and other electrical appliances. Special Service Calls Table 10 Special Service Call Fatalities and Casualties Type Description 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total SS Special Service Call Fatalities 82 73 97 56 66 374 Casualties 1,495 1,407 1,456 1,263 1,153 6,774 7 Date range not known for 87 Casualties Page 11

Table 11 Special Service Call Fatalities (Incident Type) Incident Type 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total Aircraft 4 4 Carbon Monoxide 1 3 1 5 Effecting Entry 2 4 6 1 3 16 Miscellaneous 7 4 7 5 10 33 Railway 1 1 1 3 RTC 60 50 64 29 33 236 Slurry 1 1 2 Suicide 9 8 10 3 14 44 Water 3 6 9 9 4 31 Total 82 73 97 56 66 374 Table 12 Special Service Call Casualties (Incident Type) Generic Type 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total Non-RTC 221 204 238 245 232 1,140 RTC 1,274 1,203 1,218 1,018 921 5,634 Total 1,495 1,407 1,456 1,263 1,153 6,774 Wildland Fires and Secondary Fires Over the period, NIFRS has attended 51,729 secondary fires; 49,036 (95%) are believed to have been started deliberately. A considerable amount of time and resources have been tied up dealing with Wildland Fires. 8 Table 13 Wildland Fires 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total 3,887 3,882 3,288 5,192 3,653 19,902 Table 14 Hoax Calls 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total Received 4,188 3,744 3,179 3,037 2,778 16,926 Mobilised 1,204 1,099 989 820 770 4,882 Over the period, NIFRS has attended 35,786 9 Unwanted Fire Signals (UFS). These are calls received from an automatic fire alarm which resulted in a false alarm. Table 15 UFS 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total 6,943 7,082 7,287 7,280 7,194 35,786 RTC Fatalities by Age Range NIFRS has dealt with 236 fatalities at RTC incidents over the period; 180 male and 56 female. Attacks on Firefighters 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Figure 2 26 84 39 0 17 18 30 31 45 46 65 Over 65 Not known 48 28 11 NIFRS records attacks on personnel for the following categories: 10 Hostile Crowd Damage to Appliance Damage to Appliance and Injury Injury Only Table 16 Recorded Attacks 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 Total Hostile Crowd 217 170 156 145 117 805 Damage to Appliance 42 35 31 27 22 157 Damage and Injury 1 2 0 4 2 9 Injury Only 3 2 4 2 3 14 Total 263 209 191 178 144 985 Page 12 8 Includes all agricultural type fires from area of grass to forestry Page 13 9 Includes domestic and non-domestic premises (BVPI only non-domestic) 10 Categories are different in IRS

Our current activities LIFE Scheme The LIFE Scheme is delivered by personnel based at local operational Fire Stations. It is a five-day course requiring demanding physical activity, and includes work similar to that expected of trainee Firefighters. The day starts at 8.00am and finishes at 3.30pm Monday to Friday, working towards a ceremony on the Friday at which all the young people who have successfully completed the course graduate. One of the main aims of the scheme is to build a better understanding between young people within our community and personnel within NIFRS. The scheme is targeted at any young person, male or female, aged between 13 and 17 years, who could benefit from it, and includes young people from all sections of the community. It focuses on building essential life skills such as teamwork and the need for personal responsibility and helps to develop leadership skills and confidence. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety funds NIFRS annually each year, and the Community Development Department within NIFRS allocates funds to provide the LIFE Scheme and youth engagement programmes listed below. The Cadet Firefighter Scheme is open to young people both male and female from all sections of the community aged between 14 and 15 years who live or go to school within a specified area. The Cadets meet one evening per week throughout the school year, normally from 7.00pm to 9.30pm. Activities are designed to be informative, educational and enjoyable, allowing for both practical and theoretical work. Firesetters Scheme Both statistical and anecdotal evidence have shown that more than 90% of deliberate fires are started by children and young people. It is now accepted throughout the Fire & Rescue Service that to reduce the risk and financial burden these deliberate fires cause, we must work with the young people starting them. The Firesetters Scheme is an early intervention and education programme for children and young people who are firesetting, and can greatly reduce the chances of firesetting recurring. The aim of the Firesetters Scheme is to achieve a Fire Safe person and environment. By reducing firesetter reoccurrence rates, the risk to the young person and members of their Schools Programmes It is recognised that in order to effectively promote fire safety, education should begin with the young. With this in mind, NIFRS has developed a threetiered educational programme that is delivered along with the educational curriculum, reflecting and supporting community safety campaigns. Frances the Firefly Frances the Firefly is an educational initiative targeted at pre-school children aged between 3 and 5 years, promoting fire safety along with the dangers of playing with matches. It is presented by visiting Firefighters, teachers or parents in story book or DVD form. Safety Team Safety Team is NIFRS Key Stage 2 children s educational package targeted at all Primary 5 classes within the province. The concept, involving a set of 15 cartoon characters, was designed by NIFRS Community Development Department in association with its media agency. Safety Team is delivered to all primary schools within Northern Ireland that have accepted NIFRS offer to present the package with the aim of reaching at least 95% of schools. It is presented by NIFRS personnel within the classroom over a 40-minute period and positively links NIFRS with the community at an early stage. The presentation aims to teach children the following aspects of fire safety in the home: knowledge of how to maintain and test smoke alarms; knowledge of the main causes of fire in the home; knowledge of how to carry out a night-time fire safety check; and knowledge of how to prepare a fire escape plan. Firestorm Firestorm is NIFRS most recent Key Stage 3 Secondary Education Programme targeted at Year 9 (second year) pupils throughout the province. household and community is minimised. This is Cadet Firefighter Scheme accomplished by: The Cadet Firefighter Scheme is a completely voluntary youth organisation formed within NIFRS. The aims of the scheme are: to provide a varied and interesting programme of activities for young people, both male and identifying, then addressing the behaviour of young people developing a fascination with fire; helping them understand the potential consequences of their actions; female, from all sections of the community; working with parents or guardians to dissuade to raise their awareness of the activities of the fire playing or firesetting; and Fire & Rescue Service; working in partnership with other organisations to instil a sense of community spirit; and to help deal with this problem. to provide an opportunity for personal development. Page 14

The aim of Firestorm is to emphasise the importance of fire safety, with particular regard to responsibility for the consequences of arson and hoax calls. It is also designed to forge closer links between NIFRS and the younger community. Roadsafe Roadshow Roadsafe Roadshow has been developed by the Road Policing Department within the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) who wanted to address the problem of injuries and deaths to young drivers aged between 17 and 24 years. They are responsible for 41% of fatalities and 34% of serious injuries in collisions where a car driver was responsible, although they comprise only 15% of current car licence holders. The PSNI, NIFRS, Ambulance Service, an A&E Consultant, Road Trauma Support Group and a local commercial radio station came together to produce a theatre-style show which highlighted the sequence of events, the resources used and the impact on the emergency service personnel when a road traffic collision (RTC) occurs. Show venues are usually in schools and are directed at Year 13 and 14 pupils. RACE Scheme The aim of this initiative is to encourage young people to understand the consequences of an RTC and, subsequently, reduce the number of young people involved in RTCs on our roads. NIFRS recognises that young people are the most vulnerable on our roads and has therefore developed the Road Accident Consequences Education programme (RACE) imparting the principal message cut it out before we cut you out. The RACE Scheme has been developed to give young people aged between 14 to 25 years the knowledge of the destructive consequences and potentially life changing ramifications of an RTC. The programme is consolidated with a strong technology component to engage the 14 to 25 year old target group. Innovatively, we have combined a variety of multi-media learning tools such as high-tech animation, utilising characters and soundbites to which many young people can relate. Powerful testimonials from people directly affected by RTCs and practical sessions with NIFRS personnel bring home the raw reality of the consequences of RTCs. The RACE Scheme engages with young people to: raise the profile and awareness of the consequences of RTCs; increase community awareness of the factors that cause RTCs; engender a responsible attitude to road use; and improve current/future road user behaviour. Home Fire Safety Checks The Home Fire Safety Check (HFSC) initiative has been running in all NIFRS Area Commands, which work in partnership with groups such as Home Accident Prevention groups, Local District Councils, Police and Community Safety Partnerships and Investing for Health groups. These partnerships have been very successful in raising the level of smoke alarm ownership in Northern Ireland to 97% in 2012 (MRNI Research survey March 2012). The aim of the HFSC initiative is to identify those most at risk from fire in the home and to reduce the risk by raising awareness to the danger, providing appropriate advice and, where necessary, fitting a smoke alarm. During the reporting period April 2011 to March 2012, NIFRS completed 10,893 HFSCs and fitted 4,812 smoke alarms (10 year battery operated). Page 16

Where do we want to be? How will we get there? Our mission, vision and key areas of focus Key areas of focus In order to achieve our vision NIFRS is committed to educating and informing our communities that we serve to reduce risk within homes, businesses and workplaces. We will continually monitor what we do in order to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible service. This Strategy will help us to achieve our vision and mission and lead to better performance in our key areas of focus. We hope to achieve: 1. fewer deaths and injuries caused by fires and other emergencies; 2. a reduction in the numbers of accidental fires in homes; 3. a reduction in the numbers of deliberate fires; The Mission of NIFRS is: To deliver a fire and rescue service and work in partnership with others to ensure the safety and well-being of our community Figure 3 Our Vision is: Protecting our Community Develop stronger partnerships Invest in our people Deliver affordable and sustainable services Our Vision 4. fewer deaths and injuries on our roads; 5. less damage to property and to the environment; 6. decreased levels of anti-social behaviour; 7. increased partnership working between NIFRS and other stakeholders; 8. safer business premises; 9. reduced numbers of false alarms; and 10. efficient services that are good value for money. The model below demonstrates how we will work to make life safer for our communities. Provide effective governance, risk and performance management Reduce risk to the community Our strategy and targets Defining and measuring the risk (Key area of focus 1) In NIFRS we will deliver our Prevention and Protection activities using a risk-based approach. A key element of this is our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). NIFRS has developed and consulted upon an IRMP during 2012. This IRMP will ensure that local arrangements are put in place to manage the risks in Northern Ireland. As part of our IRMP process we will continue to: identify the risk to our community; evaluate our current arrangements; identify opportunities to improve our service and make the community of Northern Ireland safer; decide what resources we need and where they need to be; and make arrangements to monitor and review our service. Measuring the risk to our community is a sophisticated process. To do this we will make use of the Fire Service Emergency Cover (FSEC) tool. We will use this in conjunction with our existing processes for gathering risk-critical information and historical incident information, as well as established indicators such as lifestyle data to build a rich picture of the risk to our community and the resources required to mitigate the risk. It is also important to remember that the risks will change, and for this reason we will build in a programme of monitoring and review to ensure that our Community Risk Assessment remains valid. A fundamental element of our Prevention and Protection Strategy is the importance of linking these aspects of our work to the Operational Response that NIFRS provides. Prevention, Protection and Response must complement each other in order for NIFRS to provide the best possible service for the public of Northern Ireland. We will achieve this through the application of our risk modelling processes and utilising our Operational Management Framework to address the risk in a consistent and professional manner. Home Fire Safety Checks A key part of many of our prevention activities is the free HFSC as mentioned earlier. NIFRS will review our policy and procedures for the delivery of HFSCs and implement the findings. NIFRS will introduce a new programme of risk-focused HFSCs to supplement our operational response and ensure that we provide an integrated, focused service. 1. Devise, publish and implement a Community Risk Assessment for Northern Ireland 2. Review, revise and implement an updated risk-focused programme of HFSCs Central direction, local priorities (Key area of focus 10) NIFRS will develop policies and procedures that will allow Prevention and Protection activities to be delivered in a professional and consistent manner. However, they will be designed in such a way that they can be delivered to meet local priorities. Areas and Districts will publish local plans in relation to Prevention and Protection and these will be displayed in NIFRS premises. To ensure a consistent and professional approach, NIFRS will develop a register of approved interventions along with a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of our activities. Page 18 Page 19

3. Publish Local Prevention and Protection plans in each NIFRS District 4. Display the plans on NIFRS stations 5. Develop an electronic register of approved prevention activities including evaluation methodology create a partnership register, closely linked to the approved activities register mentioned above. We will also appoint a Partnership Co ordinator who will manage our connections with our partners and ensure a consistent and professional approach. We will constantly review the effectiveness of partnership working and consider partnerships as an opportunity to allow local communities to help develop our Strategy. Income generation An important aspect of partnership working is the potential for income generation and the benefits People at Risk (Key area of focus 1) In Northern Ireland in recent years the majority of people who have died or been injured in accidental fires have been older people, or those who are vulnerable for another reason such as impaired mobility or mental health. NIFRS has recently introduced a separate sub-strategy aimed at protecting those most at risk in our society. The objectives, targets and workstreams of the People at Risk Strategy are designed to complement the overall Prevention and Protection Strategy. Early in 2013 NIFRS delivered a pilot Team programme for the Prince s Trust organisation. We will carry out an evaluation of this and other Prince s Trust programmes and incorporate them into our youth engagement activities. Our aim is to become a full delivery partner for Prince s Trust and consider a range of funding options to enhance all of our youth engagement programmes. NIFRS will also continue to contribute to the development of the multi-agency RADAR Safety Centre project with a view towards opening the centre in 2014. Partnership working (Key area of focus 7) In NIFRS we recognise the importance and the benefit of working in partnership with other stakeholders in order to improve the service that we provide to the public. There is a wide range of partners that we may engage with, and many potential benefits. We also want to make sure that the service we provide is consistent and professional; in order to do that we will that this may bring. NIFRS does not currently generate income to deliver services. However, over the life of this Strategy, NIFRS will examine the potential benefits of delivering Prevention activities based upon income generation. Policing and Community Safety Partnerships As part of the devolution of Justice to the NI Assembly, 2012 saw the introduction of Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) in Northern Ireland. These bodies are based upon council boundaries and include representation from statutory agencies, the voluntary sector and community groups. In January 2013, NIFRS was formally designated as a partner in the PCSPs and as such has representation on all of the PCSPs in Northern Ireland. 9. NIFRS will implement the People at Risk strategy through the creation of a project board and four workstreams: a. partnership working b. advertising and publicity c. assistive technology d. regulatory and legislative requirements 10. To reduce accidental fire deaths amongst people at risk by 20% from the 2012 13 baseline year-on-year over the lifetime of the Strategy 11. To reduce firerelated injuries in dwellings amongst people at risk by 10% from the 2013 14 baseline year-on-year over the lifetime of the Strategy 12. Become a full delivery partner for Prince s Trust programmes 13. Contribute to the delivery of the RADAR Safety Centre project opening in February 2014 Education Programmes (Key area of focus 2) NIFRS has a successful and well-established schools education programme, with programmes delivered at pre-school, Primary 5 and Key Stage 3. During the life of this Strategy NIFRS will review and revise as necessary all of our education programmes. 6. Create and publish a Prevention Partnership register for NIFRS 7. Appoint and maintain a Partnership Co ordinator for NIFRS 8. Provide a representative to all PCSPs in Northern Ireland Youth Engagement (Key area of focus 6) NIFRS has an established youth engagement programme as previously outlined. To supplement this Strategy we will review all of our youth engagement activities, and update our approved activities register. 14. Review and revise as necessary NIFRS schools education programme Advertising (Key area of focus 1) NIFRS has a statutory duty to educate the public in relation to the dangers of fire. Campaign Page 21

advertising has been proven to be an effective tool in delivering messages to a wide audience. NIFRS has a substantial library of advertising material and we intend to develop new creative material for delivery in conjunction with an advertising provider. Social media/technology We will use our Social Media Strategy to ensure that we can communicate with the public in a relevant and professional manner; we will introduce local social media contributors so that Area and District Commanders can communicate with local people on local issues. We will exploit technology to further enhance our message and we will explore the possibilities of utilising smartphone applications and Bluetooth messaging. NIFRS will use its website to ensure that our messages are widely available and accessible to the public. 15. Introduce a programme of campaign advertising to complement the Prevention and Protection Strategy in line with Government Advertising Unit guidelines 16. Develop a smartphone Fire Safety app 17. Review and refresh the NIFRS website Fire Investigation (Key area of focus 5) NIFRS has a statutory duty to investigate the cause of fires and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PSNI that deals specifically with Fire Investigation (FI). In order to maintain an effective FI capability, NIFRS has trained a number of Level 2 Fire Investigation Officers (FIOs) who are distributed across the four Area Commands and HQ. The established number of FIOs is 52, distributed as follows: Eastern Area 10 Northern Area 12 Southern Area 12 Western Area 12 NIFRS HQ 6 NIFRS will: maintain an effective FI capability within NIFRS; obtain information through FI which will be used by NIFRS to: o inform risk-profiling and help reduce the incidence of fire and other emergencies by the provision of a targeted, efficient and effective safety education, advice and legal enforcement service; o drive inter-agency partnership working to ensure the safety and well-being of the vulnerable in our community; and o identify fires of special interest which have the potential to impact upon Firefighter safety; develop profiles of fire behaviour in the built environment to inform tactical response and protect both the public and our Firefighters; inform the inspection process of potential legal enforcement issues identified through fire investigations in conjunction with after the fire audits; and develop and implement a process of audit and review to provide assurance that FIs cover all aspects of the incident that may have contributed to the cause of the fire and final outcomes. Page 22

18. Review and revise as necessary the protocols for deploying FIOs 19. Create a central database to record, analyse and share information gathered in the FI process 20. Develop a quality assurance process for FI Road Safety (Key area of focus 4) NIFRS has developed a bespoke Road Safety Strategy which is designed to complement this overall Strategy, as well as Northern Ireland s Road Safety Strategy to 2020. It is anticipated that our Road Safety Strategy, in conjunction with the work of other road safety stakeholders will contribute to Northern Ireland s targets for 2020 (measured against a baseline of the 2004 2008 average figures) which are: to reduce the number of people killed in road collisions by at least 60% by 2020; to reduce the number of people seriously injured in road collisions by at least 45% by 2020; to reduce the number of children (aged 0 to 15) killed or seriously injured in road collisions by at least 55% by 2020; and to reduce the number of young people (aged 16 to 24) killed or seriously injured in road collisions by at least 55% by 2020. Volunteering (Key area of focus 10) In order to improve the service we provide and make the best possible use of limited resources, NIFRS will give consideration to the use of volunteers to deliver some of our community engagement activities. Volunteers who work for us will be drawn from all areas of our community and will receive appropriate training and a uniform. We will take a staged approach to developing the use of volunteers, beginning with a smallscale pilot scheme before determining the extent to which we will incorporate volunteers into our mainstream activities. 21. Implement a pilot scheme for 20 volunteers 22. Carry out an evaluation of the pilot scheme 23. Create a volunteering policy/procedure for wider adoption in NIFRS Advocates (Key area of focus 1) NIFRS needs to ensure that in engaging with the public, we are relevant and focused upon the needs of the community. To enhance this aspect of our work, we will examine the possibility of introducing Community Safety Advocates (CSAs) to help deliver the Prevention, Protection and Road Safety message. CSA employees will be non-operational personnel, but they will wear a uniform. We will recruit CSAs to help us manage our partnership and community engagement work, and we will specifically look for people who can demonstrate their ability to make contact and engage with everybody in our community. We will fund the CSA programme by reallocating part of the Retained Fire Safety budget; this will make better use of our resources and improve the availability of our retained Firefighters. We will initially run a three-year pilot scheme and base future decisions relating to CSAs upon the evaluation of that scheme. 24. Run a three-year pilot scheme for CSAs in Western, Southern and Northern Area Commands Regulation (Key area of focus 8) NIFRS has a duty to enforce The Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. It is our aim to ensure that all non-domestic properties are safe for the public and the people who work in them. This is an important area of our work, not only for the safety of the people involved in non-domestic premises, but also for the business community and the wider economy. Many businesses that experience a fire will never recover from it. We will work with the business community to inform and educate them as to the dangers of fire and help them to meet the requirements of the regulations in a proportionate and consistent manner, only resorting to enforcement when absolutely necessary to do so. Risk-based audit programme (Key area of focus 8) A key element of our statutory duty is the implementation of a risk-based programme of audits of non-domestic premises. We will carry out a programme of audits based upon the risk profile of the premises involved; for our planned audits we will ensure an appropriate spread across each of the 17 categories of premises used in the FSEC risk management model, with emphasis being placed on where there is the most risk to life and property. We will also carry out post-fire audits, where appropriate, in non-domestic properties that have experienced a fire to help them learn from it and prevent further instances. 25. Run a risk-based programme of audits of nondomestic premises 26. Utilise at least 40% of the available working time of specialist FIOs in delivering the audit programme Unwanted Fire Signals and False Alarms (Key area of focus 9) Unwanted Fire Signals (UFS) are alarm signals generated by automatic systems indicating that there is a fire in non-domestic premises. Our experience shows that the vast majority of these are false alarms. We will implement our revised UFS Policy and, working in partnership with the relevant stakeholders, we will reduce the number of alarms generated and the movements of Fire Service resources to deal with these incidents when they do occur. 27. Implement a revised UFS policy including the necessary training for RCC and operational crews 28. Reduce UFS mobilisations by 20% over the life of the Strategy using the 2012 13 year as a baseline Legislative development (Key area of focus 8) NIFRS recognises the value of developing legislation and regulations to meet changing circumstances. During the life of this Strategy we will lobby the Northern Ireland Assembly to review the need for new legislation, particularly in the Page 24 Page 25

Measuring our performance We will measure our performance utilising information collated from a number of relevant sources. These will include for example: Incident Recording System Financial records Our Enforcement Records Public Opinion/Surveys. Performance Indicators The following table shows the performance indicators that will show how well we are meeting the targets outlined in this Strategy. Reporting our performance NIFRS will report on our performance through our annual report. The NIFRS Board meets monthly in a public meeting. We will report our performance monthly to the Board based upon the indicators outlined below. Responsibilities Responsibility for delivery of this Strategy lies with the Assistant Chief Fire Officer who is the Director with responsibility for Prevention and Protection. Amendments to this Strategy will be subject to the approval of the NIFRS Corporate Management Team and the NIFRS Board. Delivery of sub-strategies referred to in this document is the responsibility of the appointed lead Officer/Chair for that workstream. Delivery of day-to-day Prevention and Protection activities is the responsibility of nominated individuals. Review NIFRS will review this Strategy 12 months after implementation and at any time when there is reason to believe that the Strategy is no longer fit for purpose. Indicator What does this show? Target The number of accidental fire deaths in domestic premises per 100,000 of population. How well we are carrying out our duty to prevent fires in the home and respond quickly and appropriately when a fire occurs. We would like to eradicate accidental fire deaths in Northern Ireland. We believe that this will one day be achievable. In the interim we have set ourselves a target of 0.1 per 100,000 of population which in Northern Ireland is equivalent to 2 accidental fire deaths per year. The number of Fire Safety messages received by the public. How well we are meeting our statutory duty to inform the public of the danger of fires and other emergencies. That every member of the Northern Ireland public has access to at least 24 appropriate Fire Safety messages per year. area of incorporating assistive technology such as the use of domestic sprinklers in new-build properties. To ensure that this is the case, all of our people who are involved in the delivery of Prevention and Protection activities will be trained The number of hours spent by specialist officers on our risk-based audit programme. How well we are meeting our requirements in relation to The Fire Safety Regulations (NI) 2010. That 40% of all specialist officers hours available are spent on the Fire Safety audit programme. Competence framework (Key area of focus 8) Successful delivery of our Strategy will depend upon us having properly trained people available and properly equipped to carry out their duties. to the appropriate level in accordance with our development framework. We will use a variety of providers, both internal and external, and, where possible, we will seek to carry out joint training with relevant agencies such as local authority licensing authorities, building control etc. The number of NIFRS mobilisations to Unwanted Fire Signals (UFS). The overall cost of delivering our Prevention and Protection Strategy. How well we are engaging with the business community to reduce UFS. How efficiently we are delivering our Prevention and Protection programme. Reduce UFS by 20% over the life of the Strategy based upon the 12 13 year baseline. TBC Page 26 Page 27

NIFRS CONTACT DETAILS T 028 9266 4221 F 028 9267 7402 E acoss@nifrs.org www.nifrs.org NIFRS Headquarters 1 Seymour Street Lisburn BT27 4SX T 028 9266 4221 F 028 9267 7402 Training Centre 79 Boucher Crescent Belfast BT12 6HU T 028 9038 9800 F 028 9066 4888 Northern Area Headquarters 22 26 Waveney Road Ballymena BT43 5BA T 028 2564 3370 F 028 2564 5673 Southern Area Headquarters Thomas Street Portadown BT62 3AH T 028 3833 2222 F 028 3835 0341 Eastern Area Headquarters 6 Bankmore Street Belfast BT7 1AQ T 028 9031 0360 F 028 9031 3226 Western Area Headquarters 10 Crescent Link Londonderry BT47 5FR T 028 7131 1162 F 028 7134 1926