Agenda item

Performance Report (Copy attached).

Update on Service and Operation Matters.

LSO Stephen Gourlay.

There had been circulated copies of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services (SFRS) Local Plan Performance.  Local Senior Officer (LSO) Gourlay began by giving an update on the national negotiations around pay and conditions advising the ballot process would conclude at the end of February, a further update would be provided at the next meeting.  LSO Gourlay then advised that he would circulate a link to a short survey on local SFRS service provision with copies of the existing local plan, and requested support from the Board to complete the five minute questionnaire by 18 March 2020.   LSO Gourlay then went on to refer to the Peebles High School fire on 28 November 2019. Approximately 63 different fire appliances had been on site during the incident, which had been one of the most challenging of his 27 years as a firefighter.   Following the incident, home fire safety advice was provided to the surrounding community.   The post fire audit was currently being progressed, the results of which would be reported to a future Board meeting.   LSO Gourlay then went on to advise that a second Rural Watch Commander was now in post for the Peebles cluster.  This meant that there was decent coverage in terms of retained station support.  Finally, the Newbridge Training Centre was opened on 28th January 2020 by the Minister for Community Safety, Ash Denham and he suggested that Board members might be interested in a tour of the Centre, which he could facilitate.

6.2       Group Commander (GC) Jaffray then presented the SFRS Local Plan Performance report for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 December 2019, copies of which had been circulated with the agenda.   He began by advising that during the period the SFRS had responded to 1231 incidents, a reduction of 30 incidents since the same period last year. False alarms accounted for 56% of emergency calls.

6.3       Reduction of ‘Dwelling Fires’ – There had been 65 (78) dwelling fires, a 17% decrease since the same period last year.  Five of these fires had been started deliberately. 

6.4       Reduction of ‘All fire casualties (fatal & non-fatal) - There were 16 casualties, which was the same figure as last year.  CG Gourlay advised that a Post Domestic Incident Response (PDIR) followed all domestic dwelling fires, offering reassurance and fire safety advice to households in the vicinity of the incident

6.5       Reduction of ‘All Deliberate Fires Excluding Dwellings’ – There had been 117 incidents, an increase of 13 since the same reporting period last year.  Grass scrub, woodland and refuse fires accounted for 60% of all deliberate fires with many incidents attributable to antisocial behaviour.  The SFRS’s Community Action Team continued to work with partners to mitigate the risk of reoccurrence. 

6.6       Reduction of ‘Special Service – RTCs’ – The SFRS attended 70 RTCs, a slight increase of one compared to last year.  Hydraulic rescue equipment was required on 21 occasions to extricate persons trapped in vehicles.  

6.7       Reduction of ‘Special Service Casualties – All’ – There were 61 Special Service casualties, a reduction in 10 from the same period last year.  The SFRS continued to work with partners in order to reduce the amount of RTCs

6.8       Reduction of ‘False Alarm – Equipment Failure’ – There had been 687 false alarm incidents, equipment failure accounting for 502 of these incidents, with 156 for good intent and 29 of a malicious nature.

6.9       GC Jaffray then went on to discuss Prevention and Protection activities.  Copies of a report detailing figures from Quarter 3 (30 September 2019 to 31 December 2019) had been circulated with the agenda.  GC Jaffray explained that fire safety audits had concentrated on high risk premises such as hospitals and care homes and the audits were on schedule to be completed by the end of quarter 4.  GC Jaffray highlighted that 583 Home Fire Safety Visits had been delivered, the report detailed the breakdown of coverage across the Scottish Borders.   Partnership working continued with support in delivery of Drivewise in Berwickshire.  In February, SFRS would also participate in the ‘Drive to Arrive’ initiative aimed at individuals convicted of road related offences.  GC Jaffray then went on to discuss the support and training through the referral process, with 105 referrals received from other agencies including: 20 from the Domestic Abuse Advocacy Service (DAAS), 7 from the British Red Cross, 35 from Housing Associations, 11 from NHS and 8 from Social Services. 

6.10  In response to a question regarding the rise from 5 to 14 of deliberate fires in mid-Berwickshire compared to last year, CG Jaffray advised that quarter 3 fire figures could be misleading as they incorporated Bonfire night and activity levels could be dependent on the weather.   Regarding secondary fire classification, GC Jaffray clarified that this is where no property had been damaged, for example a single tree would be classed as a secondary fire.

            DECISION

            NOTED:-

(a)    The report;

(b)     To request a short briefing on the outcome of Peebles High School  post fire audit be presented to a  future Board meeting; and

(c)   To request a tour of the Newbridge Training Centre be facilitated.  

ADJOURNMENT

The Chairman adjourned the meeting from 11.05 am to 11.10 am.