NEWS
COVID-19 Fire sector responds to COVID-19 pandemic
PLANS AND guidance for and from the fire and rescue services (FRSs) during the COVID-19 pandemic were explained, as well as ‘strategic intentions’ – while cladding leaseholders urged the government to assist them with funding waking watches amid the economic turmoil, as cladding removal had halted.
NFCC sector response The NFCC stated that, following the decision to move into the delay phase of tackling the outbreak, it developed resources ‘to assist services’ in terms of response. These will ‘continually evolve as the situation develops and as and when additional areas need consideration’, drawing on ‘best practice being applied nationally’. The resources were devised to
ensure that FRSs ‘adopt a joined- up approach, can continue to deliver services, offer community reassurance where appropriate and ensure staff are kept informed’, and should be used ‘in tandem with local approaches’ such as local resilience forums and business continuity plans ‘in line with emerging government advice’. Other resources include FRS flu pandemic guidance and public health advice for employers and the public. Should the government shift to the next stage, mitigate, or escalate measures under the delay phase, FRSs will ‘enact business continuity plans to ensure they are able to maintain a level of service that fulfils their critical functions’. This could include implementing
response plans to maintain emergency response; maintaining critical preparedness activity as per business continuity plans; and ceasing protection and prevention activity ‘unless significant risk exists which could lead to the loss of life’. The NFCC also shared its
strategic intentions, including that government objectives come in the form of phased actions relating to containing, delaying and mitigating the outbreak, and using research to inform policy development. Its plans reflect the decision to move
6 MAY 2020
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from containing to delaying in order to ‘slow the spread across the country and to lower the peak impact, while moving it away from the winter season’. For FRSs, the intentions of the NFCC are to ‘proactively protect our communities and limit the spread’, as well as ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff in the pursuance of their duties’, alongside maintaining an ‘effective’ emergency response by continuing to ‘respond to all incidents’. Maintaining essential preparedness activity meanwhile will see it ‘continue to prepare, train and exercise against foreseeable risk with a focus on core competencies’. Protecting communities from
fire will see the NFCC ‘adopt a risk based approach’ to protection activity, while enforcement action ‘will continue based on a suitable and sufficient risk assessment’. Preventing the impact of fire and other emergencies on communities will see it adopt a ‘risk based approach’ to prevention, with ‘very high risk’ interventions such as home safety checks and safe and well visits to continue ‘based on a suitable and sufficient risk assessment’. In order to ensure ‘effective’ business continuity, procurement and recovery arrangements ‘are in place throughout the sector’, while the NFCC aims to also ensure that response is ‘coordinated and integrated with other responding agencies’ by promoting ‘shared
situational awareness and joint understanding of risk’. Finally, it will aim to ‘support a return to normality’ when possible, with guidance being developed. Data will be reported to the Home
Office’s national resilience hub by 12pm each day ‘for collation and circulation’, and the NFCC criticised a ‘spike’ in deliberate fires reported following the announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the country would be locked down, and ‘slammed this as irresponsible’, ‘especially’ at a time when all FRSs ‘are under additional pressures’. With a number of wildfires also registered, the NFCC urged landowners ‘not to undertake unnecessary prescribed or controlled burns’. While FRSs have ‘placed an emphasis’ on maintaining operational response, work is ‘underway to ensure support is provided to the most vulnerable people across the country’. This work includes delivering food and medicine, supporting the police and ambulance services in addition to health colleagues, and ‘working closely’ with these groups as well as local resilience forums to ‘look at where we can assist communities’. They will also ‘continue to ensure the well-being of all their staff is a priority’, in line with nationally approved advice.
‘Critical risk-based service’ The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) reported that firefighters would aim to protect the vulnerable in society by avoiding hospitals and care
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