Cumbria’s newly elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (Commissioner), David Allen, was provided with an update on the performance of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) at his first CFRS Public Accountability Conference (PAC) on 18 July 2024.
Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, CFRS attended 1,311 fires across Cumbria – 104 more fires compared to the same period the year before. However, the number of fatalities dropped from six to four. Of these 1,311 fires, 176 were accidental fires within the home and 490 were deliberate fires. Deliberate fires rose by 4.6% across the last year. CFRS attended 1,863 non-fire incidents across the financial year. In 23/24, 74% of calls were responded to within 10 minutes, two percent down from the previous year, and 88% within 15 minutes which remains the same as the year before. CFRS assisted bordering Fire and Rescue Service’s 154 times across the year, providing support including the deployment of specialist equipment and extra support at large scale incidents. The Service attended 3.7% less road traffic collisions in 23/24 compared to the previous year with CFRS attending 9% of all collisions in the county. Two less water rescues took place in 23/24 in comparison to 22/23, bringing the total down to 43 and flood call outs also reduced by 27%. Two fatalities have taken place per year within the water over the last two years and injuries have increased from six to eight.
In terms of prevention, CFRS has completed over 8338 targeted Home Safety Visits in 23/24. Home Safety Visits provide residents with a fire safety assessment to highlight any potential hazards and give advice as to how residents can keep their homes as safe as possible from fire. CFRS also conducts protection fire audits on businesses between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 to ensure that properties used for business purposes are up to the appropriate standard, reduce the risk of fires and protect the lives of employees and customers in the event of a fire. Currently 46% of all business properties have been inspected in the county with hotels, shops, schools, self-catering lets and guest houses being the top five most visited. Commercial False Alarms has fallen from 682 in 22/23 to 489 in 23/24 making up 10% of all incidents attended. In 2023, CFRS recruited seven extra full-time firefighters and 24 on-call firefighters. Between September 2023 and May 2024, CFRS attended 1,252 community engagement events providing information and advice to the public.
Commissioner, David Allen, said: “This is my first PAC meeting for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service since being elected. These meetings provide me with the opportunity to hold the Chief Fire Officer, Rick Ogden, to account on behalf of the public.
“We’ve seen a reduction in fires and fire fatalities over the last financial year, which I am pleased to see. However, four deaths is four too many – I hope that we can reduce this to zero and I am sure that the Chief Fire Officer will also aim for this.
“Attending 88% of call outs within 15 minutes is an incredible feat, especially taking Cumbria’s geography and its road network into consideration – many roads were not built to accommodate cars, never mind fire engines. When you couple this with the increased traffic numbers we see during the summer months, I am very pleased that we are achieving the 15-minute target.
“Prevention is an incredibly important aspect of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, completing over 8338 Home Safety Visits is a great success. Prevention is key to reduce the likelihood of fire.
“I am the voice of the Cumbrian public in respect of Fire and Rescue so I intend to use these public meetings to hold the Chief Fire Officer to account over the concerns of residents. I want to see the Fire and Rescue Service to continue to improve and to become one of the best Services in the country so that we can continue to protect Cumbria’s safety.
“As the name suggests, these meetings are public so if anyone wishes to come along to the next PAC, please contact my office at commissioner@cumbria.police.uk.”
Chief Fire Officer, Rick Ogden, said: “I was pleased to present an update on Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service’s performance to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
“The report represents excellent work across our service, and particularly positive news in terms of the availability of our crews and appliances, and the speed in which we are attending incidents.
“The report also highlights strong work in prevention, in which the teams are on course to meet the projected number of Home Safety Visits for the year, and importantly, that these are being targeted at our most at-risk residents.
“The reports also identifies high levels of public engagement and awareness-raising activities being carried out every day by crews across the county.”
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