Safest People, Safest Places Three year strategic plan 2015/16 - 2017/18 Consultation document Our three year strategic plan highlights the key risks and challenges we face within County Durham and Darlington and how we intend to align our resources to those risks over the next three years Safest People, Safest Places Contents Welcome and foreword 3 Keeping communities safe 4 Our priorities 6 Identifying and assessing risks 7 The risks we face 8 Risks in specific areas 10 Addressing the risks – prevention, protection and response 12 Performance 16 Assurance 22 Operational assurance 22 Financial and governance assurance 22 Finance 23 The financial challenge 23 Efficiency 23 How the Fire Authority is funded 24 Our medium term financial plan 25 Estates improvement programme 26 Consultation 27 02 Three Year Strategic Plan Welcome to our three year strategic plan 2015/16 - 2017/18 Welcome and foreword Welcome to the consultation document on our latest three year strategic plan which explains how we serve the people of County Durham and the Borough of Darlington, sets out the key risks and challenges we face and how we intend to allocate our resources to meet those risks. Reductions in central government funding over the past four years have Susan Johnson meant we have had to find over £3.5m of savings from our budget since Chief Executive 2010. Achieving these savings has meant making significant changes to County Durham and Darlington how we deliver our service. However, so far, we have been able to do Fire and Rescue Authority this without increasing risk in local communities. Looking ahead, the next three years are likely to be even more challenging as we will need to find a further £3.6m of savings to meet the expected reductions in government funding. The options we have available to balance the budget for the fire and rescue service will be increasingly difficult to implement meaning we need to think differently about how we deliver services across County Durham and the Borough of Darlington. Delivering on our vision of Safest People, Safest Places remains the focus of our work and the Authority has produced this plan to enable Councillor Michele Hodgson local people to see how their fire and rescue service will work with them, Chair County Durham and and with partner organisations, to ensure that local communities are Darlington Fire and Rescue safe despite the financial challenges. Authority Three Year Strategic Plan 03 Gateshead A1 Safest People, Safest Places Sunderland Burnopfield Tanfield Ouston Medomsley A19 North Sea Keeping Stanley Pelton Consett Edmundbyers communities safe 1 Anfield 2 High Handenhold Plain Craghead Great Lumley We employ 619 staff consisting of: 516 operational Muggleswick Seaham 3 firefighters (348 full-time and 168 part-time on-call) Castleside Kimblesworth 26 control room staff, and 77 support staff. Townfield Lanchester Murton Sacriston Pity Me West Butsfield Rainton We are located in 15 fire stations, a service A68 Langley Park headquarters, training centre and a technical services 6 Easington centre. Satley Esh Pittington A689 Cornsay Bearpark Durham Haswell We work a range of duty systems to ensure we have Cowshill Sherburn 4 Peterlee Eastgate Waterhouses Shadforth the right number of skilled firefighters available at the Westgate 7 Stanhope Brandon Shincliffe right time and place to respond to emergencies. Frosterley Tow Law 5 A689 Hesleden Ÿ 2-2-4 shift - immediate 24 hour response using Wheatley Willington full-time firefighters. Wolsingham Croxdale Hill 8 Sheraton Ÿ Day-crewed - immediate daytime response using 9 Trimdon full-time firefighters Monday to Friday with an on- Crook A1 call response using part-time firefighters at night Spennymoor and weekends. Harwood Cornforth Hartlepool Ÿ Day-crewing plus - immediate daytime response Langdon Beck Escomb Bishop Middleham with full-time firefighters on-call from Ettersgill Redford Hamsterley accommodation next to the station at night. 10 Sedgefield Bishop Auckland 12 Chilton A19 Ÿ Retained - on-call part-time firefighters providing a Newbiggin response within five minutes. Morley Butterknowle Shildon Mordon Middleton-in-Teesdale Our fleet includes: 13 Eggleston Evenwood 11 Cockfield A68 Ÿ 27 front-line fire engines Newton Aycliffe Thringarth Mickleton A688 Ÿ 2 aerial ladder platforms Heighington Ÿ Romaldkirk Bolam Great Stainton 11 specialist vehicles Staindrop Ÿ 5 targeted response vehicles Cotherstone Bishopton Graons o’ th’ Beck Stainton Ÿ 9 four-wheel drive (4x4) vehicles. Middlesbrough Cleatlam Denton Lartington Great Burdon Stockton We work to PREVENT fires and other emergencies 14 Barnard Castle Gainford Sadberge from occurring in the first place. Wycliffe Piercebridge Darlington Our firefighters and other front-line staff undertake 15 Greta Bridge Thorpe more than 18,000 home fire safety checks each year, Bowes carry out fire and road safety talks in schools and Hurworth Middleton A66 work with partner agencies to inform our communities Scargill A66 -on-Tees St George about fire and road safety. West Hope Barningham Low Dinsdale We work to PROTECT people when emergencies do A1 happen. East Hope Scotch Corner Our firefighters and fire safety officers undertake inspections of workplaces providing advice and Our firefighters regularly train, maintain and test equipment to 1 Consett Community Fire Station 7 Stanhope Fire Station 13 Middleton-in-Teesdale Fire Station guidance to owners and occupiers, taking ensure they remain operationally ready to respond to enforcement action where necessary. 2 High Handenhold Fire Station 8 Crook Fire Station 14 Barnard Castle Fire Station emergencies at all times. 3 Seaham Fire Station 9 Spennymoor Community Fire Station 15 Darlington Community Fire Station We RESPOND to emergencies including fires, road We also work closely with our partners such as Durham 4 Peterlee Fire Station 10 Sedgefield Fire Station HQ traffic collisions, air and rail crashes, water rescues Constabulary, the North East Ambulance Service, local councils 5 Wheatley Hill Fire Station 11 Newton Aycliffe Fire Station Technical Services Centre and flooding, hazardous chemical incidents and many and our neighbouring fire and rescue services to ensure we can 6 Durham Fire Station 12 Bishop Auckland Community Fire Station Training Centre (from 2015) other types of emergencies. respond effectively and competently to any emergency. 04 Three Year Strategic Plan Three Year Strategic Plan 05 Safest People, Safest Places We provide an efficient and effective emergency response service Our priorities More than 618,000 people live Clearly these factors contribute within our Service area of significantly to the high levels of approximately 2,460 kilometres, social deprivation observed in our Our staff are committed to with just under half of these area. According to national making sure that people, people being in work. The statistics, County Durham and businesses and organisations in population comprises Darlington has 12.8% of its ward County Durham and Darlington approximately 51.1% females are protected by working towards areas in the top 10% most and 2.8% ethnic minorities; our vision of: Safest People, deprived; 29.8% in the top 20% 19.9% are under 18 and 17.9% Safest Places. most deprived; and 46.5% in the are over 65. top 30% most deprived areas in To help us achieve our vision we the country. The area faces a number of aim to: challenges including poor health These factors impact on the risk statistics, low life expectancies Ÿ Protect people and properties profile for County Durham and and low economic activity. and prevent incidents from Darlington and by understanding Despite real improvements in happening; our local area we can determine recent years, educational Ÿ Invest in the people who work where we need to allocate attainment is below the national for us to ensure we get the resources in order to mitigate average. Many parts of the area best contribution from them; these risks. also have housing stock that is Ÿ Continue to improve our sub-standard, falling below service in a sustainable way accepted decency levels. that offers value for money. 06 Three Year Strategic Plan The Authority is focussed on Identifying and Our response to these risks could managing risks and ensuring that include: extinguishing fires, resources are allocated in the assessing risks rescuing people at road traffic best way to reduce the number of collisions or those who are emergency incidents and the The Authority has a statutory trapped either at height or in associated risk of injury, death or duty under the Fire and Rescue confined spaces, dealing with loss in the local area. Our 15 fire Services Act 2004 to provide a building collapse, flooding and stations, 27 front line fire engines safe and effective operational other related water incidents, and specialist equipment are response to meet a wide range of dealing with chemical spillages strategically spread throughout incidents. We fulfil our and preventing damage to the the county and borough so that responsibilities under other key environment. we can get to fires and other legislation such as the Civil incidents as quickly as possible. Contingencies Act 2004, the Fire The Authority also plays a full and Rescue Service part in the National Resilience Our staff work across six districts (Emergencies) (England) Order Programme, which prepares for and offer support to each other. 2007, the Regulatory Reform (Fire and responds to national major We also have mutual aid Safety) Order 2005 and the emergencies and unexpected agreements with neighbouring Health and Safety at Work Act events such as natural disasters fire services so that we can assist 1974. or terrorist incidents. The each other if a major emergency resources we maintain to support occurs. The Authority is also guided by this programme include High the government's Fire and Rescue Volume Pumps, Mass National Framework for England, Decontamination Equipment and hazardous materials specialists published in 2012, which requires who are trained to detect and the Authority to identify and identify toxic and harmful assess all foreseeable fire and substances.