National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) News

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has been awarded a grant from the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund. This is a new funding pot encouraging the creation of a UK regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth. Teaming up with the National Fire Chiefs Council, the University of Northampton, and Eyecademy Ltd, the West Sussex-led project will deliver a new web-based fire risk assessment tool. The interactive tool will improve users' understanding of fire safety. fire risk assessment...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging businesses that have reopened their doors, not to overlook fire safety and ensure it remains a top priority in the workplace. The call comes as part of the National Fire Chiefs Council's (NFCC) Business Safety Week which runs from the 6th - 12th September. The campaign aims to make businesses aware of their fire safety responsibilities, so they comply with legislation to keep both premises and occupants safe from fire. Reviewing fire safety Man...

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) is urging businesses that have reopened their doors not to overlook fire safety and ensure it remains a top priority in the workplace. The call comes after many businesses had to implement and enforce new ways of working due to the pandemic. MFRS is reminding businesses about the everyday fire risks in the workplace and both the legal and moral responsibility to ensure premises are safe from fire. Many businesses had to respond quickly to the pandemic...

This month, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service is supporting the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Home Fire Safety Month campaign. Over the course of four weeks, from Monday, 30 August until Sunday, 26 September, they will share safety advice to help keep the user safe in their home or business. Each week will focus on a different area, covering chimney fire safety, business fire safety, fire door safety, and gas safety. Fire Safety Month James Whitton, West Hub Protection Manager, s...

Fire and rescue services across the UK worked with partners to respond to the impact of COVID-19. Making a difference provides a series of short case studies to show the range of activities that services did over the last 18 months; it recognizes that the pandemic is not over and services continue to help communities in many different ways.  Phil Garrigan is the NFCC lead for the COVID-19 response. He said: “The pandemic was unlike anything else we have...

As a respected designer and manufacturer of a wide range of products for fire and smoke containment, Lorient is proud to be a dedicated supporter of Fire Door Safety Week (FDSW). The campaign was launched in 2013 in response to a legacy of fire door neglect, and we have been supporting it since the beginning. FDSW is a ‘mass market’ awareness campaign to increase public understanding of the vital role that fire doors play in protecting life and property. The campaign is managed by t...

Merseyside firefighters are among those rescue personnel, who are being deployed to help Greece fight wildfires that continue to devastate parts of the country. The team is made up of firefighters from Merseyside, Lancashire, London, South Wales, West Midlands, and NRAT (National Resilience Assurance Team) officers. They will be flying to Athens, the capital of Greece, to help with the firefighting task. National Resilience Assurance Team The team deployment comes, following a formal request...

The newly created not-for-profit organization, the Building Safety Alliance will deliver a publicly accessible register of certified Building Safety Managers in a move that will increase confidence in the competence of these new duty holders prescribed in the Building Safety Bill. Emerging from the working group activity of the Competence Steering Group, the Building Safety Alliance marks a significant step forward for establishing the role of a Building Safety Manager in higher risk buildings....

The Fire Standards Board for England has published the Prevention Fire Standard setting out what fire and rescue services should be doing to keep communities safe from fire. This is the seventh Fire Standard to be published and sits alongside the operational response Fire Standards released earlier this year. The Protection Fire Standard will be published in September 2021. New Prevention Fire Standard published Fire and rescue services will look to use the Prevention Fire Standard to ensure...

Ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day (July 25th), the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has launched a new water incident dashboard to help Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) gather information on incidents in their area. It uses live data from the Water Incident Database (WAID) which records vital information from agencies such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Community safety...

The Fire Industry Association (FIA) and National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) have come together to produce a new Code of Practice to bring clarity to the use of premises information boxes for residential buildings. The Code of Practice for the Provision of Premises Information Boxes in Residential Buildings is in response to recommendations about fire safety information made by the Grenfell Inquiry. One of the recommendations focused on the provision of premises information boxes and this new Co...

The Home Office on Monday (07/06/2021) has published an update regarding guidance covering fire safety in purpose-build blocks of flats. The Home Office states that “This document is a guide to ensuring adequate fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats, regardless of age. Practical advice is offered on how to assess the risk from fire and how to manage fire safety in such buildings. The document also includes case studies based on the commonly found issues in blocks of flats, with sug...

The UK Home Office on Monday (07/06/2021) published an update regarding guidance covering fire safety in purpose-build blocks of flats. The UK Home Office states that ‘this document is a guide to ensuring adequate fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats, regardless of age’. how to assess fire risk Practical advice is offered on how to assess the risk from fire and how to manage fire safety in such buildings. The document also includes case studies based on the commonly found i...

The new Fire Safety Bill (FSB) for England and Wales has been lauded by some in the fire industry, as the answer to many of the challenges faced post the Grenfell tragedy era, but it may not be as far-reaching as many had expected. Stacey Adams, the Market Development Manager at Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd, takes a look at the Fire Safety Bill, what it contains, what it aims to achieve, and its implications for the fire industry. New Fire Safety Bill for England and Wales The new Fire Safety Bi...

Fire organizations have come together for the first time to create a Core Code of Ethics based on the Nolan Principles that puts supporting communities first. The National Fire Chiefs Council, Local Government Association, and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners have jointly published a Core Code of Ethics that sits alongside a new Fire Standard. This is in response to one of the recommendations made by Sir Tom Winsor in his State of Fire and Rescue reports. The Fire Minister, Lo...

Portsmouth City Council is investing £9.5 million over the next five years in retrofitting sprinklers in high-rise blocks as part of a £22 million package of fire safety measures. The announcement comes at the start of the NFCC’s Sprinkler Safety Week and is supported by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service working in partnership with the city. retrofit program The retrofit program was due to start but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council carr...

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service is supporting the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) National Sprinkler Week campaign. Running from 17th - 23rd May, the campaign raises awareness of the benefits of sprinkler systems in keeping people and buildings safe from fire. Fire sprinklers Fire sprinklers are widely recognized as the single most effective method for fighting the spread of fires in their early stages. Research by the National Fire Chief’s Council and the Nat...

During the National Sprinkler Week, Fire Chiefs will be highlighting how different approaches to sprinklers across the United Kingdom (UK) means that not all new schools will be protected. The FPA is supporting the campaign that runs from Monday, 17th - 23rd May. It will raise awareness of the benefits of sprinkler systems in keeping people and buildings safe from fire. sprinklers installation One area the NFCC is concerned about is new build schools. In Scotland and Wales, sprinklers are req...

The UK Government has published its second quarterly update on progress to meet the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations, highlighting the breadth of work taking place. In a useful development, the UK Government is providing thematic updates of the work taking place by the government, the London Fire Brigade, the National Fire Chiefs Council, and other bodies to respond to the 46 recommendations made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick in his Phase 1 report. update Key changes in this quarter include:...

The Fire Standards Board for England is seeking views by 9 April on a new overarching standard for Fire Protection. Having recently published the first fire standards focused on operations, the Board is now consulting on two draft standards for protection and prevention. The Fire Standards Board commissioned the development of the Fire Protection Fire Standard through the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Protection Policy and Reform Unit (PPRU). A working group, with representation from ser...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is supporting a campaign led by the National Fire Chiefs Council encouraging people to step forward and explore the opportunities the Fire and Rescue Service can offer people who have a passion for working in and helping their local community by becoming on-call firefighters. The ‘Need More’ on-call fire campaign is in its third year and runs during the first week of March. It aims to highlight opportunities that are open to people from all wal...

In March 2021, the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is asking residents to test their smoke alarms regularly and make it a part of their weekly routine, in support of the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) month-long campaign. Smoke alarms are important for everyone’s safety and they can give those few extra seconds for people in distress to escape, in the event of a fire. Importance of smoke alarms in homes Statistics show that smoke alarms alerted households to...

As the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations begins around the country, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) continues to offer support to the health sector during the pandemic. Having already seen staff from various parts of the Service helping with training new ambulance drivers, supporting the community hubs and working as ambulance drivers, CFRS is now offering its support with the vaccination program. Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland said: "The pandemic has been such a challenging t...

Fire and rescue service employers have unilaterally scrapped a ground-breaking agreement with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) which had enabled firefighters to assist the NHS and care sector response to COVID-19. Negotiations over health and safety measures for firefighters delivering high-risk COVID-19 duties were ongoing when the National Employers issued a communication ending the agreement on the evening of Wednesday 13 January. The decision appears to be supported by the National Fire Chiefs...

The National Fire Chiefs Council has released a range of updated risk assessments which will allow fire-fighters and other staff to continue work on COVID-related activities – while taking on more. To support this, 10,000 lateral flow tests a week will be provided by the government to fire services, meaning up to 5,000 fire-fighters could soon be supporting the UK-wide vaccination program underway. These tests will help keep firefighters who are undertaking vital COVID work safer –...

Robert Jenrick MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, announced a “New £30 million fund for leaseholders in England to pay for the installation of fire alarm systems in high-rise buildings with cladding.”  Adding that this will remove or reduce “the need for costly interim safety measures such as waking watch.” Install common fire alarms The written statement continues by saying that “This step is supported...

BAFSA is disappointed to report that, along with Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service & BAFSA, the organizations have made the difficult decision to postpone their joint sprinkler seminars on 18th and 24th March respectively due to the current Covid-19 fears. While disappointing for everyone involved, they have taken this step in line with NFCC guidance as far as reducing the chance of spreading the virus as much as is reasonably practic...

Firefighters working for the busiest fire and rescue service in the UK will receive expert training from a De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) scientist who specializes in the flammability of skincare products and fire investigation. Dr Sarah Hall, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Analytical Chemistry and Forensic Science at DMU’s Leicester School of Pharmacy, was contacted by the London Fire Brigade to share her expertise as part of their training package, to help firefighters better under...

From commercial and industrial settings to local authorities, schools & universities, and residential properties, users are all required to strive for the highest standards of fire safety. Thankfully, there are many ways in which users can reduce the risk of fire thanks to a whole host of innovative fire safety systems. fire sprinkler systems When it comes to effectively containing a fire, an overwhelming body of evidence supports the use of fire sprinkler systems in effectively containing...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is joining forces with local authority partners and emergency services, in order to help keep people safe in the upcoming bonfire and fireworks season. With many organized events canceled across the county, emergency services are preparing for a busier night than usual. There is an emerging concern that more people will plan displays and bonfires to celebrate in their own gardens, which could pose significant risk for the people. Safety measures for Bonfi...