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| In 2008/09, Dorset FRS suffered an increase in the number of deaths caused by fires in the home |
Dorset Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) has assessed over 3000 households for fire risk through their new referrals website portal which was launched in April.
Over 1350 of these assessments were classed as high or very high risk resulting in Home Safety Checks (HSCs) being completed for the most vulnerable residents of the county.
In 2008/09 Dorset FRS suffered an increase in the number of deaths caused by fires in the home. This caused them to change their focus and look at how they could target those, within their communities, most at risk from fire. To achieve this Dorset FRS took an innovative approach to Community Fire Safety by implementing PINPOINT, ACTIVE's HSC targeting solution.
PINPOINT allows Dorset FRS to proactively target households based on their levels of fire risk and a new approach was also developed for HSC referrals. Accessed through the Dorset FRS website, members of the public and community partners use the PINPOINT referrals web page to fill out a short fire risk assessment form. No matter where the referral has come from, be it a doctor, social worker or from a household owner themselves, PINPOINT will provide a risk rating calculated by using historic incident and lifestyle data. Depending on the level of risk, the resident can either download a home safety pack or will be referred for a HSC.
This shared services approach to Community Fire Safety is another example of how Dorset FRS is committed to working beyond the traditional functions of a fire and rescue service. Dorset FRS is dedicated to gaining active participation of its partner agencies and within the communities that they serve.
Changing the way in which Dorset FRS prevent fires from happening in the first place, and by investing in innovative Community Fire Safety technology, the number of accidental dwelling fires across the county reduced by 11% last year (2010/11). As well as generating efficiency savings by lessening the need for manual processes, PINPOINT ultimately helps keep the most vulnerable people safe. In the future, Dorset FRS will be working more closely with Dorset County Council and Bournemouth Borough Council and up to fifteen other public service providers to look at shared services and utilising the unique data generated by PINPOINT.
