South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service - Experts & Thought Leaders

A South Yorkshire recruitment campaign aims to change perceptions of women in the fire service. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s ‘A Firefighter Is A Firefighter’ campaign includes a new hard-hitting video, which highlights the fact that all firefighters meet the same standards and do the same job regardless of their gender. At the same time, the service will be publishing a fresh episode of its official podcast, Shout, featuring women from across the service. The service hopes the campaign can inspire more women across South Yorkshire to consider a role in the fire service. Employing A Diverse Range Of People Chief Fire Officer - Chris Kirby, said, “I sincerely hope that women across South Yorkshire will listen to our podcast, watch our video, and consider registering their interest in a career with us." He adds, “It’s hugely important that our workforce represents the communities we serve. We want to be an organization that boasts a wide range of skills and delivers a first-class service to the public, and we can’t do that without employing a brilliant, diverse range of people.” Cultural Challenges  The culture of the fire and rescue service has been in the news recently The culture of the fire and rescue service has been in the news recently, with allegations made about the conduct of a minority of staff at services across the UK. Chris Kirby continues, “Having worked in the sector myself for over 20 years, it’s extremely disappointing to hear about the poor experiences some people have had working in the fire and rescue service. While I am confident that the vast majority of staff in South Yorkshire are committed to our values and behaviors, we accept and acknowledge that we are part of a sector that has work to do." Raising Awareness “We have already taken lots of steps internally, in the wake of the recent national findings and news stories, and something that I am keen to do is stress to people across South Yorkshire that we are an inclusive and welcoming organization to join,” said Chris Kirby. The campaign has been launched to coincide with International Women’s Day. Women Fire Exhibition In 2022, South Yorkshire became the first UK fire and rescue service to produce and display a ‘Women of Fire’ exhibition, displaying a range of portrait photographs in person at the Winter Gardens in Sheffield, and online via a dedicated website. Meanwhile, the service has a rich history when it comes to supporting International Women’s Day with its ‘Firefighter Mums’ and ‘Anyone Can Be Anything’ videos inspiring hundreds of women to register an interest in firefighting careers.

BAFSA has applauded Cheshire Fire Authority’s recent investment of £36,000 in sprinklers to help protect a newly renovated block of flats in Warrington, United Kingdom (UK). To date, Cheshire Fire Authority has invested over £200,000 in retrofitting sprinklers in high-rise blocks across the county and this most recent project is the 18th building they have helped protect from fire. Sprinkler retrofit work at Kingsway House The installation of the sprinkler system in the building will protect the 53 homes The eight-story Kingsway House on Kingsway South in Latchford was officially re-opened on Friday 8 March 2024, after an extensive £6.3 million refurbishment project managed by Torus Group. The installation of the sprinkler system in the building will protect the 53 homes, and the many people that will live there, from fire. BAFSA’s Chief Executive, Ali Perry, said “It’s fantastic to see such proactive work by Cheshire Fire Authority to complement the operational service they already provide to the community. This forward-thinking approach will undoubtedly save lives.” Need for sprinkler retrofits for old premises Steve McCormick, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Head of Prevention and Protection, commented: “We’re encouraging decision makers to consider fitting sprinkler systems in all new builds, as well as retrospective fitting in older premises. We want to dispel the myth that they are hugely expensive – the cost of installation and the benefits they bring far outweigh the cost of destruction and potential loss of life and livelihoods caused by fire.” Cllr Stef Nelson, the Chair of Cheshire Fire Authority, stated, “We have all seen the total devastation a fire in a tower block can cause and we are committed to working with our social housing partners to provide the best possible protection for residents.” Retrofitting of sprinklers at the Callow Mount BAFSA lent its support to South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service’s retrofitting of sprinklers at the Callow Mount high-rise block in 2011. A report was compiled on the project outlining that fact that retro-fitting sprinklers in not cost-prohibited or disruptive to residents.

There are just over two weeks left for people to have their say on draft plans published by South Yorkshire’s fire service–including proposals for how quickly it should respond to different types of emergencies.  South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue says it will still aim to attend every single 999 call as quickly as it possibly can, but that having a set of published response times will make it more accountable to local people, help it to improve its service and bring them in line with most other services around the country. new response time arrangements The proposed new response time arrangements will take into account whether a person’s life is at risk Currently, the service simply aims to get to all emergencies as fast as it can, every time. A national inspection reported that it was undesirable for the service not to have a set of response standards.  The proposed new response time arrangements will take into account whether a person’s life is at risk, as well as the level of risk in different parts of the county based on historical incident data and other information. Risk-based approach We are placing resources in the right places at the right time to best protect the communities we serve" Deputy Chief Fire Officer Chris Kirby said: “Adopting a more risk-based approach allows us to ensure we are placing resources in the right places at the right time to best protect the communities we serve. This includes the work we do around preventing fires, protecting buildings and responding to incidents when they do occur." “We will still aim to get to each emergency as fast as we can, but having a set of response times means we can measure our performance to ensure we are delivering the best possible service to our communities with the resources we have available to us.” Integrated Risk Management Plan The response time proposals follow initial consultation with more than 3,000 local people and a thorough analysis of the different risks faced by the fire service in South Yorkshire. They form part of the service’s latest draft ‘Integrated Risk Management Plan’. This is a plan that explains the different risks in South Yorkshire and how the fire service intends to address them with the resources it has available. The draft plan was discussed by members of the service’s governing Fire Authority on Monday (14 September), who instructed the service to begin a further period of consultation with staff and the public. The consultation period closes on 4 December.