ESSEX FIRE AUTHORITY Essex County Fire & Rescue Service

Transcription

1 ESSEX FIRE AUTHORITY Essex County Fire & Rescue Service MEETING Challenge & Innovation Committee AGENDA ITEM 4 MEETING DATE 14 May 2008 REPORT NUMBER EFA/063/08 SUBJECT Working Safely Near, On or In Water Review REPORT BY The Chief Fire Officer, David Johnson PRESENTED BY Assistant Divisional Officer Terry Povey SUMMARY This briefing note provides members of the Challenge and Innovation Committee with a strategic and tactical overview of the ability of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service to work safely near, on or in water. It has been prepared in direct response to requests of Members at previous committee meetings and is submitted in support of a presentation to be given at the meeting held on 14 th May RECOMMENDATIONS Members of the Challenge and Innovation Committee are asked to: 1. Note the contents of this report. 2. Use the opportunity to challenge current and future plans of ECFRS outlined in the report and accompanying presentation as they relate to working safely near, on or in water.

2 Page 2 of 5 BACKGROUND This briefing note provides members of the Challenge and Innovation Committee with a strategic and tactical overview of the ability of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service to work safely near, on or in water. It has been prepared in direct response to requests of Members at previous committee meetings and is submitted in support of a presentation to be given at the meeting held on 14 th May The briefing note itself details: Current provision of guidance and policy (national and local) Current provision of equipment Intended direction of travel Initially this document provides information in relation to three distinct water related activity areas, namely; Marine, Water Rescue and Flooding, however it should be recognised that water rescue and flooding are inextricably linked and will therefore be dealt with in the same section. Marine The Maritime Coastguard Agency is responsible throughout the UK for implementing the Government s maritime safety policy, which includes coordinating search and rescue at sea. The Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) provides SAR helicopter, long range fixed wing aircraft and mountain rescue team assistance for a range of incidents. In January 2003 the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) launched the Sea of Change Project. This project culminated in the formation of the UK Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG) that actively contributes to maritime & civil resilience delivering a more formal approach to dealing with incidents of fire, chemical release and industrial accidents on vessels/structures 'at sea'. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has therefore entered into partnership with 15 coastal Fire & Rescue Services around the UK. Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG) o 15 FRS s provide National response for any incidents offshore. o ECFRS is not a member of MIRG. o Kent and Suffolk FRS are the nearest MIRG members to Essex. ECFRS has a MOU with Suffolk FRS for incidents afloat in ECFRS waters. ECFRS retain primacy for incidents in ECFRS which are deemed to be alongside e.g. Felixstowe and Tilbury docks etc. ECFRS Officers and crews are trained in ship firefighting techniques. ECFRS has a contract with Adsteam Towage Limited for Fire fighting tug provision. Water rescue and flooding As previously stated these activity areas are inextricably linked and will be considered together. There are a number of statutory obligations placed upon the Fire and Rescue Service which when considered against recent national reviews of these activity areas are shaping the approach being taken by ECFRS. Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (including The Emergencies Order 2007) - The FRS Act was a reformation of Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) statutory duties. Although it clarified FRS responsibilities at Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) and Search and Rescue (SAR) incidents it did not add flooding incidents as a statutory duty. There are however elements of the act that indirectly could be applied to flooding. The Emergencies order requires FRS s to deal with other emergencies. The Act, gives statutory effect to a National Framework which places a requirement on Fire and Rescue Services to carry out risk management in the form of Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP).

3 Page 3 of 5 Section 11 - Fire and Rescue Service Act 2004 replaces section 3(1)(e) of the Fire Services Act 1947, and provides Fire and Rescue Authorities with discretion to equip and respond to events beyond its core functions provided for elsewhere in the Act. A Fire and Rescue Authority will be free to act where it believes there is a risk to life or the environment. Civil Contingencies Act The Civil Contingencies Act sets out the generic framework for civil protection. It requires Local Resilience Forums to create and maintain a Community Risk Register (CRR), The CRR requires risk assessments for: Local and major coastal and tidal flooding Local and major fluvial flooding Localised, extremely hazardous flash flooding. The risk of major coastal flooding and local fluvial flooding in Essex receives the highest possible risk grading i.e. very high. The outcome description for the coastal flooding is recorded as; Sea surge, high tides and/or gale force winds affecting the coastline and one Region, a defence system overtopped or failing at a single location. Up to 1000 properties flooded for up to 14 days. Up to 10 fatalities, 150 casualties, up to 10 people missing. Up to 20, 000 people in costal villages/towns evacuated from flooded sites. Up to 2,000 people in need of rescue, 3,000 in need of assistance. The Essex Resilience Forum (ERF) is currently chaired by ECFRS Director Operations and Resilience. There are a number of management groups which support the work of the ERF that are examining the implications of Major Flooding Events, namely: Emergency Services working group (chair ECFRS) Severe Weather working group (chair - Environment Agency) It should be noted at this stage that no single Government Agency has overall responsibility for inland water incidents, albeit DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for flooding. Water related incidents do create a corporate risk and there is a duty of care owed to staff employed by ECFRS and there is an expectation by the Public of Essex that in the event of a Major Flooding Event, ECFRS is able to respond. In the last 5 years the UK Fire Service has developed considerable expertise at a tactical level in: water awareness training, Swift Water Rescue, dealing with Major Flooding Events (MFE) and High Volume Pumping. Water Rescue was originally part of the New Dimension programme that provided High Volume Pumps to Fire and Rescue Services around the country however it was removed from Section 9 (Emergencies) FRS Act Pitt Review Report - Within the last twelve months there have been some significant changes within the water / flood environment. Nationally there has been wide scale flooding across the country which has resulted in the government Pitt Review Report. The Pitt Review Interim Report Summer Floods 2007 looked at: Flood Risk Management Emergency Response and transition to recovery Critical and National Infrastructure Recovery (Recently added) 15 Urgent recommendations Surface Water Flooding Risk

4 Page 4 of 5 Specific Statutory Duty not necessarily the appropriate solution? Facing The Challenge Report (March 2008) - Facing The Challenge Report was the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser s (CFRA) review of the operational response by the Fire and Rescue Service to the widespread flooding in England during 2007, which stated: Effective response to flooding by Fire and Rescue Authorities is to ensure appropriate capability exists to provide a national interoperable response rather than a Statutory Duty. (Sir Ken Knight) Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) - The view expressed by the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) is that the UK Fire and Rescue Service are the only viable body with the skills and infrastructure to deliver a comprehensive inland water rescue service (CFOA report 2006 Management of MFE). In response to the Facing the challenge report the President of CFOA made the following statements: 1. CFOA has articulated its expectations in respect of a statutory duty for the Fire and Rescue Service in responding to flooding emergencies. 2. Disappointed that the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser s report does not provide clarity on the issue of a statutory duty. 3. CFOA also wish to address the critical issues relating to the co-ordination of rescue resources and activities, flood rescue capability, capacity and financial resources. Current provision of guidance and policy documents there is a significant amount of guidance already available on the subject of working safely near, on or in water, namely: Fire Services Manual Volume 2 Fire Service Operations - Working near, on or in water (2003) Service Information System: o Operational Note Volume Working near, on or in water o Operational Note Volume Severe Weather Contingency Planning o Operational Note Volume Service Critical Incidents o Operational Note Volume Search and Rescue on water CFOA Inland Water Strategy Group (IWSG) o Draft PPE/Safety/Training Standards for water rescue o National Team typing. Allows water rescue resources to be categorised Current situation in ECFRS The current situation relating to working safely near, on or in water across ECFRS is that water awareness training is provided to all operational personnel. Life jackets are provided to all officers and four life jackets and throw lines are provided to each pumping appliance. Hose inflators are provided to all Rescue Pumps. Specifically in relation to Water Rescue, ECFRS currently maintains a Rigid Inflatable Boat - RIB at E43 Burnham-on-Crouch fire station and five Avon 310 Rescue Boats, one on each of 4 Rescue Tenders and the fifth at Waltham Abbey fire station. A High Volume Pump (HVP) has just been allocated to ECFRS from CLG which will be located at E14 Lexden and is due to be placed on the run during May The future direction for working safely near, on or in water in ECFRS There are a number of projects and reviews currently taking place that will give ECFRS a clearer direction for the future when considering what developments are necessary to work safely near, on or in water, which include:

5 Page 5 of 5 IRMP Special Appliance Disposition Review High Volume Pump (HVP) project Working near, on or in water project The working near, on or in water project will review ECFRS existing water capability, to look holistically at all water related issues and ensure current legislation, guidance and best practice are adhered to. It will seek to introduce any required policies and equipment, ensure all personnel have appropriate training and specialist resources are adequately deployed across the county. Phase 1 of the working near, on or in water project will examine: Water Awareness - Safe person Water Rescue - Review all risk assessments, Research internal & external data (INREM), Gap analysis, Policy, procedures & equipment development. Rescue Boats Phase 2 of the working near, on or in water project will examine: Flood module - Public Life jackets, FF PPE, Evacuation boats Target completion for phase 1 of the project is 1 st November 2008 and phase 2 is 31 st March RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS There are a number of risks associated with undertaking activities that require ECFRS staff to work near, on or in water. The work currently being undertaken in this area is designed to ensure that those risks are either eliminated or mitigated to the lowest practicable level. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS There are a number of statutory duties outlined in this report that must be met when considering the approach taken to working safely near, on or in water. The work currently being undertaken in this area is designed to ensure that those obligations are consistently and robustly discharged. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS The service continually reviews its operational practices and as a result of an identified need to change incurs additional cost on occasion. The work currently being undertaken in this area will ensure any costs likely to be incurred to ensure ECFRS staff are able to work safely near, on or in water will be well researched and appropriate. LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT 1985 List of background documents As listed in report Essex Fire Authority reports - None Proper Officer: Contact Officer: ACFO Eckley Adam Eckley Essex County Fire & Rescue Service, Rayleigh Close, Hutton CM13 1AL Ext no adam.eckley@essex-fire.gov.uk