Responsibility of Firefighting Teams - Term Paper Example

 «Responsibility of Firefighting Teams» Our firefighting team has a mission to engage resources wherever necessary so as to reduce deaths and injuries from fire, promote fire prevention activity, particularly among the vulnerable sections of our society and responding in case of national emergencies, natural hazards and malicious threats like terrorist accidents. Our areas of work include: Fire Resilience Program: wherein three projects- New Dimension, Firelink and FiRecontrol together make up the national resilience. The second one is Fire and Rescue Service, which tries to create conditions in which the fire and Rescue team is able to provide an effective service to their communities. The department undertakes quite a few activities to provide support to the project. (Fire and Resilience, N.D.) Law in England & Wales: Around 46 teams of varied sizes and structure provide service as Fire and rescue groups in England. The central government provides the regulatory framework and allocates funds through Revenue support grant and other ways. Communities and local government also fund the fire and rescue teams so that they can deliver with increased capability and national resilience. The following are the projects which are being executed by the Fire fighting and rescue teams at large: Fire and Rescue Financial Framework where it is ensured there is a well managed financial network to provide the authorities with funding so that they may perform their task well. In public fire safety the government has a key role to play regarding fire safety of public including application and implementation of guidelines of fire safety order of (2005) which is applicable for all non-domestic buildings. The other function of the government includes drafting wider evidence based community fire safety norms with a clear understanding how these can reduce societal and economic costs of fire. In operational guidance it is made sure that the Fire and rescue team received timely, focused and up to date materials to enhance fire-fighting safety In UK the Fire and Rescue national framework clearly defines the roles of the government and what the fire fighting teams are supposed to do in case of an accident and accidental fire. Once the objectives are defined then it becomes easier for the government to give the necessary support, which will help to achieve those objectives. The framework is a foundation to build local solutions as per the need of the local communities, which is at the heart of the governance. Recent incidents emphasize the need of an integrated approach to tackle the situations even better. This implies the need for enhanced co-operation between local authorities and resources. (Fire and Rescue service 2008-11, n.d. p.12) Responsibility and diverse role of firefighting teams: The fire and rescue team has a responsibility to give support and restore stability in case of natural disasters like terrorist attack, radioactive emission, nuclear disaster and floods. The government supports the service team nationally to help it work effectively with other local bodies requiring local, regional, national response. To address large issue the local and the regional bodies come together. They are utilized to consider and plan for wide area risks like floods and other major outbreak of diseases. In the Fire Control project it is ensured that the fire and rescue team gets the required mobilizing and response tools they need to continue a world class enabled service. Communities and local government remain committed to work with Fire Control teams so that best services are delivered and can successfully meet up the challenges of twenty first century. The Fire and Rescue services team have to enter an agreement with the local bodies that they agree to perform the task so as to run the new control service and keep the department informed of any issues that might arise. (Fire and Rescue service 2008-11, n.d. p.12) They also have a duty to participate constructively and whole-heartedly in any other regional arrangement that might exist. They also have a duty of working closely with fire Recontrol technology providers and subcontractors and to report about the progress regularly to the communities and local governments. Firelink provides for the crucial internal communication between the communication rooms and various vehicles of Regional control centers (Fire and Rescue service 2008-11, n.d. p.23) The roles of fire and rescue teams have become even more important because of the changing temperature in global context. It has been found out that an increase in 1 degree centigrade in summers increases the number of outdoor fires by 24000 to 40000 per year in England and Wales while an increase of two degrees would increase the chances of outdoor fire by thirty four to fifty six percent. In the coming days fire and rescue teams will be even more useful as it has been found out that by 2080 the temperature will rise anywhere between one degree and five degree centigrade. Also it has come to notice that between 2001 and 2050 there will be quite a few intense summers and hence the number of secondary fires will in also increase. This will stretch the resources of the fire and rescue teams as a result their fatigue will increase and they might fall sick. The majority of the fire fighting can be seen in the rural areas. So the increase in secondary fires will see a lot of pressure on the rural firefighters. However the numbers are estimated to be much less compared to global scale as in Australia or California. In Australia the wildfires are of massive scale. This is because the communities stay very close to where the fire has been initiated. As a result the laws for wildland - interface communities are very stringent. On an average seventy five percent of the fires are caused because of human influence. So, effective fire prevention act will help to minimize fires, which are caused by human negligence. By implementing this type of laws in UK will prevent the number of grassland fires. This would help to reduce the loss of properties, lives, and the workload off the fire and rescue teams. The main problems of grassland fires in UK are environmental damage and involvement of firefighting resources, which can be used elsewhere. It is interesting to note that in case of grassland fire the loss of live is minimum although the fire is more massive whereas in secondary fires in villages the probability of loss of lives is higher. So, more resources are likely to be diverted for secondary fires in villages. This type of firefighting requires more strength and is more strenuous. Also new fire fighting campaigns are introduced to reduce the chances of grassland fires (Effects of climate change on fire and rescue services, pp-14-16) Forest fires are another type of fires which UK encounters every year. It has been estimated that UK lost about 583 ba of forest area and while the total forest area is of 2 million ba in between 1975 and 1995. Also dry summers and drought in the forest areas have increased the chances of forest fires. The reason for forest fires is generally because of human fallacies like a farmer burning straw and because of general public using machinery and exhausts. However, if a fire is started by dry weather only, there is a chance that might be severe. This is because a dry summer gives an ample supply of dry wood so it is the perfect recipe for forest fire. For this reason it is advisable that the fire and rescue team should have a plan in advance if a large forestland is in their area. This is particularly needed to find out which all sources of water can they tap if required. Should there be any problem in those sources then alternate arrangements can be made. (Effects of climate change on fire and rescue services, pp-17-18) In an estimate it has been found that the amount of winter precipitation is likely to increase about 5% to 30%. A heavy rain is likely to cause floods. In January 2005 heavy floods affected the lives of 6000 people in UK. The functions fire and rescue team is supposed to perform include saving of life and rescue people trapped under the debris, extinguishing fires and taking protective steps to prevent them, coordinating with police etc. There are three types of tasks, which they perform. Emergency calls, damage mitigation, and lastly when waters are subsiding. When water level is rising, the duty of the rescue team is to save lives of people and animals. They need to travel in inflatable boats, use hand pumps, and use radio communication. In the second stage i.e. mitigating they need to work with local authorities so as to reduce the effect of flood such as building walls of the sandbag and emergency use of hand pumps. In the third stage when water is subsiding the duty of the rescue team is to make the places risk free from electricity poles and other risks so that people can come back home safely. According to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the fire and rescue team should assess the risk of the situation and make a plan to counter the risk, so that in case of emergency the rescue team is able to carry out the work so as to minimize its effect. (Effects of climate change on fire and rescue services, pp. 20-22) Rescue teams have to encounter a different type of problem in areas hit by drought. As water is a scarcity in these areas, therefore the water companies are likely to reduce the water pressure in those areas so that no water is wasted due to leakage. So the rescue teams need to find out alternate sources of water for fire-fighting needs. The challenge is also to use less of drinking water for this purpose. This also means that they might have to relay water from a distance and this may take more time. As a result there will be considerable delay from the time the rescue team is called to the time they can actually start working which also means that the damages caused will be more. So in a draught hit area, the challenge is to use the water more effectively and this requires change in tactics and equipments (Effects of climate change on fire and rescue services, pp-24-26) In case of storms the task of the rescue teams is to try and save lives of those people who are trapped because of trees and other debris. Also because of fallen trees it will take more time for the rescue team to act. Haiti Incident and role of rescue team: In Haiti, the rescue team played a crucial role to save lives of people. They had to work in temperatures as high as 38 degree centigrade. There was destruction everywhere as the magnitude of earthquake was massive. The British rescue team managed to save four lives in the coastal town of Leogane. However, their movements were restricted only to the area considered to be safe by the UN. They had divided themselves into various teams to look for survivors. Two British search dogs helped them. Other members of the fire and rescue team had tried to build a camp near the seashore where they can collect fuel and purify water. The high temperatures compounded the problem. A total of 132 members were pulled alive from the debris. A team of doctors who provided the medical help to those who survived also accompanied them. (Jameison, 2010) A rescue team from Rapid UK used hammers, chisels, and spent six hours to rescue a 39-year-old woman who was trapped under the debris of her collapsed home. The building was of four storeys and she was crushed under it with other dead members of her family. In another case they accessed after tunneling for seven hours. The earthquake struck when he was in bed and hence he was thrown out of the bed. In fact because of the bed he managed to survive. He had only minor injuries and responded well to medical treatment (Booth, 2010) UK had also sent a special team of firefighters from West Sussex who were equipped to handle natural disasters like hurricane, earthquake, floods and collapsed buildings in hope or abroad. The same team was instrumental in the last earthquake in Indonesia. Their special techniques help them to identify trapped people and bring them to safe locations. The other teams from UK who all were active in the Haiti rescue mission include Kent, West Midlands, Manchester, Lincolnshire, and Lancashire. All these fire fighting team were working in unison in order to gather the necessary equipments so that they may fly to Haiti at the earliest. The team from Kent had previously worked in Indonesia earthquake and their experience proved to be useful in this context. (UK assistance team heading for Haiti, 2010) Fire and Rescue services Act 2004: This act was one of the major reforms done in the existing fire laws. The fire laws before 2004 were last reformed in 1947. Under this law fire and rescue team is supposed to fight fires and save peoples’ lives and properties; rescuing people from road accidents; and dealing in case of emergency terrorist attack and natural disaster like flooding and earthquake. In this way new framework will help to assign duties and responsibilities, which are prerequisite to face the challenges of twenty first century. This law allows individual fire fighters and authorities to decide in consultation with communities about where to deploy the resources so as to gain maximum benefit. This law recognizes the need to be flexible and hence provisions have been made accordingly. (Fire and rescue services Act 2004-Key Fact sheet 1: A modern legislative framework, 2004) New role of fire and rescue team: Fire and rescue services are playing a wider role than ever before. They not only save lives from fire but also engage in various life saving operations for other countries. This can be understood from the expeditions in Indonesia and Haiti. They engage in operations and educate the masses about the safety norms of fire. Now national fire and rescue research team has developed guidelines where a lot of research and analysis is encouraged like examining of properties which are at risk, giving necessary support for the development of fire science in academia. These ideas can be replicated for other countries as well. Also a cell was supposed to be developed which will study the cases where fire-fighting deaths have taken place, understand the problems, and make effective solutions for the future. (Pantry, 2004) It has been seen that the general public is more responsive to fire fighting rules and regulations after an incident, so to make most of this situation, fire fighting teams visit this place after the incident and teach the basics of fire fighting tips, dropping information booklets and providing smoke alarms wherever possible. Other routine works that they do include recharging of fire extinguishers, checking for hazardous chemicals in private or public properties. (Responding to fires and emergencies, N.D) References 1. “Fire and Resilience”, (2010) retrieved on September 17,2010 from: http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firerescueservice/ 2. “Fire and Rescue service, 2008-11”(2010) retrieved on September 17, 2010 from : http://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&shva=1&ui=1&ov=0 3. “ Effects of Climate Change on fire and rescue services” (2008) retrieved on September 17, 2010 from: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/fire/pdf/153352.pdf 4. Jameison, A. (2010), ”British Rescue team recalls Haiti Earthquake horror” , The telegraph, retrieved on September 18, 2010 from : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/haiti/7061900/British-rescue-team-recalls-Haiti-earthquake-horror.html 5. Booth, J. (2010), “Haiti Earthquake: a few more rescues, but aid still slow”, The Sunday Times, retrieved on September 18, 2010 from the URL : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6991380.ece 6. “UK assistance team heading for Haiti”, (2010) retrieved on September 18, 2010 from : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/uk-assistance-team-heading-for-haiti-1866488.html 7. “Fire and rescue services Act 2004-Key Fact sheet 1: A modern legislative framework, (2004)” retrieved on September 18, 2010 from: http://uk.ihs.com/news/newsletters/ohsis/ohsis-nov04-fire-rescue-act-2004-factsheet1.htm 8. Pantry, S, (2004) “Fire Risk Assessment and Management Information Provision” retrieved on September 17, 2010 from : http://www.sheilapantry.com/oshworld/presentations/Fire_Risk_Assessment.html 9. “Responding to fire and emergencies,” (N.D), retrieved on September 18,2010 from: http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/PolicingAndPublicSafety/FireAndRescueServices/WhatWeDo/ Read More