The UK Fire and Rescue Service and Command System - Case Study Example

Community Safety Table of Contents Item Page # Title Page 1 Table of Contents Introduction 3 SCANNING 3 Bronze, Silver and Gold 4 Sectorisation 5 Sector Command 5 Operations Commander 5 Incident Commander 6 Functional Officer 6 Migrant Workers Housing 6 ANALYSIS 9 Domestic fires in multi-occupancy building ( Harrow Court) 9 RESPONSE 12 Communication and Public Safety 12 Mid and Long Term 13 ASSESSMENT 14 Works Cited 16 Introduction The UK Fire and Rescue Service is currently plaqued by a number of problems, which adversely affect their ability to deliver and provide the services which are necessary for public safety. The problems which the service is experiencing have their basis in administratitive, managerial and operational shortfalls. Observations about the effectiveness of the service usually indicate that the fire service is attempting to operate on a one size fits all basis, and that the delivery of services is predicated on policies and procedures which were implemented in the 1930’s. Most Councils have become cognizant of the need to update the entire fire and rescue service culture.The services operational problems with intra agency communication and facilitation at incidents, have prompted the rescue and fire services to adopt the Incident Command System. The management problem of inadequately dispatching apparatus and personnel to incidents have been addressed by the Integrated Risk Management Plan. The problem of personnel not having received proper training to affect their jobs, particularly when the incident positioned them to engage high rise firefighting has been addressed by the formulation and implementation of the Generic Risk Assessments. Additionally, code enforcement and non-adherence to code, has resulted in a high incidence of fires in dwellings occupied by migrant workers. SCANNING In formulating The Incident Command system, some of the studies which were commissioned to investigate the weaknesses in the system, pointed to the need for a standardized system. At the scene of the incident it was not always clear to everyone, who, or which agency was in charge; there were not any specific chains of command, or supervision. The lines of communication were not clear; and due to the presence of multiple agencies on the scene, there was a mounting contradiction of jargon. Additionally, the non uniformity of methodology to incorporate inter-agency stipulations into the management system was convoluted. It was a determination of the emergency managers that the previous management structure, which was different with each agency of responders, was not adaptable to addressing the mass mutual emergency responses, in that the responding agencies did not normally work together, there was more turmoil than coordination.This dysfunctional reality resulted in the hierarchical formulation of the following concept: Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of command The Bronze Commander is in control of all of the organizations resources at the incident sceneThe positioning and function of the bronze is to ensure that safety and efficiency are a number one priority. In the event of a large incident which spreads across a wide area, there will be a number of Bronze positioned to assume responsibilities. They will generally take statements, handle survival management and cordon management. The role of the silver commander is to serve as the tactical commander, whose responsibility it is to manage the strategic directions which are conveyed to it from the gold command. The silver commander will then process the commands from gold and pass them over to bronze for action and completion. The silver commander as a rule is not located at the site of the incident, as they must work from a macro perspective and be aware of all of the bronze resources available at an incident. Each organization on site will have a gold commander, who is in control of that particular organization’s resources at the site. The gold commander’s will not be on site, and if all of the gold commanders are not situated at the same strategic location, they will be in constant communication with each other, to assure that the initial strategy is on course. .. The credibility, or non-credibility of the incident rests with the single incident commander. Sectorisation Sectorisation is based on the need to delegate specific responsibilities to those who will assume authority in an effort to ensure the appropriate command and enable safety monitoring of all associated activities at an incident.. Whenever an incident is diverse, the demands will dictate the assigning of responsibility and authority to sector commanders, this becomes paramount for the sake of proper command control, monitoring of all activities and for safety. The Incident Commanders is the sole person, with the authority to create sectionalisation.. Sector Commander On site operative who has the responsibility of keeping abreast of all resources which are available within the sector and available to its sector members. Operations Commander This is the person who has the responsibility of coordinating the overall operations of several sectors. This person is directly responsible to the Incident Commander. Operations manager dictates that the sector commanders now report directly to him. Incident Commander The officer having overall responsibility for dictating tactics and resource management. Overall responsibility for an incident remains with the senior Corps officer present, but a more junior officer may also retain the role of Incident Commander. Functional Officer Whenever certain situations are designated as necessary to carry out key activities not specifically identified in the functional areas directed by the General Staff, a functional officer is appointed. Migrant Workers Housing There is a high level of transient activity within the migrant workers housing market, and the existence of this reality presents yet another set of peculiar problems when attempts are made to plan for the needed changes. Those things which we do know and are sure about is that the incidence of cramped housing with high fire risks have become a problem for local councils where there are growing numbers of immigrants. The novelty of this incidence and the dynamics of the migrant workers existence, has enabled some landlords to exploit the conditions, as they channel new arrivals into habitats which are below code. Additionally, the ethics of the landlords leave a lot to be desired, as they seek to maximize their profits by encouraging overcrowding. To further exacerbate the overcrowding, employers have adapted the practice of subletting non-multiple zoned units to more than one family. This practice has a number of negative manifestations, and the most prevalent aspect is the high probability of fires is the most pervasive,(Sherman 2007) It is clear that the aforementioned practices are not sanctioned by law, specifically the non adherence to the Health and Safety Rating System, under the Housing Act of 2004, part 1,and are most appropriately addressed in magistrates court. There are any number of reasons why a migrant worker can be caught up in a vicious cycle of over crowding and inadequate housing; The migrant might not have a choice concerning proximity to work – due to the newly arrival status, they may not have driving privileges, or even a vehicle, and public transportation may not be immediately accessible among most of the choices presented. This provides an exploitative position for either the landlord or the employer, who recognizes that choice is not a premium. Also the job situation may not be a stable one which would enable a migrant to feel comfortable in committing more than one-third of his income toward housing; also the migrant may not have their sights on a long term stay in the UK, so they rationalize that the accommodation is adequate for the time being. One of the contributors to overcrowding is the migrant may feel compelled to either live with or in close proximity to individuals who hail from the same place. The vicious cycle which they are caught up into becomes more of a problem, due to their vulnerable status, such as viewing the situation as temporary, they are prone not to complain, for fear of rocking the boat and becoming susceptible to reprisals. It is obvious that numerous landlords and some employers have jumped on the migrant housing bandwagon, merely to garner a high return on their below code investments, and many of these properties do not have a semblance of fire precautions.Additionally, many are not equipped with the proper accommodations for doing the laundry and permitting them to dry. Many of these persons are taken to drying their clothes in front of open fires, and in many cases leaving these items in front of the fires unattended.This practice has resulted in many fires. In these recorded situations, most of the houses were listed as not fit for human habitation.(Pemberton and Stevens 2007).As a matter of fact, some of the units which have experienced incidents of fires consisted of atticks which have been illegally converted, and the only provision afforded the migrant worker by the landlord, was that of bedspace. Under these circumstances, these migrant workers are highly susceptible to safety and health risks as well.(Audit Commission) Taylor andRogaly (2004) discuss the high number of HMOs in Kings Lynn, citing anecdotal evidence of a police raid that discovered thirty people sharing a single property on the Fairsford Estate. They also describe an incident where overloading of electricity circuits at another HMO had caused a serious fire (2004) Migrant workers are placed in untenable positions as residents of HMO’s, because some of the conditions compel them to ignore both common sense and electrical laws which govern electrical wiring. These people are merely attempting to manifest a semblance of privacy, and commonly accepted conveniences for themselves and their families, as they have been placed in quarters which do not lend themselves to simple ordinary accommodations. Thrust into these low cost circumstances, these people often twist two wires together. It is because of their non-sophistication concerning electrical skills,they possess no knowledge of soldering, and they do not use a wire nut.(Smith 1990).Additionally, the practice of twisting two wires together, and using electrical tape for insulation, is a direct cause of some fires. Metal loss, which in most instances occurs several inches away from the connector, is ignited when two copper wires are joined by a twist on connector minus adequate tightening.(Beland 1987). It can be reasonably argued that if the presence of the migrant workers did not exist, then the problem of overcrowding in HMO’s would not exist. However, this would be assuming that all of the other variables, such as sub-standard housing, inadequate wiring, and exploitative landlords also did not exist. In that all of the above entities do exist, and because they do, we are faced with an incidence of fires. The root cause of the problem would therefore seem to be the absence of adequate housing legislation and the non-compliance and monitoring of housing laws or codes which are in force.An addendum to the actual cause, is the absence of information, or the ability of the authorities to reach the parties affected. ANALYSIS Domestic fires in multi-occupancy building ( Harrow Court) Firefighters in the UK have most of their experience in fighting fires which are situated at ground level. Characteristically, fires which are being fought at ground level by firefighters present a number of inherent risks. As a result, whenever firefighters are dispatched to an incident where there are multi-story dwellings, both the physical and psychological stress is multiplied. The difficulties which they will be confronted with are heightened, and this is correlated with the risk. In a situation involving a fire, the fire fighter must be aware that there are many hidden possibilities, which accompany the known probabilities. One of the most critical events which will probably occur, is the time lapse which often accompanies the stipulation of the strategy from command, and the quickly changing events which are taking place at the spot of the implementation of the strategy forwarded. This valuable lapse in time, can and usually demand that the plan be altered to accommodate the immediate need being experienced by the firefighters on the fire floors. It is important to stress that ICS was borne out of the necessity to exact effective and efficient communications and management during an emergency, It can be reasoned that one of the keys to firefighters being efficient and effective in high rise fires, would be the presence of a pre-plan. This plan is based on the experiences of firefighters who have been previously engaged in similar types if incidents. It is an absolute, that the concepts of the pre-plan be abundantly clear to all individuals who are participating in the resolution of the incident. The unfortunate part of this scenario is that absolute understanding may only be achieved through extensive training. Among firefighters, there is a commonly accepted idiom, which dictates that the communication process, even will under the best of circumstances, given the fast moving nature of a fire, the communications will become faulty. As a result, the existence of a pre-plan is imperative.During the breakdown in the articulation of command strategy, the pre-plan will enable the firefighters to constructively involve themselves in search and rescue operations. In the specific instance at Harrow Court, the Standard Operating Procedure which management had in place, did not function as per the macro model.Actually, the FBU made a firm point on the inadequacy of the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Standard Operating Procedure at the time of the Harrow Court incident, saying the procedure itself was faulty; it had not been approved, and should not have been used during the incident. The loss of lives at the Harrow Court incident was further amplified by the overall assessment made by Paul Young when he moves to yet another critical issue in his assertion that, throughout the UK, one must give due credence to the critical variable of how the firefighter performs in the workplace. His assertion is that even if the ICS is functional, and even if the IRMP is validated and operative, the competency of those who are charged with carrying out the tasks must be assured, if safety is to prevail. Whilst it is required for fire and rescue personnel to receive training,. this training in most instances, has not been validated.(Young).Inadequate and insufficient training of personnel is a dereliction of managers responsibilities and can be seen as a violation of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Fire Services Act 2004 One major criticism of the model (even when it is managed properly, and implemented to its optimum), it works well until it is called upon to predict the critical matters of risk reduction, when certain risk reduction measures are added. On a daily basis in the UK, fires take the lives of at least two people and cause injuries to at least 50. The majority of fires occur in private homes, and those most often affected are the old, disabled, young children, and those individuals who are either inebriated or on drugs. Advocacy and fire education places particular emphasis on prevention and mitigation. Critical to the process of making viable decisions on the types of strategies which are to be employed, and to assure proper and adequate resource allocation in addressing the needs of migrant workers housing needs, it is important to have access to an abundance of reliable data.(Byrne and Tankar 2007). It is an Unfortunate set of circumstances which currently presents itself in this area,because the need is clear, but the information which defines the scope and breadth of the need is not yet collected and analyzed. The presence of a comprehensive body of knowledge which lays out the specific needs of migrant workers is non existent. This absence presents a crucial void in the overall understanding available knowledge. The non availability of information on the housing dynamics of migrant workers, represents a void in the understanding of this segment of the housing market.( Cole 2007). The existing voids present significant problems in both planning to improve the situation, and in the predicting the actual scope of the need.(Phillips 2006). RESPONSE Communication and Public Safety .The Fire and rescue service of the UK takes an uncommon approach, when it comes to their communication outreach to the community-at-large.Whilst the standard operating procedure involves media pronouncements, it is one which concerns itself with maximum saturation for the pound. The Fire and Rescue service has sought to use prime time television coverage, radio spots, and with additional print media and internet placement, they seek maximum market saturation. These are not public service announcements, and as a consequence, the fire service can dictate placement and or time slots which assures them of reaching the audiences which they have specifically targeted.The British Fire and rescue service announcements are geared to catch their targeted audiences when they are attentive. This practice assures the type of saturation which can accommodate the information needs of the diverse groups of individuals which comprise the total population which may be vulnerable. It is common place for fire brigade personnel to call into live talk shows and offer impromptu interviews concerning fire safety. The Fire and rescue service also believes that strong ties must be present between them and the local governments. This process has been in place for quite sometime, and has proven to be very effective in disseminating information on services to members of the public. Estimates in the UK suggest that more than one-third of the residents who are victims of fires, are associated or connected with at least one social services delivery agency, and they have a well established relationship with one of these agencies prior to the indicent. This reality strongly suggest that the social service links serve as a valuable source for reaching those in the population who would under normal circumstances be difficult to reach. Mid and Long Term Under the Housing Act 2004, landlords of HMOs comprising three or more storys and occupied by five or more people must obtain an HMO License from the Council. Landlords who continue to operate such properties without a license, or who exceed the occupancy limit set down in the license, can be prosecuted by the council and fined up to £20,000. These new powers came into force on 6 April 2006, and several councils – the London Borough of Ealing, London Borough of Islington and Arun District Council - have already successfully prosecuted landlords for operating unlicensed HMOs.Additionally, there must be work done with employers to both educate and sensitize them to the plight of the migrant worker who is compelled to exist under the overcrowding conditions of HMO’s. Also, it must be iterated on how the unhealthy and unsafe housing conditions can impact the community-at-large. Additionally, the process must include in-service training for firefighters, so they can become acquainted and proficient in addressing the rigors and risk of fighting high rise fires. The in-service training must also address the critical need of satisfying the fire and rescue service need for upscale communications. This can be reasonably assured with the implementation of on-going testing of personnel. ASSESSMENT Even though the Fire and rescue services have made substantial attempts to provide education and information to the community-at-large through the media, the incidence of fires is still rising year to year; in 2004/05 the fire and rescue service responded to more than 341.4 (expressed in thousands), fires, then in 2005/06 the dispatch was to 335.4 fires and then in 2006/07, it was 339.8 fires. Fire and rescue Services facilitate their enforcement responsibilities through risk based programmes which are locally determined. These locally determined programs form a portion of the individual Fire and rescue Services Intergrated Risk Management Plans. The fire service audits are designed to mitigate unsafe and unhealthy conditions by citing owners to bring their properties up to code. Ostensibly, monitoring and insistence by the fire and rescue service upon compliance to code will eventually mitigate the incidence of fires.However, as noted above, there has only been a slight downturn in the incidence over a three year period. Additionally, the magnitude of those properties which are succeptible to strict code monitoring and enforcement can be categorized as staggering, with HMO’s totaling more than 231.000 properties; the fire and rescue service as of 2008, has only been able to audit 1,151 of the total number of HMO tenements, and only 49% of those audited in 2007/2008 have been satisfactorily completed. 755 of the HMO tenements have been issued informal notifications by the fire and rescue services; out of this total 147 HMO’s have been issued enforcement notices (Article 30), while 63 have been issued prohibition notices (article 31), 10 properties have received prosecution notices (Article 32), while only 1 property has received an alteration notice (article 29), and 119 properties have been classified as satisfactory, subsequent to forced actions. Out of the total of 755 informal notices issued by the fire and rescue service for action, the FRU’s, have only been successful in processing 340. Clearly, the fire and rescue service has merely been able to scratch the surface on code enforcement in HMO’s, which in the immediate serves as its front line of defence, against fires. Works Cited Sherman, J.(2007) Cramped housing, higher fire risks and community tensions, The Times, 1st November 2007 Housing Act of 2004 Pemberton, D. and Stevens, C. (2007) Economic Migration to Housing Market Renewal Areas in North West England –Opportunity or Threat? (MSIO Policy Report(4). Liverpool: Merseyside Social Inclusion Observatory Audit Commission (2007) “Crossing borders: responding to the local challenges of migrant workers.” London: Audit Commission Taylor B., Rogaly, B.,m (2004) Migrant working in west Norfold (Report for Norfolk County Council) Brighton Sussex University (Sussex center for migration research) Smith, L.E., and McCoskie,D.(1990), What Causes Wiring Fires in Residences, Fire J. 84, 19-24, 69 January/ February 1990 Beland, B.,(1987) Behaviour of Electrical Contacts Under fore conditions, Fire and Arson Investigator 38, 42 Young, P., Integrated Risk Management and fire safety in the UK, Fire and rescue Service Health and safety at work Act 1974 Fire Services Act 2004 Byrne, D. and Tankard, J. (2007) New European Migration: good practice guide for local authorities. London: IDeA Cole, I. (2007) Understanding and responding to housing market change. York:JRF Phillips, D. (2006) ‘Integration of new migrants: housing’ in (ed.) Spencer, S.Refugees and new migrants: a review of the evidence on successful approaches to integration. Oxford: COMPAS Read More