The Aspects of the Performance of the Fire and Rescue Service and the Expectation the Community - Term Paper Example

Fire Protection Name Course Name and Code Instructor’s Name Date Fire and rescue services are very essential towards the safety of individuals in the society. This is because the fire and rescue services embrace prevention which is far advantageous than dealing with the effects of the fire outbreak (Brian, 2007). This paper is divided into about four main sections. The first section defines stakeholders and provides functions of the department. The second section describes environmental changes in the operation and the approaches to be taken. The third section shows an outline of the main objectives, their importance, how each of the objectives will be addressed and the ways in which the community will be enlightened on the importance of the objectives. The final section provides a detailed explanation of the aspects of the performance of the fire and rescue service and the expectation the community may have. There are causes of fire outbreaks. Fire may be caused by some mechanical faults of the equipments being used or by the electricity fault. Fire outbreak may also result from some procedural faulty in the industrial production. Fire outbreak may also be caused by a traffic accident in addition carelessness in operation of the equipments (McGuirk, 2002). Domestic fires differs form the commercial and traffic fire outbreak. This implies that the causes of domestic fire outbreak differ from the cause of commercial and traffic fire outbreak. Fire and rescue services are involved in provision of various services including fighting fire, ensuring safety in the process of using fire, rescue of the people from the accidents caused by the road traffic as well as emergency activities which are not due to fire like the water rescue. The last decade has seen a rise in the number of fire outbreaks which has been attributed to changes in technologies. As a consequence fire and rescue services have had to come up with models that are capable of predicting the occurrence of fire accidents and proper plans for the management of fire outbreak in an effective and efficient manner. Although various plans exist to mitigate the fire outbreak problem, some of these plans may not be applicable in the United Kingdom. Prediction of possible fire outbreak in communities is based on two models. The two models emerged as a result of increased number of fire and rescue companies and the changing technological environment. Studies have indicated that there is a need for new investment in terms of new fire stations, equipments as well as technology (Mike, 2007). There is also need for training employees on the application of the new technologies. Fire and rescue firms are also required to invest in the buildings and the machinery and employee training. Most of the fire service providers function based on some frameworks laid down by the government meaning they have to meet the laid down targets in terms of efficiency and effectiveness and the set indicators. Some of the risks such as local community risks, strategic risks like transport industrial and hospitals are on the increase and hence need for new systems. The rise in the risk of fire outbreaks has been catapulted by overcrowding, poorly constructed buildings and use of poor materials like wood. The mission and vision of a firm determines its management plan while its success is dependent on the firm’s resources and its obligations. Various fire and rescue services apply varied strategies to ensure the services they are providing are not only cost effective but also very efficient and effective. Thus the services provide meet the requirement or satisfy the needs of the customers. The success of fire and rescue service companies is dependent on the quality of services they offer to the communities. This implies that these firms are expected to be aware of the needs of the community in addition to having the best management plan to ensure the services are of high quality. Thus the management plan for the companies must be assessed to ensure that service provision is sound and to be able to establish an understanding of the future market position of a company (Brian, 2007). Risk management is very important in fire and rescue services. This implies that fire and recue company should have a well defined and planned risk management. Various legislations have been drafted and implemented to ensure the safety of the people. For instance, the fire business law protects the properties in Wales and London. It states that for the flats in block and the houses found in the multiple occupations will have the law in application. In this case the owners are responsible for the business premises and the employers or even self-employed with that particular business premise are responsible for just a part or even the entire dwelling used for that business. On the other hand, if it is for a charity or even a voluntary organization it is the responsibility of the contractor with some degree of power to control the premise for a period of time and for the provision of accommodation for the guest that are paying (Brian, 2007). The owner is expected to carry out a safety fire risk assessment of his or her premise and implement or formulate a fire management plan and ensure it is well managed and maintained. Integrated risk management plan for the fire and rescue was enacted in the United Kingdom to prevent fire outbreaks and any other emergencies associated with fire. It was also directed towards ensuring that the communities are safe and that the mortality rates due to fire accidents and property damages incidents are gradually reduced. The integrated plan ensures that United Kingdom is a safe place for the community to live in. The plan refers to the process of risk management and the way in which the local risks will be managed (Great Britain Parliament, 2005). The plan’s first priority is the safety of the people in the community through ensuring the response positions are put in the right places to ensure the response is at the right time in case of any emergency. The emergency system helps in the risk identification, evaluation of how to deal with the risks, opportunity for improvement identification, the standards and policies determination and determination of the resources to be used (Loice, 2010). The system ensures that there is a significant reduction in the number and the severity of the road accidents, fire, and other emergences that may occur in the United Kingdom. The system also helps to minimise the impact of the commercial, social and economic effects of fire outbreaks and it ensure the environment safeguarded while conserving the heritage. The integrated risk management plan for the fire and rescue is holistic in nature and it caters for well defined and in the most important way (Brian, 2007). Frameworks laid down by the government are used by fire and rescue firms to provide their services to the communities and as such the firms are expected to meet the laid down targets in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in addition to the set indicators. Risks such as local community risks and strategic risks like transport industrial and hospitals are on the rise hence need for new methods of curbing them. The increased overcrowding of settlement and the emergence of poorly constructed buildings and utilization very poor building materials like wood are some of the predisposing factors which have resulted in increased risk of fire outbreak. The system is a mixed one. This is because the system is designed to serve both in the rural and in the urban areas. This is because a company is aimed at increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the process of community risk analysis and management. It is characterised by improved training of the employees, more trainers for the communities, increased safety resources for the community like technicians for home safety, a juvenile post of fire setters and one post for the trainers or the educationists. Describe and justify the fixed fire protection techniques you would advocate using. In addition when considering the holistic approach discuss how this may affect the operational strategy of the fire fighting Risks are present in all ventures. This implies firms needs to make risk assessment and compare it with the benefits of the venture and make an informed choice to implement the venture associated with low risk and high returns. Risk management is very essential for any business. This enables participants to be fully equipped to deal with any risk that may arise during such moments of operations. Thus risk identification and their prediction is important to ensure that the management makes preparation for any risk that may arise. Fire and rescue services are associated with various risks. The first risk area is in the community. This refers to the manner in which people are living, their housing, the health of the community and the factors they are deprived of. Strategic risks refer to factors like risks which may occur as a result of industrial malfunctioning and transportation. Future risks includes some of the risk which may come into existence due to the upcoming projects like building construction, road constructions and the aging population (Eddie, 2007). Environmental risks entail events like flooding which comes with the risk of drowning and dying or even extensive damage of properties. The issue of climatic changes comes with rising sea levels and glaciations which may present some of the risks to the lives and properties of people. Land slides or even earthquakes can also be categorised as environmental risks. Operational risks may result from industrial faults such as an outbreak of fire in a company or even an accident like death of the employees on the process of working. Emergency risks are those that may occur like diseases outbreak. The identification and prediction of risks will enable a company focus on the ways in which it can offer the community protection. This also allows a company to come up with the best way of resource distribution (Mike et el, 2008). It also enable a company to involve the relevant governmental departments to take care of the risks before they occur like the road accidents, overcrowded settlement which may enhance spread of disease and infections, construction of the buildings to ensure the best building codes are followed and the meteorological department to ensure the issues of climate do not pose any danger to the community. The analysis also enables the fire and rescue firm to get the needed financial aid from the ministry of finance. Risk management involves defining and planning for the accommodation of the risks in the system. A firm has the responsibility to take into consideration the financial and other implications of risks. This need to be evaluated and measured appropriately for better informed decision to be made. The authority ought to take the initiative of maintaining enough balances of revenue for the purposes of ensuring proper long term stability and planning and smooth running of a company. A firm ought to ensure that the returns on investment outweigh the costs or the expenses. The fire and rescue service can use probability or the expected in order to accommodate the risks was the use of the probability or the expected values. This is calculated by the following formulae: Expected value =∑ (each possibility × the associated probability). The formula has a limitation in that the expected value may not be the possible outcome. The value could also be used for the one of project and finally the spread of the most possible outs may be completely lost. A firm ought to be aware of the rate at which some risks occur within the community. This allows a company to prevent and prepare for any adverse effects that might arise from the re-occurrence of such a risk (Great Britain Parliament, 2005). This also allows a firm to be aware of the risks of fire that are increasing due to the fact that many people are moving to live in very congested areas within the communities whereby in case of any fire outbreak . This is why the fire and recue service must take the risk of working with the housing providers to curb the risks. It is predicted that there will be an increase in traffic in the area in the near future. This implies that there is need for consulted effort between fire and rescue service and the local piolice to address the issue prior to its occurrence. This is because with increased traffic the likelihood of fire outbreaks increasing is imminent. Due to the predicted increase in residential fire outbreaks, the firm need to partner with developers and the planners to ensure the risks is minimised. The ongoing economic recession in the area, exposes the firm to risks of the community being unwilling to participate in putting preventative measures into place. This implies that the little resources at the firm’s disposal are stretched beyond the required margin. It is also essential for the firm to be involved legislations, policies and laws that are involved in risk management. Some of these involve the management of the site while others are involved in taking care of the life and safety of the participants. Examples of the laws include the environment protection which ensures some of the risks do not occur; there is also the issue of life safety whereby the site management should prioritize the issue of human and property safety (Arthur, 2003). Individuals also need to be self responsible to curb the frequency of such risks occurring. All the people involved in the outdoor activities must be informed that they have the responsibility of taking care of their safety to minimise impeding risks. Conclusion A management plan is essential for all firms to help in controlling the activities of such firms. This also true for fire and rescue services firms. To ensure that the management plan is still functional it ought to evaluate continuously. A good management plan need to be able to help the company meet its objectives and goals, to utilise the most current technology and innovation in relation to fire and rescue service provision (Arco, 2009). The management system must also be able to acknowledge the values and the standards that are laid down by the relevant authorities. The management system must also be articulate to allow employees to adopt it without any difficulties. Reference Arco, F. 2009. Master the firefighter exam. Pearson Education Limited, England Arthur,E. 2003. Organizing for fire and rescue services. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brian, K. 2007. Portland fire & Rescue. London: Thomson. Eddie, B. 2007. Fire Appliances of Eastern England. London: Pearson Education Limited. Loice K. 2010. Fire and rescue services of Scotland. Oxford: Oxford university press. McGuirk, S. 2002. The fire and rescue service: session 2002-06. London: Thomson. Mike, D. 2007. Fire attack: An integrated strategy. London: Pearson Education Limited. Mike G., Casey, P. &Phillips, J. 2008. Air management for fire services. London: Tavistock Great Britain Parliament, 2005. Fire and rescue service: Fourth report of session 2005-06. London: Thomson. Imed, B. 2006. Trends in enterprise knowledge management. London: Pearson Education Limited. Read More