Memorandum by the Business and Community
Safety Forum (BCSF) (FRS 10)
THE BUSINESS
AND COMMUNITY
SAFETY FORUM
1. The Government in its White Paper "Our
Fire and Rescue Service" wished to see greater engagement
of stakeholders in the Fire and Rescue Service, and for the Fire
and Rescue Service to work much more closely alongside the wider
community. Consequently, the Business and Community Safety Forum
(BCSF) was set up in late 2003, with Pamela Castle as its chair,
and with stakeholders drawn from a wide of areas including business,
insurance, industry, the TUC and community groups:
Association of British Engineers
Association of British Insurers
Confederation of Business Industry
Chartered Institute of Housing
Child Accident Prevention Trust
Disability Rights Commission
Environment Agency
Federation of Small Businesses
Fire Industry Confederation
Fire Protection Association
Help the Aged
Institution of Occupational Health and Safety
Local Government Association
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
Trades Union Congress
2. The main task of the BCSF is to give
strategic advice to Ministers on a range of fire and rescue related
issues, and in particular the reduction of fire risk, from the
point of view of the communities which the Fire and Rescue Service
serves. The BCSF can report directly to the Minister if it considers
that it is the most effective and appropriate way of giving strategic
advice.
GENERAL
3. The BCSF supports the Fire and Rescue
Service Improvement Programme, including the introduction of Regional
Control Centres. However, for the purposes of this inquiry, the
BCSF's evidence to the Select Committee focuses specifically on
fire prevention.
4. The BCSF supports recent initiatives
to prevent fires by fire suppression systems, early warnings and
education.
HOME RISK
FIRE CHECKS
5. The BCSF welcomes the Home Risk Fire
Check initiative to advise householders on fire safety and to
fit smoke alarms in homes of those most vulnerable to fire. The
BCSF suggests that only low maintenance or sealed smoke alarms
are used for this purpose. The BCSF would also encourage the fitting
of mains powered sealed unit or low maintenance smoke alarms in
all Houses of Multiple Occupation—not just licensed ones
or those with three or more stories and five or more occupants.
CHILDREN AND
YOUNG PERSONS
STRATEGY
6. The BCSF supports the proposed Children
and Young Persons Strategy—particularly the role of education
in fire prevention. The BCSF trusts that this strategy will be
properly funded, and that time be found for fire safety education
in an already crowded curriculum as part of PSHE Education (Personal,
Sexual and Health Education) to raise its profile.
MAKING LINKS
WITH HOUSING
SUPPORT AND
SOCIAL CARE
7. The BCSF also supports ODPM proposals
for developing links with vulnerable groups through making links
with housing support and social care, GPs, Local Authority bodies
etc, improving information, and raising awareness. The BCSF is
concerned that some hard-to-reach groups, such as elderly homeowners,
and others who are not in contact with housing and social services
may be missed.
LEAD AUTHORITY
PARTNERSHIP SCHEME
8. The BCSF also supports the Lead Authority
Partnership Scheme (LAPS) to raise the standard of health and
safety management, including fire prevention and safety, within
a partner organisation or business, and to encourage consistent
enforcement across those LAs that engage with it. The BCSF notes
that involvement in LAPSs may stretch the resources of many small
and medium businesses, and wonders whether Lead Authority Partnership
Schemes with:
(a) national and regional associations/federations
of allied and specialist trades; and
(b) local consortia of small businesses
should be considered and/or encouraged as an alternative.
REGULATORY REFORM
(FIRE SAFETY)
ORDER
9. The BCSF supports the introduction of
the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRO), which comes into
force on 1 April 2006. The BCSF also welcomes:
(a) the timely launch of the eFire Portal
on 19 April 2006, which will give ready access to fire safety
information and gateway to other links for building managers and
owners of small and medium enterprises, who will have fire prevention
and fire safety obligations under the new RRO; and
(b) existing local initiatives to raise awareness
of the impending RRO by visiting commercial premises. The BCSF
would encourage these and other RRO related proactive initiatives.
10. The BCSF believes that extensive publicity
is required for duties, impact and implication of the RRO to be
understood and welcomes the work, which the ODPM plans to carry
out to this end. The BCSF is also pleased that the ODPM plans
to spend £2 million on publicity, as it believes that the
RRO will succeed only if the publicity campaign is successful.
INTEGRATED RISK
MANAGEMENT PLANS
11. The BCSF is concerned about the lack
of knowledge about the Fire and Rescue Service Integrated Risk
Management Plans (IRMPs) across the wider community, and welcomes
the reconvening of the ODPM IRMP Strategy Steering Group, where
such issues can be considered and solutions proposed.
CHARGING
12. The BCSF is also concerned that allowing
Fire and Rescue Services to charge for non-core services may be
perceived as charging for activities relating to fire prevention.
The BCSF considers that further guidance should be given to Fire
and Rescue Authorities to ensure consistency between brigades,
and to prevent fire prevention and fire safety from being compromised.
GENERAL
13. In addition to all the foregoing comments
about the Fire and Rescue Service, the BCSF has expressed the
views below about fire prevention in responses to earlier consultations.
BUILDING BULLETIN
100
14. The BCSF supports, as outlined in its
response to Department for Education and Skills's proposals on
fire safety in schools in its Building Bulletin 100, the following:
(a) The installation of sprinkler protection
and other fire suppression systems in schools. However, the BCSF
wishes to see the installation of sprinklers or equivalent fire
suppression systems in all schools, as standard, not on a risk
assessment basis; and
(b) Fire prevention, as part of fire and
life safety, should be considered during the school design process.
Thoughtful pro-active infrastructure design could involve input
from:
(i) local Fire and Rescue Services and
their Integrated Risk Management Plans;
(ii) future occupiers and managers of
schools, future insurers; and
(iii) other sources of local knowledge.
(c) The use of retardation materials, which
are sufficiently robust to withstand considerable abuse, and which
are regularly maintained and promptly repaired.
15. In line with this, BCSF would like to
see ODPM further examining the fire security of school buildings.
APPROVED DOCUMENT
B
16. The BCSF generally supports the proposals
in the latest draft of Approved Document B (Fire Safety) to the
Building Regulations, and particularly welcomes:
(a) The Inclusive Design approach in buildings;
and
(b) Sprinkler protection in apartment buildings
above 30 metres tall and in residential care homes.
MODERN METHODS
OF CONSTRUCTION
17. The BCSF welcomes the Ministerial assurances
that ODPM will be undertaking a detailed assessment of any such
potential fire risk associated with Modern Methods of Construction,
including in the context of Part B of the Building Regulations.
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