Fire chief calls on communities to have their say on national service

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s fire chief for the East of Scotland has called on communities to have their say on how the national service is striving to help keep them even safer.

The Service recently unveiled the SFRS Draft Strategic Plan
2019-2022 – which will set out its proposed direction over the next three years
– and an associated consultation.

Deputy Assistant Chief Officer James McNeil and SFRS Board
Chair Kirsty Darwent are appealing directly to communities across the East of
Scotland to make their voices heard.

The comprehensive Plan includes enhancing partnership
working, looking at the current operational footprint and equipping
firefighters to respond to new and emerging risks such as severe weather.

Further proposals look to supporting leadership and
diversity within the SFRS workforce – and delivering a first class and
sustainable, national Service.

James McNeil is the Deputy Assistant Chief Officer for the
East of Scotland.

He said: “These ambitious proposals are the result of a huge
amount of thought and effort, invested with the sole intention of keeping our
communities safer than ever before.

“We can see that the challenges and risks we face – such as
population change and climate change – are evolving.

“These plans set out how we plan to meet them over the next
three years – and we want communities to be at the heart of this decision
making process.

“For example, we already have an outstanding track record in
areas of prevention where we have seen the number of house fires in the East
and across the country greatly reduce over the decades, and so we are actively
looking at what else we can do to assist people – and partnership working is
also key to that ambition.”

He added: “This is an open invite to all of our communities
– from Galashiels to Edinburgh and Stirling – to help us shape our proposals
into a comprehensive but flexible plan that meets the very precise needs of our
modern communities.”

The objectives included in the Draft Strategic Plan
2019-2022 are drawn from data and intelligence on the changing nature of risk
within communities.

Any feedback provided through this latest consultation will
be reviewed to inform the Final Strategic Plan, which will be published in
October after it has been approved by the Minister and laid before Parliament.

The SFRS will then develop a flexible three year programme
that will include an Annual Operating Plan. This will be published each year
and monitored on a quarterly basis by the Board and the Service’s Strategic
Leadership Team.

SFRS Chair Dr Darwent said: “This is a very exciting time
for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as we embark upon an incredible
journey to release our full potential to do so much more for our communities.

“It is imperative that we meet the changing risk profile in
Scotland and ensure that our firefighters are trained and equipped to work
safely and effectively.

“We also want to drive even greater partnership working
where appropriate – all pulling together in the same direction to keep
communities safer than ever.

“We pride ourselves on being an open and transparent
organisation, and we are therefore delighted to share this Plan with the people
of Scotland. That feedback is hugely important to us.”

She added: “I would encourage everyone to take some time to
ensure their voice heard – and help us shape our vision for the future.”

Community Safety Minister Ash Denham said: “Continual
improvement is at the heart of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS)
three year strategic plan which sets out an ambitious vision to further enhance
the service available to communities.

“SFRS are committed to engaging with communities and
stakeholders and the public’s voice is absolutely crucial in this process. I
would encourage everyone with an interest to engage with the consultation and
have their say.”

The consultation opened on Thursday, May 9 to Thursday, July
18 and can be accessed here:
https://firescotland.citizenspace.com/planning-and-performance/draft-strategic-plan-2019-22/