Fire Service
Our fire service has a key role to play in community safety. This area of their work has been neglected due to funding cuts which is a false economy.
We will
- Protect the number of whole-time fire-fighters and protect the minimum crew number to ensure that the first appliance that arrives at a fire or incident has sufficient numbers to safely enter a building to protect life
- Recognise the tension between good collaborative working with other emergency services and the need to protect the independence and humanitarian nature of the fire service
- Protect the independence of the fire service and continue to oppose any attempt to bring it under the control of a police and crime commissioner
- Target community safety fire-checks at those at greatest risk, working in closer partnership with mental health, learning disability and drug and alcohol teams. Tackle hoarding through our safeguarding partnerships
- Lobby the government to make flood response a statutory duty of the fire service and for additional resources to meet this growing threat
- Invest in road safety measures and campaigns and use the public trust in the Fire Service to help get this message to our communities and influence the behaviour change needed