IRMP Strategy
The shift from national standards of fire cover to integrated
risk management planning is probably the single most significant
change to affect the Fire and Rescue Service in over 60 years. Not
surprisingly, it is also a massive challenge – as well as
an opportunity – for the FBU.
In February 2004, after extensive consultation and debate, the FBU
Executive Council rose to this new challenge and agreed a National
IRMP Strategy for the Union. The strategy, which placed training
for officials at its heart, included:
• Establishing a National FBU IRMP Department;
• Appointing an FBU official to the newly created position
of FBU National IRMP Advisor;
• Setting up a National FBU IRMP Board;
• Developing and extending the union-wide IRMP training
programme for officials.
Initial training
Starting in August 2003, the Union ran twelve 3-day training seminars
across the UK. Drawing upon the experience and expertise of officials
and external tutors, over 170 FBU officials at all levels of the
FBU went through this initial training programme as a first stage
to assisting their understanding of the new IRMP process in order
that they could confidently respond to it.
The seminars focused on explaining the IRMP process; examining the
new approach in detail, but also looked at what the Unions’
strategy and tactics at brigade and station level should be to deliver
the optimum mix of prevention, detection and emergency intervention.
Developing our expertise
During 2004, the FBU built on the initial training with a series
of extended Regional Committee training seminars for regional and
brigade Officials. The seminars looked in detail at the research,
which underpins a risk-based approach to fire and rescue service
emergency response planning.
Key to the FBU strategy has been equipping officials with the knowledge
and expertise to challenge and present alternatives to brigade plans.
One of the main roles of the FBU’s National IRMP Department
has been to assist officials across the country in exposing the
flaws and weaknesses in local IRMPs, particularly their failure
to use robust and risk-based data to evidence IRMP proposals. In
far too many cases brigades have seen an opportunity to use the
“IRMP-tag” to attempt to force through a local cuts
agenda, which has little to do with effective community risk reduction.
What now?
The FBU has always argued that responding to the IRMP challenge
would require a short, medium and long-term strategy. Over the coming
months this will include:
• Continuing to challenge brigades on the content
on their plans and presenting viable, safer, alternatives that
protect communities and firefighters;
• Liaising with the Health and Safety Executive to expose
flaws in brigade approaches to the IRPM process and resultant
draft plans;
• Spreading good practice and facilitating the sharing of
information across the Union;
• Extending and further developing training of officials
on effective emergency response planning, based on the FBU’s
Critical Attendance Standard (CAST) planning scenarios;
• Developing FBU CAST planning scenarios to cover a wider
range of incidents that the Fire and Rescue Service is now expected
to deal with;
• Production of further information on effective risk-based
emergency response planning
Dedicated training facility
A new FBU National Training facility was opened in April 2005. The
new centre, based near Cardiff, houses the FBU National IRMP Department
from which further training will be provided, but will also act
as a general education and meeting facility for the Union. This
means that for the very first time, the FBU has its own training
facility,
The first training/workshop event for the FBU National Training Centre was on 19th and 20th May, when regional IRMP Coordinators and members of the FBU’s IRMP Board (which provides strategic advice to the EC on IRMP issues) met for a two day IRMP planning and strategy workshop.
Training of branch officials began at the new centre in the summer
of 2005
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