What’s next for Suffolk’s Fire Service?

Our fire service is also working hard to stop emergencies from happening in the first place through education, prevention, and protection activities.

This is not just about fires but includes road traffic collisions, animal rescues, and more, with our fire service lending their assistance wherever needed in the county.

Last year firefighters attended a total of 5,565 incidents across Suffolk, but this year’s figure may increase following a very busy summer of heightened activity.

Whilst the heatwave may seem like a distant memory now that the cold winter nights are setting in, I hope you won’t have forgotten the incredible efforts of Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service to tackle the surge in fires caused by the extreme temperatures.

In July alone, crews attended over 300 fires in the open, compared to just 73 of these incidents seen in the same period last year. Their increased response is a testament to the dedication and tireless efforts of staff across the service but also serves as a stark reminder that climate change is already impacting upon our county.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service will continue to do all it can to help address this by supporting Suffolk County Council’s ambition to be a Net Zero authority by 2030 but must start to factor climate change in when carrying out future planning.

Other emerging risks, including the potential construction of Sizewell C Power Station and Suffolk's increasingly aged population, will also be looked at as the service finalises its Community Risk Management Plan for 2023 – 2027.

Every fire service in England has a statutory duty to prepare a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), which details how the service intends to use its resources to respond to and reduce the risk identified within its area.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service’s latest CRMP includes five key proposals, with the service looking at implementing new Speed of Response Standards to reflect a recent change in national guidance. The new standards will enable greater transparency by reporting on response time to all incidents, not just those which cause the most harm: dwelling fires and road traffic collisions.

A review of the service’s Emergency Response Fleet will also be undertaken, ensuring this can meet emerging challenges such as electric vehicle fires.

How Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service works with partner agencies is another priority for the service, as we look to enhance our specialist capabilities to support the Ambulance Service and others where needed.

Developing our preventative Safe and Well visits also forms part of proposals, with plans to target our prevention activities to rural communities and members of underrepresented groups to allow them to have the same opportunities to access support and advice.

Of course, addressing these challenges will not be possible without us having the right people in the right places, so we will review the recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters and specialist support staff. We want to create flexible working conditions which reflect family commitments so that having dependants does not need to be a barrier for anyone wishing to join Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service.

Find out more about our CRMP by visiting www.suffolk.gov.uk/crmp. This webpage also includes a link to our CRMP public consultation survey to enable you to comment on our proposals.

Doing so will only take a few minutes, and I would encourage everyone to have their say on the future of our fire service. If you are not online, please call 01473 260588 to request a paper copy of the survey and supporting information.

You can also visit us at one of our upcoming CRMP events, which will be taking place at supermarkets across the county and offer the opportunity for you to speak to Suffolk Fire and Rescue staff about the CRMP.

One of our fire engines will also be at every event, so if you have a child who loves firefighters, bring them along to have a look and meet the crew

Further details about the events, including times and locations, can be found at www.suffolk.gov.uk/crmp or by visiting our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Feedback from our consultation will inform the final draft of the CRMP, which is due to be considered by Suffolk County Council's Cabinet early next year, so please make your views known before the survey closes on Monday 19 December.

This is your fire service, and we need your help to shape its future and ensure that we can continue to protect Suffolk’s communities from whatever challenges may arise.