Response Arrangements

We will

Review our existing arrangements to ensure that we have the required number of resources, with the right people and equipment, at the right time, in the right location.

Why?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to managing a Fire and Rescue Service's resources, capacity and capability. In addition, Gloucestershire and its communities have different needs and risks to other areas within the country. The priority for the service will always be to safeguard our communities, by preventing harm from occurring in the first place, through our Prevention and Protection activities.

However, we recognise that emergency incidents will still occur. It is for that reason we need to review our fire cover arrangements in response to a changing workforce, risks to the public, firefighters and the environment, changing technology, demographics, the lasting effects of COVID-19 and most of all, to meet the expectations of the  communities we serve.

In an ever changing environment, we must remain flexible in the delivery of our service. Informed by evidence based risk profile, further extensive predictive analysis and insights will help to ensure that we have the right skills, equipment, capacity and capability at the right time, in the right location. By capacity we mean the ability of staff present at any one time to provide an effective and efficient Prevention, Protection and Response service and by capability we mean the skills, experience, knowledge and training of those staff present to provide community focused outcomes.

How?

• Perform scenario modelling of our existing fire cover, specialist appliances and emergency medical response arrangements
• Modernise the staffing model for on-call firefighters and attract a more diverse range of applicants by performing an extensive review of the current system
• Undertake a systematic review of our mobilisation and attendance times, exploring innovative solutions to improve on them
• Explore the use and location of technology to support the command of operational incidents
• Ensure that we continually learn from incidents
• Continue to support National Resilience assets and capabilities, such as, wide area flooding and wildfires
  Review our existing response standards