Annual Report 2010-11 - Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority
Annual Report
2010/11
Welcome / CFO Introduction
WELCOME to the Greater Manchester Fire and
Rescue Authority’s Annual Report for 2010/11, which
aims to provide you with a snap shot of our key
activities between April 2010 and March 2011.
The report also provides some basic details about
what Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
does, as well as providing useful and important
information, for example a break down of our
ongoing running costs and major capital investments.
It highlights some successes and key decisions
taken, such as the Fire Authority’s investment in
updating our buildings, clearly seen in the decision to
provide two new community fire stations, Bury and
Rochdale.
Actual activity and performance within the 10
boroughs of Greater Manchester is also highlighted in
this report, combined with the corporate projects and
departmental work tracking our progress towards
Steve McGuirk
County Fire Officer
and Chief Executive
2
integrating prevention,
protection and
response
activities; as well
as including a few
examples of the
great work we do in
educating people
living in our local
communities.
Finally, and by no
means least, I would
like to mention that
our Corporate Plan for
2011 / 2014, which
underpins everything
we do, is now available on our website.
I’d encourage everyone to have a look.
Paul Shannon
Authority Chairman
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Contents
2
Welcome/CFO Introduction
3
Contents
4
Who we are
5
Achievements
15
Operations
18
Performance and targets
Response
18
Prevention
21
People
22
23
Independent assessment of our Service
24
Financial information
26
Other areas of interest
34
Priorities for 2011-14
35
How to contact us
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Who we are
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority
The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is
an elected body, accountable to the public and
appointed annually by the 10 Metropolitan Borough
Councils of Greater Manchester.
The statutory duty of the Authority is to provide an
effective fire and rescue service. This fire and rescue
service must be able to fufil a number of roles;
promote fire safety, protect people and property from
fire, and respond to a wide range of incidents and
emergencies including road traffic collisions and civil
emergencies.
Fire Authority meetings are open to the public and
held at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Headquarters in Swinton. If you would like to know
more about the Authority committees and view
agendas, minutes and future meeting dates see the
Authority’s website at
authority.manchesterfire.gov.uk
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service covers
an area of approximately 500 square miles and
serves around 2.6 million residents, as well as those
who work in, or visit the city region. We currently
employ 1,872 uniformed staff and 511 nonuniformed staff across 44 locations and, each year,
we answer around 66,000 emergency calls and
attend around 40,000
emergencies including 800
serious road traffic
Wigan Borough
collisions.
emergencies is the reactive side of our role, and
whilst we must be able to provide this response
extremely well, we increasingly concentrate on doing
everything we can to target our resources effectively
and prevent the need for a response in the first
instance.
E38 RAMSBOTTOM
E30 ROCHDALE
4
Bury Borough
Rochdale Borough
Oldham Borough
W51 BOLTON NORTH
W52 HORWICH
Bolton Borough
Whilst our ability to respond
to fire and emergency
incidents across our region
is a statutory requirement,
and to many, the core
purpose of a fire and
rescue service, our role is
much broader than simply
putting out fires.
Responding to
Manchester Borough
Trafford Borough
Salford Borough
E36 BURY
E32 HEYWOOD
W50 BOLTON CENTRAL
W53 FARNWORTH
W54 WIGAN
W55 HINDLEY
W56 ATHERTON
W57 LEIGH
Tameside Borough
Stockport Borough
E31 LITTLEBOROUGH
W62 IRLAM
E35 CHADDERTON
E37 WHITEFIELD
E33 OLDHAM
S17 BLACKLEY
FSHQ HEADQUARTERS
W59 BROUGHTON
W60 AGECROFT
S16 MCR CENTRAL
W61 ECCLES
S18 PHILIPS PARK
W58 SALFORD
S19 GORTON
S13 MOSS SIDE
S10 STRETFORD
E34 HOLLINS
E41 MOSSLEY
E39 ASHTON
E40 STALYBRIDGE
E42 HYDE
S14 WITHINGTON
S11 SALE
S20 WHITEHILL
S21 STOCKPORT
S12 ALTRINCHAM
S15 WYTHENSHAWE
S22 CHEADLE
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S24 MARPLE
S23 OFFERTON
Achievements
Community
FIRE SERVICE OPEN UP THEIR DOORS TO THE
COMMUNITY
WORKING with community groups across Greater
Manchester we have opened the doors and
welcomed local people into our fire stations to utilise
our community rooms and our facilities in a bid to
improve the lives of local people through holding
activities and meetings.
ROC ON THE ROCK
THE OFFICIAL launch of Bury’s Redeeming our
Communities (ROC) Café took place in December
2010 with the aim of offering a local ‘hang-out’ for
young people.
Since opening our stations they have been extremely
popular and used by a wide range of groups from
NHS Stop Smoking Services, Red Cross, Pathways
partnership for young people at Manchester Central’s
community room, to Tameside, where they have
been used by the Crime and Disorder Reduction
Partnership, the Deaf Association, Marie Curie
Cancer Care and the Primary Care Trust.
This Café was the first to be opened within the
confines of a working fire station and provides a
unique opportunity for staff to engage with the
younger people of the community, helping to
influence and change behaviours, while providing
valuable life skills through mentoring and coaching,
and assisting to improve the quality of life for people
within Bury. The fantastic facilities in the café include
a pool table, table football, video games and a
refreshment area, all chosen by the young people.
Well known groups such as Beavers and Brownies
have also made good use of them, particularly in
Salford, while Stretford’s community room is being
used by the Stroke Association.
The community rooms are available across Greater
Manchester and open to members of a community
group – to book a room please visit:
http://www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/my_area/
community_rooms.aspx
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Community (continued)
MANCHESTER MEGA MELA
THOUSANDS of people flooded into Fallowfield’s
Platt Fields Park in July 2010 to join in with one of the
cultural highlight of last year’s calendar – the
Manchester Mega Mela.
All Stars in aid of the Fire Fighters Charity and Key
103’s Cash for Kids.
People from all across the country travelled to the
event where they were able to speak to staff and
volunteers about fire safety, as well as a number of
other key organisations such as the Police,
Ambulance, British Red Cross, British Heart
Foundation and Kidney Research UK.
Colourful stalls and workshops carpeted the large
field offering a range of other activities, as well as
foods, clothes, and arts and crafts to buy.
A wide mix of fire service staff attended the event and
members of the Community Action Team managed
to generate a fantastic 170 Home Fire Risk
Assessment (HFRA) referrals.
At the blow of the final whistle the score was 3-1 to
the All Stars, with their goals being scored by Rhodri
Giggs and Jamie Lomas. Even though this was not
the result the firefighters had hoped for, their spirits
remained high as it brought the community of Salford
together on what was a great community event.
MANCHESTER’S PRIDE AND PARADE
STAFF from across the Service and from top to
bottom, along with new friends and family, took to
the streets in June and August to take part in the
Manchester Day Parade and Manchester Pride,
respectively.
Manchester Pride is one of the biggest annual
celebrations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
SALFORD REDS TACKLE SUMMER SAFETY
AS part of the ongoing work to build community
relationships within Salford borough, a family fun day
was organised at the The Willows - home of The
Salford Reds Rugby Club.
People turned up in their thousands to watch a team
of firefighters from Salford borough playing a game of
football against a group of celebrities, known as the
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Community (continued)
transgender life in the UK and is a major event with
lots of highlights, while Manchester Day Parade is
Manchester City’s newest attraction and celebrates
the creativity and diversity in the city, offering a great
opportunity for communities to celebrate individual
and collective pride in their city.
Parading the streets of Manchester with old and new
fire engines, staff dressed in fire safety costumes
walked alongside their team members who took the
opportunity to hand out fire safety information to the
people watching the parades.
ESTATES TEAM HELP PROMOTE SAFETY IN
THE HOME
WORKING in partnership with RoSPA (The Royal
Society for the Prevention of Accidents) members of
our Estates and Building’s team have been working
to keep homes of Manchester and Tameside
boroughs safe.
CRUCIAL EDUCATION IN CHILD SAFETY
THROUGHOUT June over 1,600 pupils from primary
schools across North Manchester took part in a
series of hard-hitting workshops tackling issues such
as personal safety, crime and anti-social behaviour.
Coordinated by Estates Supervisor Barry Davies a
team of four joiners; David Drennan, Nick Allwood,
Nick Adamson and Steve Jones went out to the
boroughs to fit safety equipment such as safety
gates, fire guards and cupboard door locks, as part
of the RoSPA initiative Safe At Home National Home
Safety Equipment Scheme aimed at preventing
accidents involving children in the home.
Organised by local charity, The Children’s Safety
Education Foundation (CSEF), the workshops were
held at the Territorial Army Barracks in Gorton and
aimed to teach Year 6 pupils from 50 schools about
important issues such as basic first aid, road and fire
safety, anti-social behaviour and substance abuse.
During the ‘hands on’ events, children were
encouraged to think about their life choices and to
take responsibility for their actions.
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People
VOLUNTEERS SCOOP AWARD
OUR Community Action Team (CAT) scooped the
North West Employers (NWEO) Award ‘Recognising
Diversity 2010’.
The award ceremony which took place in June,
2010, at the Lowry Hotel, Salford, saw Jo Cranham,
Community Action Team Manager and members of
our Community Action Team (CAT) collect the North
West Employers' Equality and Diversity Award.
Echo the fire service dog, enjoyed a VIP visit to
Downing Street, then on to the awards evening
where they danced the night away with some of the
nation's most famous people such as Cheryl Cole,
Dannii Minogue and the girl band The Saturdays.
DEDICATION PAYS OFF
Overall there were 41 submissions and after a
judging process, this figure was narrowed down to
just 12 projects, each one successfully receiving an
award.
AN INSPIRATIONAL young man from Manchester
was formally recognised by Chief Fire Officer Steve
McGuirk for his extraordinary achievements since
taking part in a Prince's Trust programme with the
fire service.
PRIDE OF BRITAIN
COLLEAGUES from our Urban Search and Rescue
(USAR) team rubbed shoulders with over 100 ‘A list’
celebrities when they scooped a top award at the
Pride of Britain awards in London.
Hosted by Carol Vorderman, our USAR team were
awarded the Special Recognition award for their
dedication, bravery and commitment during their
time in Haiti after an earthquake devastated the
island in January 2010.
Team members Pete Stevenson, Dean Nankivell,
Simon Cording, Andy Roughley, Martin Fisher, Martin
Foran, Vic Kopicki, John Hughes, Mick Dewar and
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Eddie Afekafe joined the programme at Moss Side in
2005 and over the last few years has been extremely
busy working as a volunteer with disadvantaged
children, achieving his dream job as Social Inclusion
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People (continued)
Manager with Manchester City Football Club, starring
as an England 2018 bid Ambassador, as well as
scooping the Prince's Trust Carrillion Young
Ambassador of the Year Award.
In the presence of friends and family Eddie was
presented with a certificate and plaque by CFO Steve
McGuirk who congratulated Eddie for his fantastic
achievements and recognised him for his fantastic
contribution over the years.
Steve, who is the Project Manager, worked with a
team from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue
Service overseeing the donation and transportation
of fire appliances and equipment to Macedonia, as
well as training local firefighters to help them provide
fire and rescue provision.
MBE AWARD
WATCH Manager Steve Jordan from Cheadle Fire
Station was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New
Year Honours list 2011 for his services to Operation
Florian in Macedonia – a charity that helps and
supports developing countries to construct /
reconstruct a fire and rescue service.
Investment
NEW COMMUNITY FIRE STATIONS MAKE
GREAT PROGRESS
IT’S been a busy 12 months for those working on the
new community fire station project for Rochdale and
Bury and great strides have been made to get the
project off the ground.
The contract to build the new community fire stations
was awarded to building contractor Kier Northern by
the Fire Authority in November 2010 and if everything
goes to plan the people of Rochdale and Bury will
see their new Community Fire Stations in around 1218 months time.
Specifically designed to be environmentally efficient,
once completed, they will host a number of excellent
facilities such as office accommodation, training
facilities, a drill tower, three vehicle appliance bay, car
parking, storage areas and gardens.
They will play an important part of the local
community and will include a room that can be used
by community partners and groups as well as adult
education providers - and if this wasn’t enough, there
will also be potential for a gymnasium suitable for
children aged 6-16 years and allotments for growing
fruit and vegetables.
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Investment (continued)
APPLIANCE CCTV
SINCE the installation CCTV systems on appliances
they have proven to be a valuable addition, primarily
for the safety and protection of the fire crews. They
have also been able to assist the police with
identifying possible suspects, as well as solving
disputes and uncertainties in road traffic collisions.
levels, by both attaining and maintaining competence
on the fire-ground at Bronze, Silver and Gold
command levels.
Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 all fire and
rescue services are required to provide ’suitable
arrangements for civil protection’. The Incident
Command System is a recognised safe and effective
system for managing incidents in the UK.
The technology built into the suite also allows for
command training on specific risks within Greater
Manchester as determined by the Integrated Risk
Management Plan (IRMP) and is equipped to support
multi-agency training with other key responders,
such as the Police and the Ambulance Service.
FOAM TENDER REPLACEMENTS
The CCTV has also been a valuable asset where the
Service has dealt with obvious false claims being
made against the appliance and crew members.
AT an overall investment of £350,000 the
replacement programme for vehicles able to
transport bulk supplies of foam concentrate for fire
fighting foam is now complete.
OUR INCIDENT COMMAND SUITE IS
OFFICIALLY OPEN
THE new Incident Command Suite was officially
opened in September and has been purposely
designed to support our Incident Commanders at all
The programme has seen the removal of the Foam
Tenders (FOTs) based at Phillips Park (January 2010),
Cheadle and Sale (June 2010) and replaced by two
Foam Units (FOUs) which are now based at
Farnworth and Sale.
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Investment (continued)
MOBILE DATA TERMINALS (MDT’s)
As part of the FireLink/FiReControl Projects, FireLink
engineers at Leigh Technical Services have installed
MDT’s in all our fire appliances.
successful tender to replace the previous equipment
that came to the end of its working life.
All the breathing apparatus sets and entry control
boards were delivered in December along with a
programme of training that consisted of the
familiarisation of the BA sets as well as the
introduction of the new telemetry system and Entry
Control Board.
NEW APPLIANCES DELIVERED
THE delivery of our new appliances is now well
underway with a number of stations across the
Service already using the new Volvo appliances – the
roll out of the new fleet of 22 appliances is expected
to be complete by September 2011.
The MDT hardware is essentially a Windows based
Personal Computer which gives firefighters, who
have been mobilised to an incident, a wide range of
timely and useful information on items such as details
of known risks and hazards, the location and details
of hydrants and water supplies, mapping and
routing, plus much more…
BREATHING APPARATUS
THE changeover of the self-contained breathing
apparatus sets onto the new Drager units was
completed in December 2010, following the
Prior to being rolled out to stations, Workshops at
Leigh have been retrofitting CCTV systems and Fire
Link Radio equipment from appliances being
withdrawn from Service. The delivery of the first
appliances began at the end of January 2011 – with
the final appliances being delivered by September
2011.
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Investment (continued)
COMPARTMENT FIRE BEHAVIOUR TRAINING
(CFBT)
FOLLOWING extensive research, subsequent design
specifications and procurement of a robust selection
of potential suppliers, Transitional Fire Limited based
in Devon was selected to provide bespoke
compartment fire behaviour training facilities.
After a local community consultation, which included
the delivery of 600 leaflets to local housing and
commercial premises, the installation work on a piece
of land adjacent to Oldham Fire Station began.
This training facility, which will be available at the end
of June 2011 and support the 2011-2012 training
plan, is vital in providing firefighters with the
necessary training to deal with, and also recognise,
how a compartment fire develops, bringing the
delivery of realistic fire training to the forefront of the
Service’s commitment to the safety of its firefighters.
Service
EMERGENCY SMS TO THE RESCUE
GROUP Fire Control Officer Maggie Reddy has been
the lead in the project to implement the National
Emergency SMS (Short Messaging Service) on behalf
of GMFRS, and after its successful launch in
September 2009, Maggie has been very busy
delivering 'awareness' of the service to deaf
associations across Greater Manchester.
In March, 2011, Maggie delivered a presentation to
the Manchester Deaf Centre in Chorlton on Medlock
to introduce them to the service and train them in its
use. Emergency SMS allows deaf people to use the
text facility on a mobile phone to contact the
emergency services and is part of the standard 999
service.
Since its launch, the emergency SMS service has
handled hundreds of real emergency calls and thanks
to its users criminals have been arrested, lives have
been saved and babies have been born safely.
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Service (continued)
GET SET FOR FIREFLY
FIREFLY is aimed at educating young people aged
between 11 and 17 years old about fire safety in their
homes and communities, as well as reducing antisocial behaviour.
OPENING UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE
LEAVING SCHOOL marks an important time in a
young person’s life and usually for most, they leave
school with little idea about what they want to do
with their future.
Only through opportunities like the Princes Trust (PT)
programme delivered by GMFRS do young people
get the chance develop interpersonal skills and learn
new things. The programme is open to any
unemployed young person aged between 16 – 24
regardless of academic qualification, religion, culture
or background.
Delivered on fire stations, firefighters cover topics of
fire safety from home safety awareness to first aid,
communication as well as teambuilding –
furthermore, this accredited course offers the
opportunity for the young people to work towards a
portfolio of achievement during their five days –
where their achievements are recognised in a
passing out parade attended by parents and
relatives.
Participating in many challenges, the team get
involved with a number of team building activities
from planning meals for residents who have particular
dietary requirements such as Halal and vegetarian, as
well as responding to requests for help within the
local community, such as revamping the garden at
Philip’s Church in Bolton clearing flower beds and
planting new flowers and shrubs.
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Service (continued)
FAMILY IS SAVED BY ADVICE FROM FIRE
CONTROL STAFF
AN 11-year-old was praised by firefighters and
control staff after she helped save her family from a
blaze.
The schoolgirl calmly followed fire control staff
instructions by phone as flames and smoke filled her
home in Bolton. Taking refuge with her mother and
10-year-old brother in a bedroom she used towels to
stop smoke coming into the room, until the fire crews
arrived - all three were treated in hospital for the
effects of breathing in smoke.
The busiest of all the campaigns is by far over the
autumn period, which covers bonfire and Halloween.
The hard-hitting campaign was a tremendous
success after the number of incidents reduced over
the Bonfire and Hallowe’en period.
This multi-agency collaboration that sits under the
Treacle brand, helped to reduce the impact of
Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night on communities in
Greater Manchester, particularly targeting anti-social
behaviour, inappropriate sales and misuse of
fireworks and reducing firework injuries and
accidental property fires caused by bonfires.
The youngster who provided Control staff with "vital
information" on the family's location in the house
allowed fire crews to lead them out of their home to
safety.
SAFE4 CAMPAIGNS
THE safe4 campaigns run throughout the year - with
each having a dedicated website that host a wide
variety of seasonal topics, such as water safety, BBQ
safety as well as taking care on bonfire night, plus
much more.
The partnership is made up of Greater Manchester
Fire and Rescue Service, Greater Manchester Police,
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive,
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the
Health and Safety Executive and representatives from
the ten metropolitan local authorities.
On Bonfire night itself the fire service took 437
emergency calls – a dramatic 28 percent reduction
from 2009.
The four campaigns bring a number of organisations
together such as the Co-op, who helped spread the
winter safety message by placing posters in over 124
stores across Greater Manchester.
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Operations
GAS EXPLOSION ROCKS SALFORD
NEIGHBOURHOOD
A GAS explosion in Salford left 11 people hurt and
four homes completely destroyed in the blast which
ripped through a row of terraced homes in Merlin
Road, Irlam.
Eight fire crews, the Urban Search and Rescue Team
with Echo (the rescue dog) were sent to the scene to
search through the debris to ensure no casualties
were trapped.
A total of eleven people; four children and seven
adults, were rescued from four affected properties
and conveyed to hospital. 200 people were also
evacuated from surrounding streets and for some
residents they were unable to return home as the
properties were condemned as unsafe.
JAPAN EARTHQUAKE
FOLLOWING the earthquake in Japan and the
devastating tsunami in March 2011, seven members
of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
departed with colleagues from other Fire and Rescue
Services from around the country to help with rescue
efforts.
Despite an extensive search of residential and
industrial properties, sadly no survivors were found.
Just six days after the start of the disaster, with heavy
snow and falling temperatures, it meant that there
was an extremely low chance of finding survivors.
Discussions took place with the Japanese disaster
authorities, the UK team and their US counterparts,
and they all agreed not to extend rescue operations
and so began to withdraw from Japan.
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MILL BLAZE IN MANCHESTER
MORE than 40 firefighters tackled a huge blaze at a
mill in Manchester – with more than 20 members of
the public calling 999 to report it.
The fire at a three-storey derelict mill on Cambrian
Street in Ancoats sent huge plumes of smoke across
the city centre which could be seen for miles around.
Seven fire engines and a number of specialist fire
appliances were at the mill fighting the flames.
ONE MAN AND HIS DOG ARE SAVED FROM ICY
WATERS
FIREFIGHTERS from Wigan and Hindley were hailed
as heroes after rescuing a pensioner and his dog
after they fell into a freezing pond.
When the dog ventured onto the ice and fell through
into the icy water the owner instinctively attempted to
rescue the animal by going onto the ice - with little
regard for his own safety. The two became stranded
and only a stroke of luck prevented this becoming a
tragedy.
Luckily for both the owner and his much loved canine
companion onlookers watched in horror, identified
the danger and called 999. Fire crews arrived just in
the nick of time, as the ice broke away and the dog
owner took a tumble into the icy cold water.
Potentially explosive gas cylinders were discovered
inside, resulting in a temporary evacuation of
properties nearby, although after a check of the
building was carried out the cylinders were not a risk.
The Water Incident Unit (WIU) from Eccles and
firefighters rigged in full fire kit, buoyancy aids and
lines went onto the ice to rescue the man. The
remaining crew members remained on the bank
feeding the inflatable hose out on the ice to assist
with the rescue.
Thankfully both the dog and his owner were rescued
from the icy water and pulled to the safety of the
riverbank where ambulance paramedics wrapped
them in warm blankets and sent them off for
respective check ups.
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LUCKY TO BE ALIVE
RESCUED FROM A BLAZE
A YOUNG man from Bolton who almost died in a
horror smash thanked the firefighters who saved his
life.
A MOTHER and her two-year-old daughter were
rescued from a burning house after a discarded
cigarette set fire to the sofa.
David Matheson, aged 20, was a passenger in a car
that ploughed into a tree and lamp post in Lever Park
Avenue in Horwich. When fire crews from Bolton
Central and Horwich Fire Stations arrived at the
scene they found him unconscious and not
breathing.
Quick-thinking Firefighter Jeffrey Westwell, a trained
Trauma Technician, snatched David out of the vehicle
and started to perform a “heart massage” (CPR). The
defibrillator was attached at the same time as the
North West Ambulance Service arrived and a shock
was performed.
The woman screamed for help from her bedroom
window in Manchester Road, Burnden, after she
became trapped upstairs. Firefighters smashed down
the door before dousing the fire, clearing the smoke
and leading the woman and her daughter to safety.
The blaze started at about 12.40am while the woman
was in bed after she had left a cigarette end in a
small metal candle holder, which spilled onto the
settee and set it alight.
The living room was gutted in the fire and the whole
house was filled with smoke.
Jeffery continued to perform CPR on David inside the
ambulance and a further shock was delivered,
fortunately David’s heart then started to beat.
When David was well enough, he met the firefighters
at Horwich Fire Station and although he can’t really
remember the events of the night, he was extremely
grateful to them for saving his life.
The woman had a smoke alarm fitted, but had taken
the batteries out because it kept going off when she
was cooking.
The mother and her daughter were treated for the
effects of smoke inhalation, but did not go to
hospital.
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Performance and Targets
This section shows our results for 2010/11 in our key performance areas, and summarises our targets for the
next three years.
Response
Primary Fires
Primary fires are the most serious type of fire, occurring in property, non-derelict vehicles and/or involving
casualties. Fires that require five or more fire appliances are always classed as primary fires.
Total primary fires per 100,000 population
This year we aimed to reduce primary fires by 12.3%.
We achieved an 11.1% reduction.
300
250
Target
–12.3%
Actual
–11.1%
200
150
100
50
0
2008/9
We always aim for zero fatalities across Greater
Manchester.
Target
Aspire to zero
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
Primary fire fatalities per 100,000 population
1.0
0.8
0.6
Actual
16
0.4
0.2
0.0
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
Primary fire casualties per 100,000 population
We aimed to reduce casualties from primary fires by
4.3% this year.
25
We instead saw a 32% increase.
20
15
Target
312
Actual
544
10
5
0
2008/9
18
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
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Deliberate Fires
Fires started deliberately are a concern for any fire and rescue service and local authority due to their link with
anti-social behaviour. We work closely with our communities to prevent arson incidents, and have a specialist
Fire Investigation Team that provides evidence to assist the Police in catching and prosecuting those
responsible.
Through effective community and partnership work we
aimed to reduce the total number of deliberate fires
started this year by 11.1%.
We achieved a 5% reduction.
Total deliberate fires per 10,000 population
60
50
40
30
Target
–11.1%
Actual
– 5.0%
20
10
0
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
Primary deliberate fires per 10,000 population
We aimed to reduce the number of primary fires started
deliberately by 9.9% this year.
15
We achieved a 22% reduction.
12
9
Target
– 9.9%
Actual
– 22.0%
6
3
0
2008/9
This year we aimed to reduce the number of secondary
deliberate fires by 10.2%.
We instead saw a 0.05% increase.
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
Secondary deliberate fires per 10,000 population
50
40
30
Target
8,808
Actual
9,962
20
10
0
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
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Response (continued)
Accidental Fires in Dwellings
The effects of fire in a home can be devastating, but most are preventable; over the last five years we have
reduced accidental dwelling fires across Greater Manchester by over 35%.
Through our proactive Home Fire Risk Assessments,
community engagement and public safety messages we
aimed to reduce accidental home fires by 6.6% this year.
Total calls to accidental fires in dwellings
(per 10,000)
25
20
We achieved a 4.1% reduction.
Target
– 6.6%
Actual
– 4.1%
15
10
5
0
2008/9
Until this year we have aimed to arrive at 90% of
incidents with a risk to life within 7 minutes, for the first
appliance.
The way response targets are measured has now
changed. For full details see the new Corporate Plan.
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
% of life risk incidents where an attendance time
for the first appliance of 7 minutes was met
90
85
80
Target
90.0%
75
Actual
2008/9
85.6%
For the second appliance, for incidents with a risk to life
we have aimed to arrive within 9 minutes, at least 75%
of the time.
The way response targets are measured has now
changed. For full details see the new Corporate Plan.
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
% of life risk incidents where an attendance time
for the second appliance of 9 minutes was met
90
85
80
Target
75.0%
Actual
83.0%
75
20
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
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Prevention
Home Fire Risk Assessments
We are committed to reducing fire deaths by ensuring that every home in Greater Manchester has a working
smoke alarm. To make certain this happens, we carry out safety checks and fit free smoke alarms.
We have already fitted over 100,000 free smoke alarms in our local communities. Along with fitting free smoke
alarms, we also give occupiers a free fire safety check known as a Home Fire Risk Assessment.
Home Fire Risk Assessments are available on request; please see our website for more details.
We aim to carry out 60,000 Home Fire Risk
Assessments every year.
This year 74,216 safety checks were carried out.
Target
60,000
Home Fire Risk Assessments undertaken
(000’s)
100
80
60
40
Actual
74,216
20
0
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
False alarms from automatic fire detection apparatus
Unfortunately, automatic fire detection apparatus results in a large number of false alarms. This has the effect of
making our fire crews temporarily unavailable for real incidents, and incurs an avoidable cost.
By working with building owners and occupiers we have
aimed to reduce the number of false alarms from
automatic fire detection apparatus by 10%.
False alarms from automatic fire detection
apparatus per 1,000 non-domestic properties
150
120
We achieved a 12.3% reduction.
Target
–10.0%
Actual
–12.3%
90
60
30
0
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
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People
Absence Management
The number of days and shifts lost due to sickness absence is an indicator of the health, happiness and
wellbeing of our workforce. We aim for an average of 6 or fewer working days/shifts lost per employee.
For whole-time uniformed staff the average for 2010/11
was 5.52 shifts lost per person to sickness absence.
Target
6.00
Actual
5.52
Average number of shifts lost due to sickness
for whole-time uniformed staff
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2008/9
For non-uniformed staff the average for 2010/11 was
11.40 working days lost per person to sickness
absence.
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
Average number of working days lost due to
sickness for non-uniformed staff
12
10
8
Target
6.00
Actual
11.40
6
4
2
0
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
(target) (target) (target)
Human Resources and Equality
We aim to promote a diverse workforce, with no discrimination
whatsoever on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race,
religion/belief or sexual orientation.
Following the revised Equality Framework for Local Government we
are aiming to be externally accredited to the standard of ‘Excellence’,
and are currently at the ‘Achieving’ level.
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Independent assessment of our Service
What external auditors said about our
performance
Following the general elections in May 2010 the
coalition government abolished the need for the
Comprehensive Area Assessment process. We have
therefore used the previous results to provide some
information as to how we have been assessed.
Comprehensive Area Assessment
In June 2009 the Audit Commission undertook an
Organisational Assessment of our service and the
results of this were published in December 2009.
These results show that we are ‘performing well’,
‘operationally effective’, ‘influential nationally’ and
‘innovative in our approach to modernising’. We use
our resources well and give good value for money.
Over a number of years, we have effectively used our
finances to deliver strategic priorities and it has
secured us a stable financial position. We have
achieved savings and efficiencies that have resulted
in us having the highest efficiency savings figure
within English Fire and Rescue Services. We used
the identified improvement opportunities from the
assessment to inform our work during 2010/11 and
built them into our action plans.
Operational Assessment
In July 2009 our service was audited by a team of
peer assessors who scrutinised our operational
capabilities. The outcome was again very positive
and they stated that: “Greater Manchester Fire and
Rescue Service are operationally effective, meeting
their statutory duties and performing well in key
performance areas. The service has experienced a
sustained period of significantly improving overall
performance from frontline firefighters, right through
to senior management. There is an atmosphere of
enthusiasm and determination to make Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue one of the best Fire and
Rescue Service’s in the country”.
Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents
(RoSPA)
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
(RoSPA) has awarded us the Sector Award in the
Emergency Services Sector. The award is given for
the most outstanding performance in Health and
Safety by a company or organisation. This is the
eleventh award presented to us, including four
previous Sector Awards. The past four years have
seen us achieve a Sector Award on three occasions
and a Highly Commended Award on the other.
Customer Service Excellence
Customer Service Excellence aims to acknowledge
public services that put their customers at the core of
what they do. In 2010 we successfully met the
Customer Service Excellence Standard and received
the certificate in recognition of the cross organisation
understanding of and commitment to providing
excellent customer service.
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Financial information
This section shows what the Authority spends and breaks this down into the ongoing running costs and major
capital investments.
Please note the information provided below is in a different format to our Statement of Accounts and excludes
technical accounting adjustments that are required. These figures are also unaudited at the point of report.
Average cost to households
Cost of the Fire Service to the average household in
Greater Manchester (Band D council tax).
Cost per household (Band D council tax)
North West Fire Authorities
70
20
The average household’s council tax contribution to
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service remains
the lowest of the North West Fire and Rescue
Services.
10
Cheshire
30
Merseyside
40
Lancashire
50
Greater Manchester
Council Tax (£)
£52.65
60
0
2010/11 Financial Year
What does the service cost?
Net expenditure 2011
(£’m)
Effective Governance
0.7
Emergency Planning
0.4
Prevention and Protection
12.3
Firefighting and Rescue
Operations
73.1
Management and
Support Services
24.4
Pensions
2.1
Total
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Effective Governance
Emergency Planning
Prevention and protection
Firefighting and rescue operations
Management and support services
Pensions
113.0
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How is the service paid for?
£’m
Government Grant
9.6
Business Rates
65.8
Council Tax
42.3
Total
117.7
Government Grant
Business Rates
Council Tax
Capital investments
£’m
Premises
1.4
Vehicles and Equipment
2.6
Information Technology
0.9
Total
4.9
Premises
Vehicles and equipment
Information technology
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Other areas of interest
CARE HOME MANAGER FINED FOR FIRE
SAFETY BREACHES
failed to inform the owners of the home of the
deficiencies in the system.
IN A BREAKTHROUGH case a care home manager
who was in charge when a fire alarm was silenced
during a blaze at a care home in Trafford, Manchester
was convicted of a safety breach at Manchester
Crown Court in March.
This was first time a fire alarm engineer had been
prosecuted as a responsible person under the
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 - the law
allows the Fire and Rescue Authority to prosecute a
person who has responsibility for a particular area of
premises or, as in this case, maintaining fire
equipment that requires specialist knowledge or skills
to carry out repairs.
The court heard how a fire broke out in May 2009 but
when the fire alarm went off at about 6pm the duty
manager failed to ensure that a proper search of the
premises was carried out.
HOUSE FIRE HELPS PROMOTE WORKING
PARTNERSHIPS
SIX people were trapped in the burning house when
the inferno broke out at the family home in
Breightmet, Bolton.
Firefighters rescued a man and a woman from an
upstairs bedroom in the terraced home, while a 10year-old and a 12- year-old were led to safety
through the front door.
A fire was later discovered in room 25 and a 999 call
was made at about 7.15pm. The alarm was
discovered in 'silence' mode when crew from Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue Service arrived to tackle
the blaze - sadly an elderly resident died following the
fire.
In sentencing the care home manager was fined
£500 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £15 this is the first time an employee had ever been
prosecuted under this legislation, as opposed to the
employer.
In the same incident a former retained firefighter from
Wales, who failed to maintain a fire alarm in the care
home was also fined £11,000 including costs in a
landmark case.
He was fined for failing to maintain a fire alarm
system at a care home to a recognised standard and
26
Two other boys, aged 14 and 15, fled the fire through
a skylight and were pulled to safety by their
neighbour who grabbed them by the hand and pulled
them towards him - the heroic action of the
neighbour was praised by firefighters.
Since the incident at the property, which is owned by
Great Places Housing Group, discussions have taken
place between Bolton Borough Manager Ian Bailey
and the Chief Executive for the housing group,
Stephen Porter.
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The partnership has meant that since the fire over
100 properties in the vicinity of the property have
been targeted for a Home Fire Risk Assessment
(HFRA) with talks now taking place around the
provisions of training staff from Great Places to
deliver HFRA’s.
AUTHORITY AWARENESS DAY
BATTLING through smoke filled buildings in blazing
heat and cutting casualties from cars might be all in a
day's work for fire crew, but members of the Fire
Authority experienced it first hand during a training
day.
ENVIRONMENT MATTERS - MAKING POSITIVE
CHANGES
DELIVERING our commitments on sustainability as a
Service means that we must make changes to how
we manage our activities, how we behave as
individuals, as well as adopting a forward thinking
approach to our procurement and capital
investments such as “Voltage Power Optimisation”
which reduces the incoming voltage of electricity
supply to a building to a level that allows electrical
equipment to work as normal but without wasting the
excess energy which is otherwise released as heat
and wear.
Along with London Fire Brigade we are the first fire
and rescue service to roll out this technology and
have shared our learning with the other Services in
the region so that they too can benefit.
Councillors from across Greater Manchester who
form part of the Fire Authority leading Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue Service joined their
uniformed colleagues in breathing apparatus and
heavy protective gear for the day at the training
centre in Thompson Street.
As part of the day, the group entered a pitch black
'smoke house' to locate a casualty, tried out some of
the Service's kit for cutting people from cars and
vehicles following collisions, as well as acting out the
role of incident commander at the centre's state of
the art simulation suite.
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CHARITY CAR WASH
VOLUNTEERS IN ACTION
A RECORD amount of money was raised in
October’s Fire Fighters Charity National Car Wash
totalling a whopping £22,500 with Gift Aid – this was
the highest cash figure raised so far through a single
car wash event.
THE COMMUNITY Action Team hosted a number of
open days in a bid to encourage people to come
forward to be volunteers.
The March event didn’t disappoint either raising a
massive £20,000, as people from across Greater
Manchester visited their local fire stations to wash
away the winter dirt.
But with the cleaning and polishing aside, events
such as these open up the opportunity for people in
the community to meet and have a chat with their
local firefighters about keeping their homes safe from
fire.
All the money raised helps the fire fighting community
with any support and assistance and helps towards
the continued good work offered by the three UK
centres, located in Cumbria, Devon and West
Sussex, which offer varying combinations of therapy
and recuperation services for all our staff.
28
Scores of visitors took up the opportunity to ask
questions and watch first hand how volunteers help
the fire crew with training exercises such as Road
Traffic Collision demonstrations where a volunteer
acted as a casualty.
A number of fire service volunteers attended the days
including Emma Cunningham who spoke to the local
papers about her experience since joining the
programme. Emma explained that since joining she’s
loved every minute and that she would definitely
recommend it to anyone who has any spare time.
She explained that it gave her a fascinating insight
into the challenging situations firefighters often find
themselves in.
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KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
A TARGETED campaign took place over the summer
months between us, the Manchester Health Network
and GMG Radio (the Guardian Media Group), one of
Britain’s leading radio businesses offering three radio
stations in the region; Real Radio, Smooth Radio and
Rock Radio, each reaching a diverse range of people
across Greater Manchester.
GMFRS WINS TOP ENVIRONMENTAL
INDUSTRY AWARD
CARING for the environment earned Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue Service a top
environmental industry award - winning the Public
Sector category for 'the national public sector
organisation whose work has helped advance more
sustainable living.'
The campaign aimed at educating people that
making small changes to their lifestyle, it can have a
positive effect on their life, especially in helping to
reduce the risk of house fires.
The summer roadshow events proved to be
extremely successful in getting the message out to
the communities of Greater Manchester and by the
end of the campaign it had generated over 500
Home Fire Risk assessments through face to face
referrals alone.
The People and Environment Achievement, known as
the PEA awards, are open to individuals or groups
who have made a difference in the community, or
shown inspiration, innovation and perseverance in
their various sectors.
A plea went out from the organisers for members of
the public to identify and nominate the country's
'green giants'. Those nominated were then asked to
provide evidence of their green credentials including
future projects.
The campaign ended in September with Real Radio
broadcasting its morning roadshow live from Fire
Service Headquarters – where staff from key areas of
the Service got the opportunity to talk to the public
about key messages as well as the importance of
having Home Fire Risk Assessments, how to become
one of our Community Action Team Volunteers, as
well as chatting about our excellent Moss Side
boxing club gym.
County Fire Officer and Chief Executive Steve
McGuirk received the award on behalf of the Service
in recognition of the efforts to save energy and
preserve the environment, through fitting fire stations
with solar heating, using fuel efficient fire engines
made of recyclable materials and encouraging staff
to take part in a cycle to work scheme, plus much
more.
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SHONA DUNN VISIT
CIPR SILVER PRIDE AWARD FOR OUR STAFF
THE Director of Fire and Resilience, Shona Dunn
toured some of our facilities and met some of our
senior officers and elected members in August to
learn a little about ‘who we are’ and ‘what we are
about’.
CONGRATULATIONS to staff from Corporate
Communications and ICT teams who scooped silver
for the best website in the North West at the
Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) awards.
This offered an excellent opportunity to discuss future
challenges, as well as talking to us about her
thoughts and ideas about the future direction of the
Service. This was Shona’s first visit to Greater
Manchester and during her time with us she visited
Whitehill Fire Station where she saw some of the
work we do with the young people on the Firefly
programme.
Judged by leading public relations experts, the
GMFRS website was redesigned and developed inhouse with the aim of getting information to the
people of Greater Manchester more quickly and
easily, engaging and educating the local communities
and businesses on how to keep safe from fire,
through a number of great features from video clips
to raise fire safety awareness, to Blogs from the Chief
aimed to engage and inform.
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A FRIEND FOR LIFE
ECHO our search and rescue dog was nominated as
one of five finalists in the prestigious Friends for Life
title at dfs Crufts 2011.
The competition was presented by the Kennel Club
and identified five heart-warming stories of friendship
in adversity, where dogs truly earned the title of
man’s best friend through bravery, support or
companionship.
The finalists were singled out for their loyalty and
spirit in their constant desire to help, and are great
examples of the incredible difference a dog can make
to one or many lives.
Echo was hailed one of five canine heroes for helping
to save lives in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake
in January last year but unfortunately, after a public
vote the winner was announced at Crufts in March as
assistance dog Josie and her eight year old owner,
Sam Daly.
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Smoke alarms save lives
WHEN fire crews go out in the community offering fire safety advice and fitting smoke alarms to the homes of
Greater Manchester it becomes even more worthwhile when a smoke alarm fitted by the Service raises the
alarm to a fire – here are just a few examples.
WORKING SMOKE ALARM
SAVED BY THE BELL
WHEN a fire broke out in a single storey kitchen
extension at a semi-detached house in Flixton, fire
crews from Stretford Fire Station were thankful that
the property had a working smoke alarm.
THE OCCUPANTS of a property on Eva Street in
Wigan have their smoke alarm to thank for saving
their lives.
In the early hours of a February morning a call was
received to a fire involving a house in Wigan. Fire
crews from Leigh were quickly on scene and found a
severe fire involving the stairway and landing area of
the house, located above the coal store where the
fire had started.
The smoke alarm, that had only been fitted weeks
before by fire crews carrying out Home Fire Risk
Assessments, sounded and woke the occupants,
who luckily managed to leave the house safely before
the fire spread to the staircase, blocking their escape
route.
The young male occupant, who was asleep in his
first floor bedroom, awoke to the sounding of the
smoke alarm. He quickly made his escape from the
property suffering only minor smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire was an electrical fault - the
stairway and landing were severely damaged, with
heat and smoke damage to the rest of the house.
The crew later established that it was the fire service
that had fitted the smoke alarm to the property – that
gave this young man those precious seconds to
escape unhurt.
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OVERCOME BY SMOKE
WHEN an elderly lady became trapped inside a
heavily smoke logged terraced house on Shayfield
Road in Benchill, Manchester, fire crews from
Wythenshawe and Cheadle came to her rescue.
After many unsuccessful attempts firefighters wearing
breathing apparatus entered the property through the
window after unsuccessfully gaining entry through
the front door. The lady who had been overcome by
smoke was found in the doorway to the kitchen and
carried out of the house by fire crew, where she was
given oxygen therapy by a trained Trauma Technician
from the fire service, until the ambulance service
arrived minutes later.
SMOKE ALARM SAVES LADY FROM FIRE
WITH ONLY months away from her 100th birthday an
elderly lady from Elton in Bury had a lucky escape
after the food she was cooking caught fire.
The 99-year-old started to cook some chicken and
then fell asleep leaving the food on the stove. On
hearing the smoke alarm, a neighbour from the flat
above came to her rescue and led the lady to safety
prior to the arrival of fire crews - the fire was out on
arrival.
Thankfully for the lady, fire crews, as part of borough
targeted initiative, carried out a number of Home Fire
Risk Assessments and fitted a smoke alarm to the
property only weeks before, following a similar
incident on the same street.
Luckily the lady had previously taken advantage of
one of our Home Fire Risk Assessments and the
sound of the smoke alarm, along with the quick
actions of the firefighters at the scene, meant that the
lady later recovered in hospital.
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Priorities for 2011-2014
Following consultation with staff and members of the public, over 95% of respondents felt that we should
continue to focus on preventing fires from occurring.
In response to this consultation and other feedback we have decided to adopt a core purpose that reflects this
view, and our role can be stated simply as being:
“Toprotectandimprovethequalityoflifeofthe
peopleinGreaterManchester”
We will use this as the bedrock of our future planning, and to achieve this wider goal we have set out 6 key aims
for the next three years:
Prevention
Protection
Response
We aim to:
We aim to:
We aim to:
Engage with Greater Manchester’s
communities to inform and educate
people in how to reduce the risk of
fires and other emergencies and do all
we can to prevent crime and disorder
Influence and regulate the built
environment to protect people,
property and the environment
from harm
Plan and prepare for emergencies
that may happen and make a high
quality, effective and resilient
response to them
People
Public Value
Principles
We aim to:
We aim to:
We aim to:
Work with people with the right skills
and attitude to deliver high quality,
value for money services in a
positive environment for everyone
Manage risk through using resources
flexibly, efficiently and effectively,
continuously improving our use of
public money in ways the public value
Operate in accordance with the law
and our values, and ensure that
safety, sustainability, partnership and
inclusivity run through all we do
Our full corporate plan for 2011 to 2014 is available from our website at
www.manchesterfire.gov.uk
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How to contact us
You can contact us verbally or in
writing at Headquarters using the
address below:
Greater Manchester Fire and
Rescue Service Headquarters
146 Bolton Road
Swinton
Alternatively, you can contact your
local Borough Command:
Bolton Borough
Tel 01204 905126/7
Fax 01204 905109
Bury Borough
Tel 0161 909 0326/7
Manchester
M27 8US
Telephone Number
Contacting us in
an emergency
Dial 999 and ask for the fire
service.
Fax 0161 909 0309
If you are inside a building when
a fire starts, remember:
Manchester Borough
Get out, stay out, call us out.
Tel 0161 608 5326/7
0161 736 5866
Fax 0161 608 5309
Fax Number
Oldham Borough
0161 743 1777
Tel 0161 909 8626/7
Never try to put a fire out unless
you have received sufficient
training.
Fax 0161 909 8609
e-mail
[email protected]
You can also use the ‘contact us’
links on our website at
www.manchesterfire.gov.uk
Follow us on Facebook and
Twitter. See the links on our
website.
Rochdale Borough
Tel 01706 900126/7
Fax 01706 900109
Salford Borough
Tel 0161 609 0226/7
Fax 0161 609 0209
Stockport Borough
Tel 0161 608 5426/7
Fax 0161 608 5409
Tameside Borough
Tel 0161 609 1626/7
Fax 0161 609 1609
Trafford Borough
Tel 0161 608 9226
Fax 0161 608 9209
Wigan Borough
Tel 01942 650126/7
Fax 01942 650109
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