Dumfries and Galloway fire and rescue plan

Dumfries and Galloway’s senior officer is urging the public to share their thoughts on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) local plan for the area.

The three-year local fire and rescue plan is open for consultation until Friday 14 February, with SFRS seeking residents’ views before a final version is submitted for the approval of Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Area Manager Neville Wright said: “This plan sets out how we will continue to protect our communities from fire and other emergencies.

“Dumfries and Galloway is a unique area – we are Scotland’s third largest local authority by size and a fifth of our population lives in remote and rural settings.

“With so many of our residents living more than half-an-hour’s drive from the nearest large town, identifying and understanding specific risks is essential to allocating our resources effectively and meeting the agreed needs of our communities.”

The importance of maintaining strong and effective partnerships with the public and other agencies is made clear throughout the SFRS Local Fire and Rescue Plan for Dumfries and Galloway.

Although the number of deaths and injuries caused by fires in the area has steadily dropped over the past decade, fire remains a significant threat and SFRS constantly works to reduce the risks in every community.

Area Manager Wright continued: “Although the number of deaths and injuries caused by fire is extremely low in Dumfries and Galloway, reducing these will always be a high priority.

“Preventing people from being hurt or killed in a fire is certainly linked to reducing the number of house fires, and we know the most common causes of these are cooking food and misusing alcohol.

“Even where no-one is hurt, house fires cause potentially life-long emotional trauma and result in significant financial impact on residents, housing providers and the surrounding community.

“Lifestyle factors are known to affect the chances of someone experiencing a fire in the home and most occur in the social rented sector.

“Across Dumfries and Galloway, our crews work tirelessly to reach vulnerable residents to help them recognise the risks and take simple steps to ensure they stay safe in their homes.

“The local plan shows our commitment to continuing this life-saving work, with data analysis tools used to ensure our Home Fire Safety Visit programme is directed at those who are most at risk from fire.

“We will continue to utilise the well-established partnerships we have with other agencies to make sure measures like fire-proof bedding and care call services are provided where they are needed, which will help reduce the chances of a fire starting.

“Along with the NHS and social services, we will develop an information sharing protocol to highlight service users who could be at risk so we can reach them before a tragedy happens.”

Firefighters in Dumfries and Galloway are frequently called to emergencies where their specialist rescue skills are the difference between life and death.

The main motorway connection between Scotland and England – the M74 – runs through the area, and as Stranraer and Cairnryan are two of Britain’s largest ferry ports, Dumfries and Galloway also sees significant traffic moving to and from Northern Ireland.

With the area a key through-point for so much traffic, it is no surprise the local fire and rescue plan includes a clear focus on preventing road traffic collisions.

Area Manager Wright explained: “Our firefighters have the most modern equipment at their disposal and are trained to an exceptionally high standard both in conducting road rescues and providing trauma care to casualties.

“While we will always do everything we can to help those involved in road traffic collisions, our work also focuses on keeping people safe by reducing the number of such incidents.

“Crews in Dumfries and Galloway routinely work to identify those most at risk of being involved in a crash and target our hard-hitting education programmes to ensure the consequences of dangerous driving get through.

“We will also continue working to identify collision hot spots and, along with our partner agencies, jointly develop solutions dealing with specific dangers facing our road users.”

Anyone interested in contributing their thoughts on the SFRS Local Fire and Rescue Plan for the area should visit the local plan section  of the SFRS website and click ‘Dumfries and Galloway’ to download a pdf copy.

Residents can share their comments by then visiting the public consultation page and clicking ‘Dumfries and Galloway‘.

The consultation period ends on 14 February 2014 and all responses made during before it closes will be considered, before the final draft local plan is passed to Dumfries and Galloway Council for its agreement.