Jersey Fire and Rescue Service: Annual Review 2014

Service Annual Review 2014

1  

R.76/2015

Foreword by the Assistant Minister

I am delighted to commend the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service's Annual Report  for  2014. As  the  Assistant  Minister  for  Home  Affairs  I  have  political responsibility for the Service and in the short time since becoming Assistant Minister I have been extremely impressed with the commitment and professionalism of all the staff.

Notwithstanding the hard work of the fire prevention team, 2014 was a busy year for fires  and  these  were  dealt  with  efficiently  and  effectively  by  our  highly-trained firefighters. Because Jersey is a small Island, they have to be able to respond to a wide variety of incidents, without easy recourse to specialists in neighbouring areas. Our firefighters routinely deal with fires, road accidents, cliff and sea rescues, severe weather  events  and  hazardous  material  emergencies,  all  of  which  involve  high expectations and high risks. At times the Service can be stretched when dealing with simultaneous incidents and we are very fortunate to be able to call on the retained firefighters in those situations.

All of this work is carried out against a background of increasing budgetary pressure, which is keenly felt by the Service as staff costs account for 90% of their budget. I am committed to doing the best I can to ensure that the Service remains properly resourced in order to continue to provide an excellent service.

Connétable Deidre Mezbourian Assistant Minister for Home Affairs

Foreword by the Chief Fire Officer

It gives me great pleasure to present to you the  States  of  Jersey  Fire  and  Rescue Service's (SJFRS) 2014 Annual Review.

Despite  all  the  work  we  undertook  to promote  fire  prevention,  2014  saw  an increase  in  the  number  of  emergency incidents, including fires. There has been a worrying continued upward trend with 2014 being  the  busiest  year  since  2010  with 1,267 emergencies, including 268 fires and 152 rescues.

The Service continues to be committed to making  Jersey  a  safer  community  by providing  a  high  standard  of  emergency response,  fire  safety  education  and prevention programmes. However, in 2014, only 42% of homes that suffered a fire had a working smoke alarm that activated; this demonstrates the need to reinforce the test your smoke alarm' message.

In 2013 new legislation came into force that made it a statutory requirement for all Houses of Multiple Occupation to have a Fire Certificate and for all Fire Certificates to be limited to three years. This has significantly increased the workload of our small Fire  Protection  Team.  We  have  now  received  over  300  new  Fire  Certificate applications and this has resulted in a 15 month waiting list for processing new Fire Certificates.

Despite new legislation and the huge effort the Service undertakes to prevent fires, 2014 saw a 31% increase in fires in public, commercial and industrial premises. Although  there  is  no  obvious  reason  for  this  increase,  we  will  continue  to  do everything we can to reverse this trend.

The financial climate remains challenging. 2014 saw the last year of the savings implemented as a result of the States of Jersey's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). This included a reduction in administration and back office costs to achieve a year-on-year saving of £57,000 and new user-pays charges to generate an additional £84,000 per annum. 2015 sees a further 2% cut in the Service's budget with further expenditure cuts being likely in future years. The Service is always looking for ways to make efficiency savings but with 90% of the budget accounting for staff costs, further savings can only be achieved by reducing the number of firefighters. In order to  achieve  a  balanced budget  in  2015,  two firefighter  posts  will  remain  vacant. Jersey's Fire & Rescue Service plays a critical role in keeping our community safe and it is hoped that this is recognised when further cuts are contemplated.

None of the numerous and wide-ranging activities we undertook in 2014 could have been  achieved  without  the  shared  commitment  of  our  staff  and  I  once  again commend all my colleagues in Jersey's Fire & Rescue Service for their continued support, professionalism and dedication.

Mark James MSc, MA, BSc(Hons), FIFireE, FCMI, FICPEM, CFOD Chief Fire Officer

2013'

" Thecommitmaking Jersesafer communit Servicted te io s y a y "

For fire safety advice call 01534 445906 www.fire.gov.je

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Contents

What a Difference

What a difference a minute makes   7 What a difference an hour makes    7 What a difference a day makes   8 What a difference a year makes   9

Integrated Risk Management 10 Prevention

Prevention Activities  12 Prevention Partnerships  13

Protection

Protection Activities  15 Workplace Fire Safety Training  16

Preparation

Emergency Planning  18

Response

Response Times  20 Incident Statistics  21 UK Benchmarking  29

What a difference the Fire & Rescue  Service makes

What a difference a minute makes:

In less than 30 seconds a small flame can  get completely out of control and turn into  a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick,  black, toxic smoke to fill a house or for it  to be engulfed in flames. Smoke and toxic  gases kill more people than flames do.  Breathing even small amounts of smoke  and toxic gases can make you drowsy,  disorientated  and  short  of  breath.  The  odourless, colourless fumes can lull you  into a deep sleep before the flames reach  your door. You may not even wake up in time to escape.

Our Emergency Response capability saves lives from fires, road accidents, cliffs and at sea. Full-time Firefighters respond in under a minute to an emergency call out and Retained Firefighters have pagers that alert them to the call and they rush to their fire station to respond. Our specialist Firefighters are trained and equipped to respond to severe weather events, maritime emergencies, medical emergencies and hazardous material emergencies.

We can only react this quickly with the right equipment, facilities and preparation. Fast,  well-equipped  fire  engines,  well-constructed  facilities  and  highly  trained- Firefighters all help us respond as rapidly as possible and time is everything when someone is trapped in a fire or a vehicle. That's the difference a minute makes.

What a difference an hour makes:

A casualty's chance of survival is greatest if they receive hospital trauma care within an hour of the emergency occurring. This is referred to as the Golden Hour'. In general terms, the faster that medical care is rendered, the better the medical outcome will be. Our Firefighters are trained in rapid intervention and extrication techniques from road  traffic  collisions.  We  are  equipped  with thermal  imaging  cameras  to  quickly  locate

casualties  trapped  in  a  fire  and  we  have  life- saving  trauma  equipment  to  render  immediate emergency care. We work closely with the other emergency services to ensure that casualties are rescued and taken to hospital as quickly as possible.  That's the difference an hour makes.

What a difference a day makes:  

Our Firefighters are on standby 24/7 and respond to an  average  of  four  emergencies  a  day.  In  a  typical  day,  Firefighters will carry out fire safety inspections, undertake  Home Fire Safety Visits, deliver preventative fire safety  advice to schools and visit high risk premises. Every day  our  Prevention  &  Protection  team  gives  communities  lifesaving information and advice. That's the difference a  day makes.  

What a Difference

What a difference a year makes:

JANUARY 2014

The Island experiences heavy rain and strong winds. Firefighters are called to numerous flooded properties and wind related incidents. A power cut also created a busy period for fire crews with 10 incidents attended in two hours and 5 people plus a dog being rescued from lifts!

Firefighters are called to a large fire in the derelict Plemont holiday village. Due to the severity of the fire, the involvement of asbestos and the derelict nature of the building all fire-fighting operations had to be undertaken from outside the building. At the height of the incident four fire engines, a water carrier, command vehicle and 25 Firefighters were on scene.

FEBRUARY 2014

Firefighters, who are also Inshore Rescue Boat Instructors, undergo advance marine rescue training in local waters, delivered by tutors from the RNLI College, Poole.

Four fire engines tackle a fire in a large house in Rozel. Prior to the arrival of the Firefighters, two gardeners, using a ladder, help a young man who was trapped inside to escape. At the incident's height, 8 Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and using 4 separate hose-lines were fighting the blaze which took several hours to extinguish.

Three fire engines respond to a bungalow on fire in St Peter. One resident was trapped in the fire  and  had  to  be  rescued  by  Firefighters  wearing  breathing  apparatus.  Six  Firefighters wearing  breathing  apparatus  and  using  2  jets  and  2  hosereels  extinguished  the  fire. Unfortunately, two firefighters were treated on scene for minor burns.

MARCH 2014

Firefighters take part in Exercise Wager, a simulated off airfield aircraft crash close to St George's School resulting in debris, fire and a large number of casualties. This required a fully multi-agency response including a major incident response from Jersey Fire & Rescue Service.

APRIL 2014

The Jersey Branch of the British Red Cross takes delivery of their new Fire & Emergency Support Vehicle which is a modified campervan. The vehicle, which provides emotional and physical support to people affected immediately after a fire, will be operated in partnership with Red Cross volunteers and will be housed at Western Fire Station and mobilised through the Combined Control.

MAY 2014

During UK Hoarding Awareness Week, our Fire Prevention Team work with the Housing / Assisted Living Teams to make safe a number of homes in Jersey whose occupants are known hoarders.

JUNE 2014

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) carries out an inspection of our Inshore Rescue Boat facilities. We  passed  all  elements  of  the  inspection  with  flying  colours  and  the  inspector commented that we were, "a very professional well run organisation; Jersey Fire & Rescue should be congratulated".

Firefighters deal with a large fire in a garage near New St John's Road. The fire was impinging on a domestic oil tank and had ignited 2 gas cylinders. Three fire engines and our Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) were used to extinguish the fire.

The Service organizes and takes part in a large exercise called Hologram' which simulates a major fire in one of the old prison wings at HMP La Moye.

JULY 2014

Firefighters take part in the Child Accident Prevention Week at Highlands College. The event involves students participating in 6 workshop style safety scenarios. The Fire and Rescue workshop is based around the importance of every home having working smoke alarms and an effective escape plan. Firefighters also give a chip pan fire demonstration.

AUGUST 2014

The Service enters into a joint venture with the States of Jersey Ambulance Service (SJAS) to co-respond to serious life threatening medical emergencies when it is known by the Emergency Combined Control Centre that there is no Ambulance response immediately available or where a fire engine/officer is geographically closer. This is to provide essential first-aid and basic life support/defibrillation until the Ambulance arrivals and thereby enhancing the probability of patient survival and recovery.

Our  Fire  &  Rescue  Cadets  attend  an  inter-cadet  competition  with  the  Holyhead  Young Firefighters  Group,  in  Anglesey,  North  Wales.  Jersey  triumphed  and  our  Cadets  were presented the trophy for best drill.

We take delivery of our new Inshore Rescue Boat  (IRB). This was developed through a collaboration  between  Jersey  Fire  &  Rescue  Service,  DPM  Trading  (a  Jersey  based manufacturer specialising in custom fabrications) and Humber Ribs (a ridged inflatable boat manufacturer based in the UK). The IRB is based on Humber's standard 16i Workboat (a variation of which is used by The British Antarctic Survey).

An automatic fire alarm system alerted staff to a blaze in the basement of a large St Helier Hotel. An evacuation of the premise was immediately carried out, while 2 Firefighters wearing Breathing Apparatus entered the building and extinguished the fire using a high pressure hosereel. A mechanical fan was then used to ventilate the affected area.

SEPTEMBER 2014

Twenty Firefighters fight a fire in a busy harbourside restaurant. The fire, which had quickly spread into the roof of the restaurant, was in danger of engulfing the entire building. Firefighters wearing  Breathing  Apparatus  managed  to  prevent  the  fire  spreading  any  further  and  the restaurant opened for business a week later.

Firefighters resuscitated a passenger whilst travelling back from training at Gatwick airport.

Firefighters tackle a fire in a large farmhouse in St Peter. They manage to prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding properties. One resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

OCTOBER 2014

35  Firefighters  tackle  a  large  fire  in  an  industrial  shed  in  St  Lawrence. Firefighting  was hampered by the presence of Oxy-Acetylene equipment and a 200 metre cordon was set up around the site. The fire took two hours to bring under control with operations being supported by a remote control drone to undertake aerial surveillance of the site.

The  Chief  Fire  Officer  awards  a  Commendation  to  five  Firefighters  for  successfully resuscitating a fellow passenger who had collapsed in front of them whilst they were travelling back from a hot fire training course in the UK.

NOVEMBER 2014

Firefighters and Fire Cadets attend the annual Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph.

DECEMBER 2014

Seven new Retained Firefighter recruits join the Service and undertake basic training.

Integrated Risk Management

Integrated Risk Management Planning (IRMP)

Jersey's Fire and Rescue Service, as with Fire and Rescue Services throughout the British Isles, uses Integrated Risk Management to protect our communities. At the heart of the process are the strategies of Prevention, Protection, Preparedness and Response; these are the visible parts of the Service's work.

Prevention involves providing information and engaging with people about risks in the home or workplace so that they can take control of the risk themselves and reduce the chance of a fire occurring. In this way, we argue that our front-line includes all the people who call Jersey home and all those who visit our Island.

Protection is where our specialist Fire Safety Officers identify premises with an inherently increased fire risk profile and apply design and engineering features or require particular management arrangements to reduce that risk to a reasonable level. This work is underpinned by legislation and, if necessary, our Firefighters will enforce safety standards and submit case files for consideration by the Attorney General where rules intended to protect life are ignored or breached.

Preparedness includes two main elements. First is ensuring that our Firefighters are adequately trained to deal with a wide range of different types of emergencies and use a wide range of specialist firefighting and rescue equipment. Second is the short to medium-term activity to gather and assess intelligence and information, develop plans,  procedures,  and  skills  and  proactively  manage  corporate  risk in  order  to ensure that the Service is constantly ready to respond to any type  of situation including emerging risks and threats.

Response is the strategy of last resort. Despite our best efforts to prevent them, fires and other emergencies do occur and often pose a significant threat to life, property and  the  Island's  environmental  and  economic  interests.   When  prevention  and protection are not enough, the only viable option is to respond rapidly with the right capacity and capability.

RISK ANALYSIS

PREVENTION  PROTECTION  PREPAREDNESS  RESPONSE

Making Jersey a Safer Community

Prevention

Engaging with Jersey's communities to inform and educate people in how to reduce the risk of fires and other emergencies.

Prevention

Prevention Activities

The Service is committed to making Jersey a safer community by providing a high standard of fire safety education and prevention programmes. The Service's small Prevention team is supported in delivering a range of events by front line crews and volunteers. The main effort here is to bring about lower levels of fire and associated harm and loss through helping people to understand and manage risk.

In 2014, the Service carried out 205 Home Fire Safety Visits, installing 215 smoke detectors. They also issued 21 Home Fire Safety Packs and smoke detectors to private residences deemed at risk from fire. A further 280 smoke detectors were installed  by  the  Home  Energy  Efficiency  Service  on  behalf  of  SJFRS  under  a partnership to integrate home fire safety into their Home Energy Scheme.

As part of the Fire Safety Education Programme for schools, the Service delivered a 1 hour Sparks' fire safety session to all year 4 students in each of the Island's 32 Primary schools. The Service also attended 10 other youth safety events and 22 general safety events in 2014.

In 2014 the Service continued with its Carbon Monoxide Safety Programme. This included installing carbon monoxide detectors in homes at risk and setting up a partnership with the Ambulance Service and Family Nursing whose staff, along with Firefighters, now carry carbon monoxide monitors when attending emergency calls and carrying out routine visits to homes in Jersey. The Service supported Carbon Monoxide Safety Week and distributed posters in key locations around the Island.

2014 Prevention Activity

Home Fire Safety Visits Home Fire Safety Packs sent Childrens' Safety Events Youth Safety Events

Adult Safety Events

Senior Citizens Safety Events General Safety Events

Prevention Partnerships

The following are just a few examples of our successful prevention partnerships:

Hoarding Awareness Week

Hoarding  piles  of  combustible materials  can  cause  a  greater  fire risk,  can  block  escape  routes  and prevent Firefighters from accessing a property to fight a fire. In 2014 the Service worked in partnership with the Assisted Living Team' to work with known hoarders in the Island to reduce the fire risks in their premises.

Safety in Action Week

The  Service  has  been  in  partnership  with  Child  Accident Prevention since the inception of the Safety in Action' week in 1998. The event involves students participating in 6 workshop style safety scenarios. The Fire and Rescue workshop is based around the importance of every home having working smoke alarms  and  an  effective  escape  plan.  There  is  a  practical exercise using artificial smoke to show students the best actions to take if a fire starts in their home. In 2014 students from all 32 schools attended Safety in Action Week: 93% of the teachers who observed the fire safety session rated it as either good' or excellent'.

 Prison! Me! No Way!  

In 2014, the Service worked in partnership with the Prison! Me! No-Way! Your Choice' initiative by delivering fire and water safety education to all Year 6 students. In 2014, the Service also worked in partnership with the Prison! Me! No Way – Crime' initiative by delivering fire safety education to Year 8 students in all 8 secondary schools. Crime related activities, including arson and hoax calling, were the key educational areas covered. A total of 9,499 young people received Prison Me No Way input in 2014, with overall crime continuing to fall and youth offending at an all-time low.

Prince's Trust

In 2014, the Service continued to support the Prince's Trust scheme

in Jersey which runs 2 separate 12 week programmes designed for

youths who have fallen out of mainstream schools or employment.

The focus of the programmes is to develop team and character

building skills. The Service delivered a one day session on each of

the programmes that encouraged team work and introduced the students to simulated Fire and Rescue activities.

13 13

Firefighters fitted 200 smoke detectors in homes at risk from fire in 2013'

Protection

Influencing and regulating the built environment to protect people, property and the environment from harm.

Protection Activities

Our Fire Protection Team reduces fire risk in non-domestic and business premises by carrying out fire safety inspections, giving advice and, where required, enforcing fire safety legislation and other regulations designed to support life safety in buildings and infrastructure. The Fire Protection Team is also responsible for investigating the causes of fires. Changes to fire precautions legislation in 2013 have resulted in an increase in the number of Fire Certificates issued or amended but a reduction in the number of inspections carried out to ensure compliance. In 2014 this small, specially trained and qualified team (all of whom are operational Firefighters at various levels) carried  out  58  safety  inspections,  60  petroleum  inspections,  301  licensing inspections, issued 255 Fire Certificates/amendments and reviewed 63 planning and building applications as detailed in the graph below:

2014 Protection Activity

Fire Safety Inspections (Care Home and High Risk)

Fire Certificate Requests / Applications

Fire Certificate Renewals

Fire Certificate Alterations Pyrotechnic Import Licences Pyrotechnic Retail Inspections Building Applications Planning Applications

Places of Refreshment Applications

Property Searches Petroleum Licences Issued

Protection

Workplace Fire Safety Training

The  Service  operates  a  programme  of Workplace  Fire  Safety  Training  Courses aimed to provide a greater awareness of the threat posed by fire to people, property and business continuity. Workplace Fire Safety Training consists of three course types:

• Fire Awareness (Foundation Course)
• Fire Marshal
• Fire Extinguisher

The Workplace Fire Safety Training Team also deliver bespoke training courses on request and these can be delivered at the training suite at Fire HQ or on an outreach basis. The courses are provided with a realistic practical element enhanced by the fact that all the trainers are firefighters with real world experience and deep technical understanding of the subject. The Workplace Fire Safety Training was nominated as a finalist in the UK's Fire Excellence Awards for the Best Training Initiative' category.

The Service works in partnership with the Jersey Safety Council which has kindly donated a fire demonstrator designed specifically for hands on' training in a range of scenarios including IT equipment fires, bin fires  and  electrical  fires  to  enable  the  students  to  have  a  fully interactive learning experience.

In 2014 the Service delivered a total of 96 Workplace Fire Safety Training Courses as follows:

36 Fire Awareness Courses

28 Fire Marshal Courses

32 Fire Extinguisher Courses

Feedback from the students in 2014 showed that 99% rated the course as either good or very good.

Preparation

Planning, preparing and training for fires and other emergencies that may occur in Jersey.

Preparation

Emergency Planning  

The States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service has to be prepared to deal with major incidents  in  partnership  with  the  other  Emergency  Services.  In  order  to  have sufficient Firefighters to deal with a major incident, the

Service has robust recall to duty arrangements for off- duty Firefighters and Officers, termed Code Amber' and  Code  Red'.  The  Service  also  has  a  formal Assistance  Agreement  with  Hampshire  Fire  and Rescue Service and a Mutual Assistance Agreement

with Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service.

The Service plays a key role in Emergency Planning which  is  co-ordinated  through  Jersey's  Emergency Planning Board and the Joint Emergency Services Group. The Chief Fire Officer is responsible for managing the Emergency Planning Department. He provides strategic leadership and professional guidance to ensure the Island is well placed to respond to major emergencies or crises.

Training & Development

The Service is committed to the continual development of our staff to ensure that we have the right number of personnel with the right competencies, skills, qualifications, knowledge  and  experience,  in  the  right  roles.  This  is  particularly  important  for Firefighters  engaged  in  emergency  response  activities  in  which  there  are  high expectations and high risks. In 2014, Firefighters undertook the following Training & Development;

Ongoing station training to maintain firefighting competencies

Fire Behaviour training at Gatwick airport

Breathing Apparatus refresher & requalification training

Immediate Emergency Care Trauma refresher & requalification training

Fire Investigation requalification training

Urban Search & Rescue First Responder Course in Hampshire

The Service tests its emergency plans regularly and takes part in multi-agency major exercises. In 2014, the Service took part in the following exercises:

• Exercise Wager' simulating an off airfield aircraft crash in St Peter's Valley
• Exercise Hologram', a large scale exercise simulating a fire at HMP La Moye
• Exercise Goldfish' simulating a Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) incident at Bartletts Potato Warehouse
• Exercise Hercules', an evacuation exercise at La Collette.

Response

Dealing with fires and other emergencies speedily and effectively through the provision of a high quality and professional emergency response.

Response Times

In  2008,  the  Minister  for  Home  Affairs  introduced  new  emergency  response standards following the removal of the UK Fire Cover  standards that were first introduced in 1936. The new response standards are based on fire risk, the fixed location of resources and the arrival of all the response vehicles, not just the first attendance. They are measured from the time the 999 call is taken by the Combined Control and therefore include the emergency call taking and mobilising time.

The emergency response standards and the percentage that were achieved for calls in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are below.

Response

Incident Statistics

The States of Jersey Fire & Rescue Service is equipped and trained to deal with a wide  range  of  different  types  of  emergencies.  These  include fires, rescues  and humanitarian and environmental protection incidents.

For greater statistical accuracy we compare our incident statistics over the preceding 5 years. The following symbols indicate the difference compared to the preceding year (2013).

Indicators: = reduction on previous year, = increase on previous year = no change on previous year  

Total Number of Emergency Incidents up by 6.8%

Total Incidents 2010-2014

1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

In 2014, the Service attended 1,267 emergency incidents. This is slightly more than the  1,186  incidents  in  2013,  mainly  due  to  an  increase  in  the  number  of  fires attended.  This  demonstrates  the  need  to  retain  a  rapid  and  effective  response capability despite all the efforts we put into reducing fires and other emergencies.

Total Number of Fires up by 9.8%

In 2014, there was a small increase in the total number of fires we attended when compared to 2013. This is mainly attributed to an increase in the number of property fires we attended.

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Total Number of Primary Fires up by 9.7%

Primary Fires are fires involving insurable property including houses, fires in other buildings and vehicle fires. The increase in the total number of Primary Fires in 2014 is mainly attributed to the significant increase in fires in commercial buildings.

Total Number of Accidental Dwelling Fires up by 10.7%

There was an increase (10.7%) in house fires to 62 in 2014. This continues the upward trend and is the highest number in the last five years. Cooking is the largest cause of accidental fires followed closely by electrical. We will continue to target these themes. We also know that only 42% of homes that suffered a fire had a working smoke alarm. This demonstrates the need to keep promoting the value of having  a  working  smoke  alarm  and  the  need  to  retain  a  rapid  and  effective emergency response capability.

The main causes of fires in the home in 2014 were recorded as:

• Cooking / kitchen:  45%
• Electrics, appliances and mechanical:  25%
• Candles / tea lights:    8%
• Smoking materials:   8%
• Chimney, flue and open fires:   1%

The remaining 13% were spread among a wide range of other causes such as animals, lightning strikes and materials left close to a heart source

Response

Total Number of Non-Fatal Fire Casualties in Dwellings is unchanged

Fortunately the number of people injured from house fires in Jersey is low. The number of people injured in 2014 remained unchanged at 14; this is consistent with previous years. The majority of injuries were caused by smoke inhalation.

Total Number of Rescues from Fires in Dwellings down by 18%

We have to be cautious when undertaking percentage-based analysis of Rescues from Fires in Dwellings because the actual numbers involved are low and create natural volatility. The number of rescues in 2014 was slightly lower than 2013 but consistent with the 5 year average of 12.

Fires in Public and Commercial Premises up by 31%

There was a significant increase in the number of fires in public, commercial and industrial premises in 2014 to 48 which is highest number in the last five years.

The main causes/locations of fires in public, commercial and industrial premises were

Deliberate Primary Fires Up 200% on 2013

The number of deliberate fires in 2014 increased significantly compared to 2013 but is still consistent with previous years. Fortunately, the number of deliberate fires is still low compared to other indicators and so volatility from year to year or over even longer periods is expected to some degree. We thoroughly investigate all deliberate fires in partnership with the States of Jersey Police who will bring a prosecution where appropriate.

Total Number of Secondary Fires up by 9%

Secondary fires are fires in non-insurable property such as rubbish, furze and the countryside. The UK has a large number of secondary fires mainly related to anti- social behaviour; fortunately, Jersey does not have this problem. The majority of secondary fires in Jersey are usually from fires in the countryside. 2014 saw another warm summer with long periods without rain and warmer than average temperatures from July to October resulting in a number of furze fires.

Total Number of False Fire Alarms Attended up by 7.9%

Responding to false alarm incidents continues to put a strain on the Service. In 2014, we responded to 547 false fire alarm (FFA) calls, up from 507 in 2013. The main reason for the increase is the growth in ownership of domestic smoke alarms which has caused a steady rise in the number of false alarm calls to this type of device. We use a risk based approach for FFAs which modulates the size of our response dependent upon the risk category of the premises and the time of day or night the alarm is received. The breakdown of types of false fire alarms attended is as follows:

 Total Number of Emergency Special Service Incidents up 2%

An Emergency Special Service' is an emergency that threatens life. This includes hazardous material spills, flooding, road traffic collisions, sea and cliff rescues. 2014 saw a slight increase in the number of Emergency Special Service Incidents attended mainly attributed to an increase in the number of road traffic collisions attended.

Total Number of Road Traffic Collision (RTC) Responses up 82%

There was a significant increase in the number of road traffic collisions we attended in  2014.  The  overall  trend  for  RTC fatalities and  serious  injuries  has  remained reasonably  constant  in  the  last  four  years.  Our  increasing  attendance  at  these incidents  can  be  attributed  to  our  joined-up  approach  to  earlier  sharing  of  the information coming into the Combined Control Centre and the need for us to provide scene safety and casualty handling.

Water and Sea Rescue Incidents down by 40%

The number of water and sea rescues attended in 2014 has returned to normal levels compared to the exceptionally busy year in 2013. In 2014, we attended 22 incidents and rescued a total of 16 people from the sea.

Rope Rescue Incidents up 100%

Hazardous Material (HazMat) Incidents up 58%

There has been a continued upward trend in the number of HazMat incidents.

Rescues from Emergency Special Service Incidents up 147%

Rescues  in  this  category  include  cutting  people  from  badly  distorted  vehicles, releases from entrapments and industrial accidents, rescuing people from the sea or from rocks or rescuing people from cliffs and releasing people trapped in a lift.The number of rescues in 2014 was up significantly mainly due to rescues from lifts. In 2014, we attended 31 lift rescue incidents releasing 72 people that were assessed as in a distressed state or requiring medical assistance.

Humanitarian Service Incidents up 80%

Humanitarian Service Incidents are where members of the public or animals are, or could be, suffering from personal distress or severe inconvenience. This will also include incidents where failure to assist could lead to a deterioration of conditions and possibly threaten life or cause greater distress or inconvenience. In 2014, the number  of  humanitarian  incidents  increased  significantly  because  of  the  severe weather and high winds in January.

Co-responding to Medical Emergencies

As from the 1st August 2014, we entered into a joint venture with the Ambulance Service to co-respond to serious life threatening medical emergencies when it is known by the Combined Fire & Ambulance Control that there is no Ambulance response  immediately  available  or  where  a  fire  engine  is  geographically  closer. Firefighters provide essential first-aid and basic life support/defibrillation until the Ambulance  arrives  and  thereby  enhance  the  probability  of  patient  survival  and recovery. In 2014, we attended 8 co-responding incidents.

UK Benchmarking

The Service records information about every incident it is called to and uses this information to analyse and monitor performance against key targets and strategic performance indicators. These can be used to benchmark our performance against the UK and other Islands. Clearly, cost per head of population tends to be higher in smaller jurisdictions where many of the same overheads need to be in place for a lower  population  and  activity  levels. In  the  context  of  other  small  jurisdictions, Jersey's Fire and Rescue Service is slightly less expensive but one of the busiest.

Fire incidents per 100,000 population and cost per head of population (£) in 2014.

For further details on any of the information raised in this Annual Review please contact the Fire & Rescue Service:

Fire Service HQ, Rouge Bouillon

St Helier, Jersey JE4 5TP  30 T +44 (0)1534 445900 E s.admin@gov.je

www.fire.gov.je