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There are many reasons why Fire Service numbers need to be at their present level
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From Craig Channing, president, Fire Service Association.
A LETTER published on 27 February requested a response in relation to ‘observations’ made over the Fire Service’s staff numbers, and I am only too happy to oblige.
I was pleased to read from the letter that the gentlemen held the Fire Service in such high regard. Jersey Fire and Rescue play a small but pivotal role in providing a public service, and in doing so work closely with all the other emergency services, who also do a fantastic, but sometimes unrewarding, job for the Island.
I assume from the comments on our ‘back-room’ to ‘productive’ staff ratio that he has first-hand experience and a total understanding of how a modern-day Fire Service manages its workforce and fulfils its statutory duties. If not, then it must be remembered that we are an Island of only 45 square miles, sea-locked with a continual upward spiral of residents and new buildings.
The service has to be diverse enough to deal with any emergency that we come up against with adequate personnel. The range of operational services we respond to include fire fighting, sea rescue, dealing with hazardous materials, road traffic collisions, animal rescues and other special services, all with significantly less resources than the UK fire authorities.
Day-rostered personnel supplement the watched based firefighters with these incidents, as we do not have the luxury of a UK brigade who can call on other local fire authorities for assistance for cross-border incidents. What we have is what we have!
All 72 full-time uniformed members of staff are active operational firefighters of different ranks performing different roles on different shifts, including members of our strategic management board.
As our title suggests, we are a service, not a brigade. The modern-day Fire Service changed from a reactive brigade to a proactive service some years ago and the main reason fewer people are being hurt in fires is down to education, legislation and, if all else fails, our intervention.
We rely heavily on our so-called back-room staff to facilitate our obligation to carry out both technical and community fire safety initiatives and educating the public alongside our business partners in the community. These firefighters also ensure that buildings are built to an adequate standard to remain safe for firefighters to enter and extinguish fires should the unthinkable happen.
The service also has individuals who provide training for our firefighters to enable them to carry out their duties in a safe and professional manner. These operational firefighters also deliver fire safety education to more than 35 schools and work closely with the Youth Service. They also delivered fire safety advice to more than 700 homes in 2008 alone.
It is only with the support of these firefighters that we continue to be proud of our record of achievement, both operationally and in delivering these less publicised services that go such a long way towards ensuring that Jersey remains a safe place in which to live.
We will continue to fight any reduction in numbers that the forthcoming spending review may suggest with all of our resources. Unfortunately, blind observations with no real credible support can only damage our fight to retain the services that we offer the public of Jersey.
Although I am sure the gentleman’s comments were written with the best intentions, I suggest that in the future before anyone puts pen to paper, they back up their observations with sound analytical data before making comments with no real knowledge of the subject in hand.
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