An agreement which aims to strike a balance between the safety of firefighters and ensuring they can properly respond to emergencies has been unveiled by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
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Striking the balance: [L to R:] John McGhee of the FBU; Sir Ken Knight, Judith Hackitt, HSE chair; and Mark Smitherman of CFOA |
Among the aims of the new policy statement are a consistency of approach and decision making by HSE inspectors, promoting a culture in fire and rescue services of dealing with hazards in a sensible, proportionate and thought-through manner, and ensuring early and widespread learning from incidents and new developments.
Part of the objective is to address what is described as “often an unrealistic public expectation that firefighters will put themselves at risk even when such risks outweigh any potential benefits to be gained”.
The policy statement has been made with the support of the Chief Fire Officers Association, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), and the government’s chief fire and rescue adviser. The statement will be supported by practical guidance.
"The HSE has recognised that the work of the fire and rescue service is often carried out in a fast moving, extremely hazardous and emotionally charged environment,” said the government’s chief fire and rescue adviser, Sir Ken Knight. “I welcome this statement which seeks to clarify the HSE expectations on fire and rescue services with regard to health and safety management, and aims to provide a consistent approach to applying health and safety enforcement and safety audits within the fire and rescue services’ work."
John McGhee, national officer at the FBU, said: “In our profession health and safety is literally a matter of life or death. The FBU is glad to see that HSE recognises there is a balance between placing unacceptable expectations on firefighters and making sure they are trained and equipped to safely carry out the job they are expected to do – save lives.”
