Fire leaders back plan to strike the right balance on health and safety

Date:

12 March 2010

Leading fire and rescue figures are backing efforts to strike the right balance between protecting fire-fighters and ensuring they can properly respond to emergencies.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has agreed a new policy statement with the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the government's Office of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser (OCFRA).

It sets out HSE's support for a sensible and proportionate approach to dealing with risk in the emergency service.

Fire and Rescue Services operate under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which puts a legal duty on them to protect their workers. But the new statement makes clear that this doesn't prevent firefighters from doing their job.

HSE Chair Judith Hackitt said:

"We want to clear up any misunderstandings - a proper approach to health and safety does not prevent fire-fighters from doing their job.

"Firefighters perform a unique and indispensible role. It is part of their job to intervene in dangerous situations to protect people and property.

"The law expects that they will themselves be protected as far as is reasonably practicable - but in fast moving situations they must exercise judgement about what is reasonable and what is not.

"Some actions that firefighters have to take to protect people inevitably put themselves at some risk. We welcome the opportunity to clarify the balance that is required in making and taking these decisions.

"Our statement makes this clear and I am delighted that it has such strong support from fire service employers and unions."

Mark Smitherman, CFOA Operational Response Director, said:

"Firefighters are perhaps unique in the risks they face and manage during their working lives.

"There are few jobs in the UK in which a manager will routinely have to make such complex decisions about sending colleagues into dangerous situations.

"It is vital for the safety of both firefighters and members of the public that the best possible decisions are made under such extreme and challenging circumstances.

"Appropriate health and safety guidance will help us do this, and I am delighted that we now have this statement to clarify how the balance between operational need and health and safety can be struck."

The Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Sir Ken Knight, said:

"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. 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:

"Firefighters face dangerous situations on a routine basis. No one wants to see them injured or killed while carrying out their work. 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."

The statement acknowledges that "firefighters and managers... have to make decisions in what are sometimes extremely hazardous, emotionally charged and fast-moving situations".

Fire service employees have the right to expect good health and safety systems that take into account the unique nature of the work as well as robust and non-bureaucratic risk assessments. HSE inspectors will refer to the statement in conducting inspections and investigations of fire services.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national workplace safety regulator and it works to prevent death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.
2. The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) is a professional membership association, which represents the Fire Service and the communities it serves. The association provides independent advice to the government on fire prevention, protection and intervention issues as well as on a wide range of community safety and rescue matters. Membership is made up of both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel.
3. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) represents more than 85 per cent of the uniformed staff of the UK fire and service. Its members range from frontline firefighter to area managers, and include emergency fire control staff and firefighters working the retained duty system.
4. The Office of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser provides strategic advice and guidance to ministers, civil servants, fire and rescue services in England and other stakeholders - including the devolved administrations - on the structure, organisation and performance of the Fire and Rescue Service.

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