The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is consulting on its new vision and asks the people of Scotland about how they want the service to evolve over the next decade and beyond.
The draft long-term vision published for consultation on 7 June is the result of extensive engagement work carried out by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) under its Chief Fire Officer, Martin Blunden.
It contains four strategic intentions that describe how staff are safer in carrying out the work that they do; how communities will be safer as a result; how it will take an agile and adaptable approach to changing risk and see the breadth and depth of their contribution to Scotland fully recognised.
The vision document explains four key principles the SFRS wants to focus on over the next decade along with eight priorities it wants to achieve.
Launching the consultation, Chief Fire Officer, Martin Blunden said:
“Our vision represents a new journey for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, but our mission remains the same: working together, for a safer Scotland. That means being dedicated to improving the quality of our service, to keep improving peoples’ lives, improving the safety and wellbeing of the communities we serve, to continue our shift to the prevention of harm for households and communities and to work collaborative with our partners.”
The vision document contains commitments to:
- Change its approach to Unwanted Fire Alarm Signals while continuing to safeguard people and property in a manner proportionate to risk
- Use home based technologies to enhance the level of fire detection and suppression in homes throughout Scotland.
One of the proposed priorities of the SFRS is achieving Carbon Zero status to reduce its impact on the communities it serves. Mr Blunden added:
“We can also play an active role in the Scottish public sector’s response to climate change. We want to push the boundaries on where we can take that, not only in terms of how we respond to the impact of climate on communities, but how we as an organisation can become more environmentally sustainable.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is one of the world’s largest fire and rescue services. It employs almost 8,000 staff and last year attended more than 91,000 incidents across the Scottish mainland and islands. During the same period, the SFRS conducted almost 70,000 Home Fire Safety Visits.
The Scottish Government’s priorities for SFRS are set out in the National Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland. The specific details for delivering the Vision will be contained in Strategic Plans.
The consultation ends on 18 July 2021.