Fire Minister, Brandon Lewis, commissioned the review on 14 December 2012, suggesting that a radical reform was required. The main findings that Sir Ken Knight highlighted in response, published on 17 May 2013, delved into efficiency, resources, collaboration, structure and cost. Workplace Law have produced a special report looking at the possible outcomes of the proposed changes.
Clive Raybould, Fire Safety Consultant and Lead Tutor for Workplace Law’s NEBOSH Fire Safety and Risk Management Certificate, provides expert analysis to the review and subsequent proposals in the special report, ‘Fire Safety Reforms, will cuts to the fire service mean a change in direction for fire prevention?’
Clive comments: “The whole argument is about money. I feel sure that further cost savings can be made; however, as highlighted by a recent Fire Brigade Union (FBU) report, front line services have already been cut back by around 10% over recent years.
“As a society we should ask, are we only interested in the number of fires, deaths and injuries? Or should we be looking deeper into the effects that these fires have?”
The special report also looks at what is likely to happen over the coming months and debates whether increasing the number of retained firefighters, those who train one day a week and are only called up in an emergency, could be the answer to cost savings.
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