Evidence to support claim that a crew of two can deal with 70% of calls

The request was partially successful.

Dear Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service,

In your draft IRMP for 2018-22 you state that, "over 70% of incidents we attend could be fully dealt with by a crew of two". I will be grateful if you would send me a copy of the evidence that this statement is based on, including any research papers and risk assessments.

Yours faithfully,

A.C. Morris

Freedom Of Information, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

1 Attachment

Dear A.C. Morris,

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your request for information which was received on 4
December 2017.

 

I can confirm that we are dealing with your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and as required by the legislation, we aim to answer
your request within 20 working days from the date we received it.  If for
any reason we are unable to meet this deadline we will keep you fully
informed of the reasons for this.

 

Our response will be via email unless you advise differently.        

 

If you have any queries about this please contact me via the details
provided.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wendy Richmond
[1]Description: Information Officer
Description: Description:
DSFRS-FULL-COLOUR-BADGE_RGB t. 01392 87 2220  f. 01392 872300  w.
[2]www.dsfire.gov.uk  [3]@DSFireUpdates 
[4]Facebook   [5]Think Sprinkler
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service,
Headquarters, The Knowle, Clyst St George,
  Exeter. EX3 0NW

 

 

 

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Freedom Of Information, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

1 Attachment

Dear A.C. Morris,

       

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

I write in response to your request for information, received and
acknowledged on 4 December 2017.

 

Decision

Some of the information you have requested is held by the Devon & Somerset
Fire & Rescue Service (DSFRS).

 

Please find below the detail of the information you have requested along
with our response.

 

Request

In your draft IRMP for 2018-22 you state that, "over 70% of incidents we
attend could be fully dealt with by a crew of two". I will be grateful if
you would send me a copy of the evidence that this statement is based on,
including any research papers and risk assessments.

 

Response
Please see below a table that is an approximation of what could be dealt
with by a smaller crew. The research that led to this figure is based on
analysing our stop codes and then working out what type of incidents could
be dealt with by 2 or 3 people. Please note this is not what was mobilised
to the incidents, this is analysis post incident.

 

As you know through reading our draft Integrated Risk Management Plan this
is not a set proposal but more a starting point for discussion, so to this
end no further assessments have been carried out. If we were to consider
this as an option any changes would need to be fully assessed by various
departments and would require further consultation.

 

We therefore do not hold any pertinent research papers or risk
assessments.

 

Incident Types No of % of total
incidents
False Alarms 20835 36.89%
Co-responder 6912 12.24%
First Responder 3265 5.78%
Entry Effected 830 1.47%
Assisting other agencies 498 0.88%
Secondary Fires (no HR Hose reels or jets used) 2541 4.50%
RTC (not extrication) 3119 5.52%
Other SSC 1402 2.48%
Standby or precautionary action (not terrorist 357 0.63%
activity)
Provision of advice or inspection e.g. swaling 421 0.75%
Total dealt with by 2 40180 71.15%
All incidents 56476 100.00%

 

Review

You have the right to ask us to review this decision.  If you wish to do
this please set out your grounds for review in writing and send them to
the Information Officer at the Service Headquarters address or e-mail
[1][Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service request email].

 

Appeals

If you are still dissatisfied after a Service review you have the right to
appeal to the Information Commissioner at the Information Commissioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wendy Richmond
[2]Description: Information Officer
Description: Description:
DSFRS-FULL-COLOUR-BADGE_RGB t. 01392 87 2220  f. 01392 872300  w.
[3]www.dsfire.gov.uk  [4]@DSFireUpdates 
[5]Facebook   [6]Think Sprinkler
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service,
Headquarters, The Knowle, Clyst St George,
  Exeter. EX3 0NW

 

 

 

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Dear Wendy,

Thank you for your reply and explanation. My request was for "a copy of the evidence that this statement is based on", but you have supplied no documents copies. Your reply mentions research, but then claims that there is no record of that research. I find it difficult to accept that there is no documentation referring to such a significant claim, which is then stated as a fact in a very important consultation.

Please provide copies of documentation, other than the consultation document, that refers to the "over 70% of incidents we attend could be fully dealt with by a crew of two" claim.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Morris

Freedom Of Information, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Morris,

 

Thank you for your email, received 8 January 2018.

 

We will now conduct a review of our FOI decision and response. We will aim
to complete this within 20 working days when we will advise you of the
outcome.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wendy Richmond
[1]Description: Information Officer
Description: Description:
DSFRS-FULL-COLOUR-BADGE_RGB t. 01392 87 2220  f. 01392 872300  w.
[2]www.dsfire.gov.uk  [3]@DSFireUpdates 
[4]Facebook   [5]Think Sprinkler
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service,
Headquarters, The Knowle, Clyst St George,
  Exeter. EX3 0NW

 

 

 

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Freedom Of Information, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Morris,

 

We have now conducted a review into our initial decision regarding your
request as outlined below:

 

In your draft IRMP for 2018-22 you state that, "over 70% of incidents
we attend could be fully dealt with by a crew of two". I will be grateful
if  you would send me a copy of the evidence that this statement is based
on,  including any research papers and risk assessments.

 

Your response asked us to review our decision where you state the
following:

 

Thank you for your reply and explanation. My request was for "a copy of
the evidence that this statement is based on", but you have supplied no
documents copies. Your reply mentions research, but then claims that there
is no record of that research. I find it difficult to accept that there is
no documentation referring to such a significant claim, which is then
stated as a fact in a very important consultation. 

 

Please provide copies of documentation, other than the consultation
document, that refers to the "over 70% of incidents we attend could be
fully dealt with by a crew of two" claim.

 

I have looked into our response and all I can add at this stage of the
Integrated Risk Management Planning is the following:

 

Of 63,430 incidents over the last three years that were attended, taking
into account the Stop codes where for example there was a false alarm, no
firefighting action, only low pressure H/R used, standby action. It has
been calculated that rapid intervention with less than four personnel may
have dealt with 63% of all incidents and a further 17% of incident with a
crew of four.

 

Having spoken to the team involved with the consultation and planning
around the Integrated Risk Management Plan I can confirm the statement
that we sent in our original plan still stands:

 

As you know through reading our draft Integrated Risk Management Plan this
is not a set proposal but more a starting point for discussion, so to
this end no further assessments have been carried out. If we were to
consider this as an option any changes would need to be fully assessed by
various departments and would require further consultation.

 

The information provided to you previously and repeated below breaks down
the amount of incidents we could potentially have sent a crew of two.

 

Incident Types No of % of total
incidents
False Alarms 20835 36.89%
Co-responder 6912 12.24%
First Responder 3265 5.78%
Entry Effected 830 1.47%
Assisting other agencies 498 0.88%
Secondary Fires (no HR Hose reels or jets used) 2541 4.50%
RTC (not extrication) 3119 5.52%
Other SSC 1402 2.48%
Standby or precautionary action (not terrorist 357 0.63%
activity)
Provision of advice or inspection e.g. swaling 421 0.75%
Total dealt with by 2 40180 71.15%
All incidents 56476 100.00%

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Wendy Richmond
[1]Description: Information Officer
Description: Description:
DSFRS-FULL-COLOUR-BADGE_RGB t. 01392 87 2220  f. 01392 872300  w.
[2]www.dsfire.gov.uk  [3]@DSFireUpdates 
[4]Facebook   [5]Think Sprinkler
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service,
Headquarters, The Knowle, Clyst St George,
  Exeter. EX3 0NW

 

 

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A.C. Morris left an annotation ()

Internal review unsatisfactory. Matter now referred to the Information Commissioner.