Dorset & Wiltshire and Hampshire Fire Services reported for health and safety breaches
A letter's been sent to the HSE by the Fire Brigades Union
Last updated 7th Jul 2022
The fire services for Dorset & Wiltshire and Hampshire have been formally reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has written to the body calling for the services to be investigated.
It relates to a policy where firefighters go into blazes with their breathing equipment off initially - and switch them on 'beyond the point of safe air'.
The FBU say that goes against health and safety laws.
Riccardo la Torre, Fire Brigades Union national officer, said:
“This procedure is unsafe, unlawful and unprofessional, and puts firefighters and the public at greater risk. It tears up half a century of health and safety law, best practice guidance, manufacturers’ instructions, and firefighter training. It will not make living and working in high rise buildings safer or tackle the wider crisis in building safety. It simply puts firefighters and residents at greater risk.
“Those chiefs imposing this policy have worked harder to take the breathing masks off of firefighters’ faces than they have to get flammable cladding off of people’s homes. It is scarcely believable that the recent fire and rescue white paper appears to propose giving fire and rescue chiefs more power over decisions such as these, and reducing workers’ voices. Some fire and rescue chiefs simply cannot be trusted to get vital decisions like these right.
“The policy aims to push firefighters beyond the duration of a breathing set, let’s be clear that means placing firefighters beyond the point of rescue if they become injured or trapped. Fire Bosses would do well to remember that the safety procedures they are ripping up exist for a reason, they were borne from the death and injury of firefighters. The NFCC and local fire services need to do the right thing and turn their backs on this policy.
"Following the IARC categorisation of the profession as class 1 carcinogenic, the highest level of certainty, it’s nothing less than scandalous that the NFCC continue with attempts to remove the very PPE that helps protect firefighters from that risk. Firefighters aren’t cannon fodder and don't deserve to be treated as such."
DWFRS RESPONSE
Assistant Chief Fire Officer for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, Andy Cole, said they would never put their teams at risk:
“In common with other UK Fire and Rescue Services, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service have been reviewing our ways of working in relation to fires in tall buildings. We have been engaged in constructive discussions with the Fire Brigades Union throughout this process, and were aware they were intending to take this step, following their unsuccessful case to a High Court judge refusing permission for a judicial review in February this year.
“We have an excellent Health & Safety record and any suggestion that we would put people at risk is wrong, as the safety of our crews and the public we serve will always be our priority; we do not agree with the view that this procedure puts any of our firefighters or members of the public at any increased risk. We are happy for the Health & Safety Executive to examine our procedures, which are shared with Hampshire and Isle of Wight FRS, and are aligned to national guidance. We will continue to engage with the Fire Brigades Union but will not be making any further comment until any process undertaken by the HSE has been concluded.”
HAMPSHIRE REPLY
The Chief Fire Officer for Hampshire, Neil Odin, has released a statement saying their procedures were backed up by national guidelines:
“The updated procedures have been designed to make life safer for our firefighters and the public by building on lessons learned from tragedies, including the Grenfell Tower fire.
“This is nationally approved guidance for fire and rescue services, which has been developed following extensive consultation with various stakeholders, including our own FBU safety representative.
“Any suggestion that we would put people at risk is wrong, as the safety of our firefighters and the public we serve will always be our priority.”