CFRS Weekly Update - 08.12.23
Weekly Update - at a glance
- Crews praised for severe weather response.
- Reminder to avoid including personal/sensitive information in online calendar entries.
- New Incident Command training available to book.
- Form available to join the overtime list for cover at wholetime stations, and reminder to enter personal details on MyHR.
- Presentation to Appleby's John Bell who retires after 30 years.
- Annual People Awards taking place today (Friday).
** Please note that the above information should be shared with all staff on parade. Detailed information for each of these headlines can be found below.
Snow response praised
Chief Fire Officer Rick Ogden and the Senior Leadership Team have extended their sincere thanks to all those who worked tirelessly in extreme weather conditions at the weekend.
Among the many incidents Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service assisted were:
- 9pm on Saturday; a crew from Ambleside was mobilised in a 4x4 to collect and deliver bedding, and to assist the police in providing welfare in the local reception centre for over 200 members of the public
- 11pm on Saturday; at Ings, Kendal, a crew assisted North West Ambulance Service in a time-critical extraction from a stranded vehicle
- 2am on Sunday; on-call crews in 4x4 vehicles assisted the police with locating individuals in stranded vehicles in the Satterthwaite area
- on Sunday evening, we assisted in transporting an engineer to a remote United Utilities plant to prevent loss of water to 400 homes
- Throughout the emergency phase, we assisted United Utilities in delivering bottled water to areas without supply, and fire stations were used as collection points for water and emergency centres for responders
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Information Governance update
As a result of the way Microsoft Outlook is configured, the contents of calendar entries, including files, are visible to anyone viewing a calendar. As a result, please ensure that confidential/sensitive information is not included in calendar entries or invites.
If there is a pressing need to include information or files in a calendar invite (this should be an exception rather than the rule), the calendar entry should be locked down as a ‘private event’.
Alternatively if you need to share sensitive information, this can be done by using a password protected file and sending this via email.
For more information or guidance, please contact the Information Governance Team.
Mark Clement, Head of Safety and Assurance
Incident Command update
ICL 1 Development
A number of courses have been put on PDR Pro for around the county:
- January 10 at Penrith, 7pm to 9pm
- January 24 at Kendal, 7pm to 9pm
- February 21 at Ulverston, 7pm to 9pm
- March 27 at Carlisle East, 7pm to 9pm
These sessions are focused around managing fires in building incidents and have a presentation and short scenario at the end. Moving forward, there will be a monthly session planned in which will alternate in subject each quarter.
There are a number of scenario days being planned too. The scenario days are aimed at managers and OIC Firefighters who get limited operational exposure. The first one is:
- March 9 at Penrith, 9am to 5pm
Once the training planner has been populated, there will be one per quarter moving forward.
There is currently a new suite of incident command E-learning packages being developed and will be released in the new year.
Assessments
There are a new set of joining instructions for the ICL 1 assessments which contain documents that will help candidates with the assessment process. As of January 1, the Incident Command Team will also check to make sure the essential learn pros for incident command are up to date.
All Incident Commanders are able to see when their skill expires and there are still a number of incident command assessment spaces available up until September 2024. Skills will not be extended past their expiry date so please make sure you are booked on an assessment in good time.
Scott Cameron, Station Manager - Learning and Development
Mike Burn: an announcement from the family
It is with great sadness that I announce that former Divisional Officer Mike Burn has passed away after a brief battle with cancer. He died peacefully at Eden Valley Hospice in Carlisle on Tuesday, December 5, with his family around him.
Mike started his fire service career as a retained firefighter at Millom (his home town) before joining West Midlands Fire Service as a wholetime member in 1969. He was stationed at the busy Mosely Road fire station in Birmingham before moving back up to Cumbria in 1972.
He moved through the ranks of Leading Firefighter at Workington and Sub Officer at Carlisle on Blue Watch for many years before moving up to Station Officer at the old HQ in Cockermouth, then ADO and DO of the old ‘C’ Division (Carlisle and north Cumbria), making many lifelong friends along the way. He retired from service in 1999.
His funeral will be held on Wednesday, December 20 at 1pm at the Carlisle Crematorium, Dalston Road, Carlisle. This will be followed by the traditional fire service send off at the Ex-Serviceman’s Club in Carlisle city centre. Family flowers only please and there will be a collection for Eden Valley Hospice at the service.
Dave Burn, Watch Manager - Carlisle East/West Red
Interested in an animal rescue post?
L&D are looking for expressions of interest for the role of Large Animal Rescue, Associate Instructor.
Please complete the expression of interest form provided to state why you would be most suitable for the role and what relevant prior knowledge, experience and qualifications you hold.
The initial course runs from January 15 to 19, 2024, at the Horse Trust, Buckinghamshire, with travel and accommodation provided. Candidates applying for this role must be available to attend the outlined course dates above and be prepared to support the delivery of service-wide Large Animal Rescue Training.
For further information, please contact Station Manager Tom Wright on 07879880350.
Expressions of interest are to be submitted to FireService.LD@cumbriafire.gov.uk no later than midday on Friday, December 15.
What to expect:
BARTA’s Animal Rescue Instructor course will equip delegates with the underpinning practical knowledge and resources required to deliver training and assess students in rescue techniques required of an intermediate level Large Animal Rescue Team, within your organisation.
Intermediate level teams have the skills to resolve the majority of large animal rescue scenarios (not requiring advanced skills or equipment for animal, task or environment).
Upon completion, delegates will have the ability to implement initial acquisition and maintenance of skills training in manual and mechanical rescue methodology and demonstrate how to apply these techniques within a range of environments.
Tom Wright, Station Manager - Learning and Development
Have a Go days rescheduled
Our Have a Go days that were due to take place at Ulverston, Workington and Carlisle East this week have been postponed.
They will be rescheduled to fall within the wholetime recruitment window that will now open in the new year.
Single time and overtime cover
Please can all operational employees complete the linked form to join the overtime list for cover at wholetime stations and/or update their details.
This will ensure the cover list is kept up to date and your choices are reflected on there. If you have any questions before completing the form, please speak to your line manager or LCU station manager.
If you have any questions about using the form or would like to remove or change a response that you have already submitted, please contact Service Delivery Support
Takara Hanks, Senior HR Advisor
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MyHR reminder
Please can employees ensure you have filled in all your personal information on MyHR, including home addresses, next of kin (and their contact information) and any EDI information.
It is important that our records are as up to date as possible in the event of an emergency.
Emily Grey, HR Assistant Advisor
Pension information
The Local Pension Partnership (LPP) has published its opening hours for the festive period:
 Vacancies
Membership survey
Every member of our service is a member of the NFCC, and as such they would like to hear your thoughts on:
- How far members are aware of and involved in NFCC’s work and services
- How important our work is to individual roles
- What our members feel NFCC should focus on in the next two years
- How effective our communication and engagement with members is
- If there’s anything else you would like NFCC to consider in the future
Please could you take the time to feedback on the work of the NFCC and their support to services by completing the survey here.
The survey closes at the end of the day on Friday, January 5, 2024, and as a thank you for taking the time to respond, the NFCC is offering one respondent a complimentary place at an NFCC event relevant to their role in 2024 (one person to be drawn at random after the closing date).
Mark Clement, Head of Safety and Assurance
Survey deadline extended
A survey that invites views into misconduct has extended its deadline until December 15.
Crest Advisory is working with His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to conduct the research into the handling of misconduct in fire and rescue services in England.
As part of the research, they want to hear from both current and former staff members of all 44 fire and rescue services in England who have had a personal experience of the misconduct process while in service. The findings will be used to inform a national thematic report that will be published in the new year.
If you wish to take part in the survey, please click here.
Fond farewell to John
We said a fond farewell this week to Appleby Firefighter John Bell, who retires after 30 years' dedicated service.
John's friends, family and colleagues gathered at the station on Wednesday night for a special presentation celebrating John's career and to wish him well in retirement.
People Awards
Our annual People Awards are taking place today (Friday) at Carlisle Racecourse.
Awards will be presented in the following categories:
- Team of the Year
- Community Contribution
- Unsung Hero
- Outstanding Achievement
- Inspirational Leader
- Outstanding Contribution
Thank you to everyone who made nominations and full coverage will appear in next week's Weekly Update.
Visitors from Poland
 We were pleased to welcome six members of the Prevention team from Poland's State Fire Service, who spent Tuesday with us as part of their week-long fact-finding visit to the UK.
Our discussions with our visitors covered our respective services' approaches to water and road safety, fire prevention in the home, data gathering and communications.
Christmas gifts reminder
This festive season, Chief Fire Officer Rick Ogden will be visiting the Children's Ward at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, to donate gifts to the young people who are spending Christmas in hospital.
We are therefore inviting people from across the service to consider buying an extra gift this year for a child in hospital.
If you wish to donate, please wrap your gift and write a tag to indicate the age range for the present and, where appropriate, the gender it would be suitable for.
Please leave your donations at reception at Penrith HQ by Friday, December 15.
- All our stations are encouraged to hold a coffee morning or open evening this month to engage with our communities this festive period. If you are planning to hold an event and would like some support on promotion/communications, please contact Andrew Clarke.
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Safety checks at Barrow
Barrow Fire Station is inviting motorists to visit for a free vehicle safety check on Friday, December 15.
From 2pm, crews will carry out checks on tyre pressure and tread depth, as well as offering safety advice for winter driving.
Festive fun for the family
Kendal Fire Station is encouraging children to create colourful festive pictures to decorate the appliance bay this Christmas.
The crew will select the three winning artists who will receive a VIP tour of the station.
Entries can be left at the station's main reception.
Key incidents
Call-outs of note from the past week have included:
- on November 30, crews from Carlisle East and West attended an RTC involving a bus at Court Square, Carlisle
- on December 1, crews from Carlisle East and Wigton attended an RTC on the A595 at Wigton which involved the extrication of a casualty
- on December 1, crews from Windermere and Broughton-in-Furness attended a fire at a domestic property at Elterwater, Ambleside
- on December 2, crews from Carlisle East and West attended a chimney fire at a domestic property on West Linton, Carlisle
- on December 3, crews from Carlisle East and West attended a mattress fire at a domestic property at Ivegill
- on December 3, crews from Cockermouth and Maryport attended a vehicle fire on Row Brow, Maryport
- on December 4, crews from Carlisle East and West attended an incident at Bowscale Close, Carlisle, where they administered first aid to a casualty who had fallen
- on December 5, a crew from Penrith attended a tractor fire which had spread to the roof of a farm building at Broad Meadows, Melmerby
- on December 5, a crew from Ulverston attended a two-vehicle RTC on the A590 at Newland
- on December 5, crews from Carlisle East, Carlisle West, Brampton and Longtown attended a fire at a domestic property on Duke Street, Carlisle
Features that have promoted us in the media and on social media this week have included...
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Rick Ogden's praise for our crews in the response to the weekend's snowfall has been heavily featured by the media, and Area Manager Stuart Hook conducted a series of television and radio interviews on the subject.
Additionally, Station Manager Andrew Lowes has taken part in radio interviews on electrical safety during Electrical Fire Safety Week, during which time we have also carried an online information campaign.
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- Multi-agency community actions days will take place in Carlisle and Barrow on December 11 and 12 respectively.
- Barrow Fire Station is offering free vehicle safety checks on Friday, December 15 from 2pm.
- Barrow Fire Station is holding its 2nd annual Winter Wonderland from December 12 to 23. All proceeds go to The Firefighters Charity. Tickets available here.
To have your events included in this section, please email cfrs.update@cumbriafire.gov.uk
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