Agenda item

The Borough Commander for Barnet spoke to his presentation.

He reported that improved IT had meant that more live data were available. KPIs overall had improved since the previous year.

‘Serious injuries’ had been reducing but still showed in the ‘red’ category. This included smoke inhalation. The LFB was trying to target vulnerable people but data was not always available.

‘Shut in lift’ occurrences were also in the ‘red’ category and this was the case for most London Boroughs, but Barnet had achieved a ‘very low’ number of incidents with few repeat offenders. As the number of high rise buildings increased the number of lift incidents was likely to grow.

There had been a reduction in callouts to automatic fire alarms (non-domestic buildings) when the Authority had begun to issue fines, but these had been discontinued and an increase in callouts had been the result. The LFB worked to educate organisations when they had these callouts as several different reasons could cause the alarms to be set off. The LFB was also working with Barnet Homes and registered social landlords on education around fire alarms.

Highlighting vulnerable people continued to be a challenge; ensuring this group had a means of escape from any dangerous situation was more important particularly as many had reduced mobility The LFB continued to have ongoing discussions with various groups around vulnerable people and how to support them. It was important that vulnerable people were highlighted to the LFB by other organisations where possible, for example if they are smokers or at risk for any reason.

There had been two fire fatalities in two months in Barnet. Both had not been able to understand their situation or to escape. This was a concern and the LFB needed to be able to track such individuals if they were moved to a new home.

Mr Kwamya noted that he was putting together a strategy for housing officers and other staff. He asked the Borough Commander to inform him of individuals who could be linked in to this training.

Action: Borough Commander

The Borough Commander noted that he tried to have contact with as many people as possible, and organisations such as care homes, as well as practice nurses who visit people at home. Sometimes staff focused on medical care but were not aware of fire risk. Emollient creams are flammable so this poses a high risk particularly for smokers, for example.

There had been a policy on hoarders in Barnet for the past two years and many agencies had been discussing this. This was not only a fire concern but a general health one and the panel was beginning to address the barriers for communicating with hoarders. Funding had been made available for clearance but the root causes were not yet being dealt with and these individuals tended to re-hoard. The right partners were in discussion, including the CCG and the GP Networks. Barnet Homes representatives were also involved and the LFB had been installing smoke detectors.

The Borough Commander reported that the increase in high rise buildings brought new problems, as well as the impact on the highways whilst the building work was being carried out. Parking and fire access also had to be considered particularly with indiscriminate parking on private roads.

The Community Safety Manager proposed that a plan produced by the Safeguarding Adults Board around fire risk be shared with the SCPB.

Action: Community Safety Manager

The Borough Commander reported that the Borough had set up a Fire Cadets scheme, funded by the Mayor of London for all London Boroughs. The Scheme in Barnet had been set up at Finchley Fire Station, teaching life skills as well as firefighting to 14-17- year olds. Additional funding may be required after the initial year of funding from the Mayor of London. There would be opportunities for promotion for the Cadets. Currently the LFB was recruiting the next cohort, to begin on 24 February. Some of the early Cadets had taken up a career as firefighters.

The Director for Children’s Social care asked the Borough Commander whether she could share the slides with schools and youth services. This was agreed.