Inspection of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: East Service Delivery Area
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East Service Area Delivery Inspection of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) which focuses on four key themes: Prevention and Protection; Response; Partnership and People.
Appendix B: LSO Area Performance - Falkirk and West Lothian (FWL) LSO Area Focus
Falkirk and West Lothian (FWL) LSO Area Focus
- 272 Accidental Dwelling Fires
- 128 Road Traffic Accidents
- 1,468 Secondary Fires
- 3,061 False Alarms
- 11 Stations
- 252 Personnel (FTE)
- 346,280 Population
- 724km2Area
| Theme | Highs | Lows |
| Prevention and Protection | The Prevention staff structure was thought to be flexible as they are able to work across both local authority areas effectively. | There are said to be issues around data sharing, instances of fire related anti-social behaviour are not recorded by Police, which can impact on Community Planning Partnership funding allocation. |
| There were good examples of contributing to wider community issues such as fuel poverty and food banks. | Youth engagement activity in some areas has reduced due to a reduction in partner's focused work. | |
| Prevention staff feel empowered to develop solutions and work with partners to improve community outcomes. | Community engagement education packages are not readily available, causing a sense of frustration. | |
| Good work with the third sector is reported, particularly in the West Lothian area. | Staff report that the Community Safety Engagement Tool (CSET) is not recording activity correctly in the ESDA. | |
| Prevention staff are working with housing colleagues to link tenancy agreements to improvements in anti-social behaviour. | No qualification or career development pathway is available to the Community Safety Advocate role. Access to Continued Professional Development (CPD) is predominantly offered by external partners, with very little offered by the Directorate. | |
| Drill-ground supervision training has been offered to Community Safety Advocates, so that they can fully contribute to youth engagement Fire Skills and other practical courses. | Prevention staff reported poor uniform quality and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) provision, with no inclement weather clothing available. | |
| The area Protection team is now recruiting experienced auditing officers to fill vacancies. | Recruitment and retention of staff into Protection is said to be an ongoing challenge, with few incentives to move from an operational role. | |
| Protection staff are very well supported by CPD events from the Directorate. | The programme of fire safety audits was said to struggle to go beyond identified Framework premises. | |
| An Unwanted Fire Alarm Signal (UFAS) champion is working with regular UFAS offenders to reduce their impact. | There are continuing problems with the Prevention and Protection Enforcement Database (PPED), consequently personnel are maintaining their own records to cover its inadequacies. | |
| Response | Some Watch Commanders were supportive of the idea of tablet technology and would like to see its capabilities increased to incorporate the use of more systems. | In general there was a lack of faith in the demountable Getac tablet device capabilities, resulting in its infrequent use. |
| There is good work being carried out to ensure that Operational Intelligence (OI) data is current. A common error list has been developed, to help simplify completion of data input. | Lack of crewing, is said to be very challenging, particularly for water rescue meeting minimum crewing levels. Livingston second pump was reported to be off the run approximately 40% of the time. | |
| Equipment and structural fire PPE is reported to be generally good, with new torches singled out for praise. | We were advised that the water bowser at Larbert is constantly off the run with mechanical issues, due to its age. Staff felt it should be considered for early replacement. | |
| There is potential to roll out the bank hours system, which is a pilot in another LSO area. It was felt it would further enhance On-Call appliance availability. | Staff overwhelmingly called for wildfire PPE to be issued. | |
| There are some examples of adjusting Pre-Determined Attendance (PDA) to respond to changes in risk. | Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) panel roofing issues are present at Livingston fire station. This will require significant capital expenditure. | |
| There are some good examples of standard tests being recorded electronically on Excel Spreadsheets, this is seen as a positive enhancement. | Flexi Duty Officer radios are said to be not accurately plotting their location. Fireground radios are reported to be very poor. | |
| There is good support to On-Call staff from Support Watch Commanders (WCs), which will be enhanced by their forthcoming attendance on Instructor courses. | Detached duties are impacting on training in general but particularly with specialist assets. | |
| Support WCs have flexibility of workplace to increase On-Call availability. | The lack of drivers continues to be a challenge at some stations. | |
| Crews expressed a desire to show innovation utilising better alternative equipment for effecting entry, which would give better options rather than destroying doors using existing tools. | The Rapid Response Unit appliance was reported as not being utilised fully. There are issues around Operations Control not recognising its availability. Training in the Ultra High Pressure lance is said to be restricted, with a lack of access to materials. | |
| Protection staff are operationally ready and can substitute for response commanders if the need arises. | Future challenges are expected with High Volume Pump availability, due to limited access to training courses for its operation. The equipment itself is said to be ageing. | |
| On-Call seminars are in the early stages of planning and when introduced will support On-Call managers. | There was said to be a lack of access to equipment, that some appliances had previously carried and found useful, e.g. Tirfor winch, air bags and thermal imaging camera. | |
| Partnership | Partners in the area have a very positive view of the Service. | The loss of regular tactical meetings, due to the pandemic, to discuss changes in risk was said to be hampering dynamic use of resources. |
| There are community hubs where shared partnership working is centred in both the Falkirk and West Lothian areas. | The Community Asset Register continues not to be utilised well. | |
| There are some examples of premises sharing. | Partners expressed a desire to reinstate the 'cool down crew' initiative to work with young people. | |
| The Local Area Liaison Officer position was said to be valued by partners. | Partners expressed some frustration that the Fire Service has very limited funding to support local initiatives. | |
| There was said to be good relations with partners in the Grangemouth Petrochemical Complex. | Senior local authority leaders expressed a desire to reinstate the engagement with the Chief Officer and the Chair of the Board, which had previously taken place, to get a more strategic insight into national pressures | |
| The style and content of scrutiny committee performance papers was valued and liked by Elected Members. | Some Community Planning Partnership partners felt they had a lack of understanding of what SFRS capabilities were and consequently how they could work collectively to achieve outcomes. Though there were good examples of joint working, it was felt that more needed to be done around improving joint awareness education sessions, to further improve outcomes for all. | |
| People | There has been some improvement in the On-Call recruitment process, taking less time to employ new staff. | Access to some courses is reported to be an issue, e.g. Breathing Apparatus, High Volume Pump and Abrasive Wheel. |
| Personnel generally felt supported by the LSO management team, though there were also isolated feelings of a 'them and us' atmosphere. | Instructor shortages at Newbridge are said to be having an impact on course attendance, with evidence of Compartment Fire Behaviour Training courses being cancelled. | |
| The updated Training for Operational Competence (TfOC) system was thought to be better for the balanced training of Firefighters. | There was reported to be a shortage of assessors and verifiers affecting trainee development portfolio sign off, with a mix of systems in use to record trainee development. Managers reported a of lack of clarity. | |
| Staff reported that they valued operational update case studies e.g. Glasgow School of Art and Albert Drive. | Talent identification, development and the promotion process were reported to be poor by most staff. This is having an effect on officer turnover and a negative impact on those being managed. |