Introduction

Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) are required by the National Framework to produce a local Community Risk Management Plan that sets out the authority’s strategy, in collaboration with other agencies, for reducing the commercial, economic and social impact of fires and other emergency incidents.

The Protection Strategy 2022-27 explains how we intend to assess risk in Lancashire’s built environment and thereafter deploy fire protection, community safety and operational resources to manage that risk efficiently and effectively by:

  • Working collaboratively

  • Delivering our services intelligently

  • Continuing to improve and innovate

  • Operating a risk-based intervention programme

  • Managing the risk created by unwanted fire signals

  • Adapting to new legislation and responsibilities

  • Recruiting, training, developing and retaining a competent workforce

  • Supporting compliance through campaigns, business engagement and support

  • Enforcing compliance through transparent enforcement management and prosecutions

  • Linking protection activity to community safety

  • Linking protection activity to response and preparedness

  • Protecting Lancashire’s heritage

  • Measuring and evaluating our performance

The Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) sets out our overall direction and is informed by a Strategic Assessment of Risk. Driven by the CRMP, this protection strategy provides greater detail on how we will deliver and develop protection services during 2022-27.

Over this time our annual service plans will set out the continuous improvements we intend to make to achieve this so we can continually mitigate the potential impacts of risks relating to the built environment, the communities we serve and our employees.

Described in more detail later in this strategy our risk-based intervention programme enables us to determine which premises will be ‘audited’ by highly qualified inspectors, those which will be ‘inspected’ by business safety advisors, and those which will be ‘checked’ by operational crews.

Undertaking a strategic assessment of risk, maintaining a risk-based intervention programme, and utilising annually refreshed district intelligence profiles, is fundamental to the activities we undertake and the protection resources we deploy as certain risks in our built environment are reasonably foreseeable. By analysing national and local data, and using intelligence and learning derived from incidents, we aim to predict the types of emergencies that are most likely to occur and the premises, individuals or groups most likely to be at risk.

Notwithstanding the value of this approach, in our fast moving and constantly changing world we also recognise that historical data doesn’t always shape future events. Accordingly, we recognise the importance of being agile and maintaining the capability to identify emerging trends so we can continue to evolve and deliver our protection activities flexibly and proactively.

Using the risk-based intervention programme and district plans to shape how, when and where we deliver our protection services will ensure they remain appropriate to the needs of Lancashire’s communities and resources are continually allocated proportionately to existing and emerging risk in the built environment.