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Chairmans AddressMichael Fitzsimmons, Chief Fire Officer, Kildare.Good morning Minister, Delegates, Guests, Speakers, Press, Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the Conference of the Chief Fire Officers of Ireland for year 2001 especially to those of you who traveled from overseas from the United Kingdom, Mainland Europe and the United States to be here with us today. We are always complimented by the enthusiasm displayed by yourselves and your colleagues for our Conference. We do wonder from time to time whether it is the quality of the papers or the quality of the networking (for which read “golf and entertainment”) which is more attractive. We will say that is the quality of the “mixture” of both. This is my third and final year to address this august body as Chairman of the Chief Fire Officers’ Association. It has not been a quiet few years which I suppose is what should be expected. Review
Those of you who would have been at the Conference in 1999, in Dungarvan will probably remember, and not remember any other part of my address, the coining of the phrase “Toothless Pussycat” which has become one of those catchphrases remembered long after the content is forgotten. That phrase was part of a plea for more power for the Fire Authorities to prosecute and enforce the Fire Services Act 1981 I also spoke about the problems of the Retained Fire Service in meeting its obligation to guarantee a correct, rapid & appropriate response to a call for assistance. Also mentioned in 1999, was the inadequate numbers of Fire Officers employed in the Fire Authorities to carry out the function of the Fire Authority and the Building Control Authority. The last point dealt with in 1999 was the question of Fire Safety in the home, particularly for the elderly living alone. In the following year Conference 2000, I drew attention to problems in training and career prospects for those wishing to enter the Fire Service at firefighter and officer level. I also referred to the problems created by the lack of national standards of Fire Service cover and implications with respect to the National Spatial Strategy review. Other issues on which recommendation were made by the Stardust Tribunal and which still remain unresolved are the National Fire Service Inspectorate and the National Training Centre, both of which I also drew attention to last year. top Progress
I am very pleased to be able to report to the Conference, if you are not already aware, in my third and final address as Chairman, that substantial progress has been made in recent times in dealing with most of the issues of previous years. Not finally decided upon and actioned but at least out in the open and up for discussion and decision. I refer of course to the Minister’s Strategic Review of Fire Safety and Fire Services in Ireland, launched on the 1st March 2001 with the publication of the “Request for Proposals” in the EU Journal. The responses to his Request for Proposals from Management and Fire Consultants will have reached the Department of the Environment and Local Government by the 23rd of April and I have no doubt that the officials of the Department are busily trying to make sense of them at this very moment. The terms of reference of the review are certainly almost all encompassing and contain hopefully the seeds, at least, of the answers to all of the problems which have been bedeviling us for a number of years. I would like to take opportunity to thank the Minister and the Fire and Emergency Planning Section of the Department for listening to what we were saying in time past, even though I have to say we doubted it at the time. Obviously we cannot prejudge the outcome of the Review, but we are hopeful that the result will bring about the changes that we feel are necessary and which we have been calling for, for some time. You will also be aware that progress on new legislation has recently been achieved, in that the Regulations under the Planning & Development Act 2000 for the control of Outdoor events have been issued. Also the Bill for the control of Indoor Events by licensing and for the amendments to the Fire Services Act has also been published on 23rd April 2001. Many of our concerns on enforcement of the Fire Service Act have been addressed in this Bill and hopefully it will progress to an Act and implementing Regulations as quickly as possible and not be interrupted by any sudden political disturbance. top National
Safety Council
On the Safety issue which I referred to before, on fire safety in the home, especially for the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable, I am particularly pleased at the progress being made by the National Accident Prevention Committee of the National Safety Council on the Multi-Agency project being undertaken on a regional basis to address this problem. The integration of the efforts of a number of different organisations particularly the Health Boards for this very worthy goal is admirable and is achieving the objective set out by the Fire Safety Committee of the National Safety Council. This Fire Safety Committee is also organizing and funding training on public speaking for Junior Fire Officers to enable them to participate in a scheme to promote Fire Safety as part of a community fire safety initiative. Building
Control
It would be unusual for the Chief Fire Officers to dole out such an amount of praise for the Minister and his Department without some sting in the tail so I won’t disappoint him. We are never completely satisfied in our quest for enhancement of public safety and I would take this opportunity to remind the Minister that the problems of enforcement and legislation with Fire Service Act are also there in the Building Control Act. I drew attention to deficiencies in the enforcement procedures of this Act also last year and I would hope that the Building Control Section of the Department are as diligent in the coming year as the Fire Service and Emergency Planning Section have been in the past year in order introduce amending legislation to rectify the inadequacies. The Fire Safety Certification and Commencement Notice parts of the Building Control Regulations are very important pieces of the legislation in the control of the Fire Safety of new buildings. In fact it is fair to say that the Fire Safety Certification process, where designers must get prior approval of their designs before construction is started is unique and if followed through will result in Ireland having some of the safest new buildings in the world at the least inconvenience to the developer and designer. Those who don’t agree should study the Building Control legislation in other countries. Architects (or maybe its their insurers!) sleep easier in their beds because the Fire Officer has signed off their designs as “Fire Safe” by way of this Fire Safety Certificate. top There is also a necessity to ensure that all the work which goes into obtaining a Fire Safety Certificate both by the Designer and by the Fire Officer is not brought to naught by allowing the builder to carry out the construction without professional supervision and/or inspection to ensure compliance with the Certificate. I would go so far as to say that it is unfair on the builders to make them rely on their own and their employees’ integrity when it comes to compliance when there is so much money at stake especially if they feel that their competitors are getting away with it-as is happening with planning legislation. It can be expected that the enhanced standards of Fire Safety in all our new buildings will have some influence on the possible new National Standards of Fire Cover in planning for the National Spatial Strategy and the future of the Fire Service. The Senior Officers of the Fire Service will of course be making their own submission to the Strategic Review Consultants and will take the opportunity at that time to ensure that the consultants are made aware of all of the issues which are of concern to us at this time. We may even propose some radical changes in the Control & Management of the Fire Service nationally but we will not speak about that just yet. We have always been anxious to have the Stardust Tribunal recommendations on a national Fire Inspectorate implemented. top Fire
Service within the Restructured Local Government
I would like to take this to draw attention to the important roles of the Senior Officers in the developments of the Fire Services nationally down through the years since the 1940 Fire Brigade Act. Unfortunately this work done by my colleagues past and present has rarely been acknowledged by anyone, especially by our own management. I am confident that this is because generally Fire Officers are proactive people and tend to get around problems and objections without making too much of a fuss. “Making things happen” is a central theme throughout the whole Fire Service ethos. Co. Managers are rarely bothered by Fire Officers on a day-to-day basis and therefore these Co. Managers forget that the objectives of Fire Safety, Fire Protection, Fire Fighting and Rescue are being achieved anyway. (It is probably best that they don’t know how we achieve some of our results sometimes). However in this time of change in Local Government, the Senior Fire Officers’ abilities are working against the good of the Fire Services, in that many of the high achievers are getting out, at all ranks, some for promotion within the Local Authorities and others, with less fear of the insecurity, out into the hard private sector world of contracting and consulting – usually remaining within the Fire discipline. Of course, those of us, who are left inside and maybe behind, wish those who leave the best of luck in their new careers. However we fear for the Fire Service they leave behind, as those in it become disillusioned because they see no expanded future in a career they cherish. Nor do they see any prospect of recruiting replacement staff to carry out the work to achieve the goals and objectives of the new structures of the Strategic Management Initiative. The role and function of the Fire Service nationally in Fire Prevention, Fire Protection, Fire Fighting and Public Safety generally and within the Local Authority structures must be recognized for its importance in the lives of the citizens. top If this requires major changes to the structure and management of the Fire Service in the interest of economy, efficiency and effectiveness then we will take them on willingly, provided that there is incentive to do so and by that I don’t mean financial incentive. What are needed are responsibility and authority to make changes and the recognition of that responsibility. If well-qualified Senior Fire Officers have a lowly place in the organisational structures of Local Government then you are not going to get, and keep, the numbers and quality of people who are needed in the Fire Service in the 21st Century Ireland to protect the public safety. The Regulatory role of the Local Authorities has been neglected in past years (the Ombudsman has been particularly strong on this recently on the Planning Process) but none more so than in the Fire Safety inspection side. This type of work is very time consuming and therefore requires staff in order to achieve objectives. There are many different classes of buildings, quite a few classified as Residential or Sleeping and therefore High Risk, to be inspected regularly especially for Management compliance with Fire Safety rules and regulations. Fire Officers are extremely busy and under pressure to produce reports and recommendations for the Planning and Fire Safety Certificate process. Due to shortage of staff, it is not possible to carry out enough inspections to ensure public safety. Unfortunately there is also a culture in management of not upsetting the Celtic Tiger and of not harassing the entrepreneur/businessman who is driving this Tiger. Our fear is that one day this Tiger will turn and bite us because of major loss of life somewhere as a result of fire. Two the most major disasters this economy has seen in the past ten years, BSE and Foot and Mouth Disease happened as a result of insufficient enforcement of Regulatory Control. The risks were known but nothing done to prevent the consequences. The Interdepartmental Review on Public Safety called for more effective enforcement of existing legislation to enhance Public Safety. More effective enforcement requires commitment and that commitment requires the staff to do the job. top As I mentioned in previous years one of the most valuable services now being provided by the Senior Fire Officers is the 24-hour, 365 day availability of a duty Senior Officer to respond at the request of a Fire Brigade or a Control Centre to any incident. The lack of sufficient numbers of suitably trained and qualified Fire Officers is putting this service at risk and putting intolerable strain on those who are trying to continue to provide the service. It is essential therefore even outside the Strategic Review to continue to recruit additional staff and provide the necessary training so that the Fire Service may be in a position to provide the service which the public thinks it is getting and to provide the level of safety which the it expects. Emergency
Services nationally
I
have made many references to the Strategic Review of the Fire Services and I am
well aware that only Fire Safety and the Fire Service will be looked at in this
review. However I would like to
take this opportunity at this Conference 2001 to call for a review and
examination of the integration and co-ordination of all of the Emergency
Services in the country. I will
give you a list of all of the organisations involved:
Forget what these people do on a daily basis and remember that they all provide the Emergency Services for the citizens of this country when they are in difficulty. Apart from the sporadic meetings of county Major Emergency Planning Groups, there is little co-ordination or integration of these services. Many of the essential functions are duplicated and not co-ordinated. There are necessary functions missing and there is no awareness of the resultant gaps in the service provided for all types of emergencies. All of the services are controlled, funded and managed in different ways, from National Government Departments down to Local Voluntary Organisations. Different methods of Command and Control are utilized many of which are not compatible with one another. It is time that all of these organisations spoke to each other and not by the traditional “megaphone diplomacy”. Structures need to be set up on a Regional & National basis where the managers of all these services can meet across the table to plan the provision of the Emergency Services which will be essential in the event of any size of disaster, small, medium or Major. In
fact this present day break in the definition of emergencies into Major and
other is unreal and dangerous. Emergencies can start small and grow into Major,
start Major and stay that way or start somewhere in the middle. Having only two
types of response i.e. one for Major Emergencies and one for all others makes no
sense. What is needed is a defined and graded response to suit all circumstances. This requires co-ordination and integration at every level throughout all the services and clear lines of responsibility and authority on the ground. This can only be achieved by structures both national and regional as well as local, to ensure properly planned interventions by all services for any emergency whatever the size or type. top Summary
As I said earlier Fire Officers are never really happy. In fact it could be said that we are a right bunch of “whingers” but we have to say that this is always in the interest of public safety. We rarely, if ever, look for more money and status for ourselves and this can sometimes be to the detriment of our goals and objectives because it has been thought that we do not think enough of our role in the life of the citizens of the country. Everybody is jumping on the pay and conditions bandwagen at present but here is not the time or place to address this. What we will spend the next two days talking about is our jobs and how to perform them more effectively, whether in the heroic Firefighting mode or in the less exiting though non the less important mode of Fire Protection and Safety. This is probably what we enjoy the most, talking about it. But talking and listening is teaching and learning and what more important things could you be doing for the next two days. I would particularly like to thank our non-Irish guests and delegates for coming here so faithfully every year to give us the benefit of their knowledge, skill and experience. We hope that their stay is as beneficial to them as it is to us. We especially cherish our ties with our colleagues from the U.K. who have assisted us so much in the past. I would like to take this opportunity at this my last Conference as Chairman to thank all those who have enlightened my working life over the past two and a half years. It hasn’t been easy but it has been very enjoyable. I haven’t achieved all my goals yet but maybe with the Minister’s help, by the time I hand over my Chain of Office in September, I will get better marks from the teacher (who is at home by the way earning the money to keep me in the life and holiday style I would like to afford but can’t, on a Fire Officer’s salary) top |