Safer communities
Priority 1 - we will have sustainable and scalable interventions in place to mitigate the impact of changing communities
The service delivered more home fire safety visits than ever before. The community safety advocates and operational crews delivered over 9,000 visits to members of our communities. Visits were prioritised, with those most at risk being the highest priority. Records show that over 90% of visits carried out were to individuals with known vulnerabilities. This evidences that our targeting methodology is accurate.
Training has been provided to align to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) competence framework. This ensures the service delivery is:
- competent
- delivered to a high standard
To support wider community safety concerns, as outlined by the Lincolnshire joint health and wellbeing strategy, additional training has been provided on four separate areas:
- fraud awareness
- mental health support
- domestic abuse and health
- accessible homes
This partnership approach ensures our communities are being supported in the most effective and efficient way.
In-line with the identified community risks, the prevention team have embedded the following strategies within the service delivery:
- water safety
- deliberate fires
- wild fire reduction
Various proactive campaigns have taken place throughout the year, with the teams monitoring and reviewing the impact on risk reduction.
Planning has allowed the first cohort of volunteers to begin the on-boarding process. In 2025 to 2026, the community volunteers will be developed and trained to support the wider community safety work as directed by LFR.
Priority 2 - we will optimise the use of data to prioritise and target people who may be at greater risk of fire and other emergencies
It’s important that all decisions made within the service are based on data and evidence. Understanding the community and corporate risks allows strategies to be developed to manage and mitigate impact.
The risk and intelligence team have worked collaboratively with department heads to review current risk profiling methodologies, challenging and identifying missing aspects of data and information. As a result of this, additional datasets from external partners have been identified and accessed. This adds to the depth of understanding of our communities and associated risks. An example of this is assisted bin collection data from local authority partners. The outcome of this work as meant that almost 90% of all of the HFSVs carried out are to individuals and households who have identified vulnerabilities.
During the year 2024 to 2025 the service transitioned from InPhase to Power BI to support performance management processes. The development of strategic dashboards has seem a focus on performance management, allowing scrutiny at all levels across the service. Further work will be carried out to ensure that:
- use of the system is embedded
- performance management culture is further developed
Priority 3 - we will ensure we have skilled professionals in place to monitor (and enforce non-compliance) relevant to fire safety legislation in the built environment
The fire protection team delivered against the risk based inspection programme (RBIP). They carry out fire safety audits, targeting those premises identified as high risk. With a number of new fire safety inspectors, clear and structured development pathways have allowed individuals to develop, aligning to the national competence framework. Inspectors have been developing fire safety skills and knowledge, whilst specialising in a number of additional areas of responsibility, for example:
- petroleum regulation
- safety at sports grounds
The protection team have seen an increase in formal enforcement notices issued. They have offered assurance that the risk modelling methodology is accurate, and target the highest risks across the county. All notices were reviewed, allowing trends and common issues to be identified.
Themed work with partners was then carried out. For example, a campaign looking at sleeping accommodation above takeaway establishments.
A comprehensive business engagement strategy was delivered by the team. Activities and communications were supported by the Chamber of Commerce. Key compliance information was shared in a timely and effective manner.