Fire and rescue service seeks public’s views

The consultation will inform our three year forward plan, which sets out our priorities, our finances and resourcing and how we manage the level of risk that people face from fire and other emergencies like flooding or road traffic accidents.

To help people better understand what today’s modern Fire and Rescue Service offers, we have created a document which gives you an overview of our past, our present and our predictions for the future.

It also highlights the scope of the work the Fire and Rescue Service undertakes, from keeping people safe in all kinds of different emergencies to preventing accidents in the first place through home ‘Safe and Well’ visits.

It looks at the demographics and landscapes that we cover, our pledge to protect those most vulnerable and the best ways of working through collaboration with our partners to provide efficiencies.

Chair of the Fire and Rescue Authority, councillor Judith Hughes said, “We are really proud of what we offer the people of West Yorkshire, the technical skills and abilities of our staff and the fact that we have driven down incidents substantially over recent decades through dedicated prevention work in our communities.

“Now we must look to the future and continue to be strategic and innovative in the ways we work so that we can keep delivering the high quality service that West Yorkshire expects and focus our efforts on the things that matter to you.

“However, we are mindful that the Fire and Rescue Service is paid for by the public purse and in a sustained environment of reduced funding, it is essential that you have input into our decisions. Ultimately, we are your Fire and Rescue Service so we encourage you to be part of our future planning.”

Chief Fire Officer John Roberts said, “We plan carefully to meet the changing needs of our society and our ambition remains the same as ever, to Make West Yorkshire Safer.

“The modern day Fire and Rescue Service is not just about responding to fires or emergencies and we hope that the document we have produced will give you an insight into how we operate and what we offer; we hope you will be impressed.”