London Fire Brigade, one of the largest fire and rescue organisations in the world, is responsible for keeping 7.5 million Londoners safe from fires and fire-related incidents. DNV has worked with the brigade for the past two years, ensuring an increased awareness and implementation of Enterprise Risk Management in the organisation.
The focus of work for fire and rescue organisations such as London Fire Brigade has changed dramatically over the past few years, not only in terms of time spent on prevention work but also in terms of a brand new partnership-based approach to fire and rescue services. At a time when the global economy is characterised by strain and dramatic cutbacks, London Fire Brigade continues to deliver an efficient, effective and value-for-money fire and rescue service at the same time as it is preparing for one of the decade’s big events – the London Olympics in 2012.
Forum sat down with the woman who oversees London Fire Brigade’s planning and performance to obtain an insider’s view on the work they do and other questions concerning the safekeeping of London.
Two distinct shifts
According to Susan Ellison-Bunce, there have been two distinct shifts in focus for London Fire Brigade’s working patterns over the past few years. “We are placing much greater emphasis on intelligence gathering about people and places at risk, and we have deliberately been skewing our resources towards educating the public – particularly the high-risk groups in the population. The results have been great; last year saw fewer than 30,000 fires in London for the first time in 40 years, which should be seen against a total of more than 57,000 fires in 2003/2004, and performance has improved again this year,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce.
The shift towards prevention work has come about as a result of successive governments’ increased awareness of its effectiveness. “The understanding that taking a reactive approach to risk was limited in its effectiveness was an important turning point,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce, adding that “everybody now agrees that the most efficient risk approach is to work with the local communities – giving them the ability to protect themselves.” London Fire Brigade has deliberately developed methods for addressing high-risk groups – such as the elderly. “Although the elderly are no more at risk of fire than the average population, the risk of physical harm to the elderly is much greater when a fire occurs.”
One of London Fire Brigade’s actions in its quest for a safer London is the home fire safety visit. “We don’t just deliver a smoke alarm and talk about escape routes – we also explain how to reduce the risk of having a fire in the first place. This has been a big change. Previously firefighters went to the scene of fires – nothing else. Now a substantial part of a firefighter’s work is related to teaching the public how to prevent fires,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce.
The other big change over the past years has been a shift to a distinctive partnership approach. “We are now looking more at delivering shared objectives together with others. London Fire Brigade is now involved in more than 4,000 partnerships. We work together with 33 London boroughs. This is a clear shift in Government thinking towards improving local accountability and involvement,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce.
Working with DNV
Throughout the past two years, London Fire Brigade has worked closely with DNV on Enterprise Risk Management. DNV has helped the brigade identify, verify and audit risks related to the corporate risk framework. More specifically, DNV has looked at how London Fire Brigade can identify, manage and monitor corporate risks.
DNV has also helped identify areas where London Fire Brigade could develop and improve. “Right now, for instance, DNV is helping us develop our business continuity system so that it complies with the new British Standards,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce. “As a result of our collaboration with DNV, we are now at the head of the game with regard to risk management. We’ve embedded risk management across the organisation and it is welcomed by our staff. People seem to be very appreciative of its effects,” she says.
Facing unconventional threats
London Fire Brigade is one of the Greater London Authority’s functional entities. In the aftermath of the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks in the US and London, the UK Government dedicated new funds for investments in equipment and vehicles to deal with these and other unconventional threats facing London and other cities around the world.
“After the 9/11 attacks in the US and the 7/7 bombings in London, there was a sudden realisation that terrorist incidents could take on forms other than IRA bombs. We suddenly started talking seriously about the potential for chemical and biological weapons. Our job is making sure that we are capable of dealing with these new threats, and 9/11 and 7/7 made us take a new look at our capabilities and capacities. We immediately saw our limitations. Luckily we received some additional funding from the UK Government to address the gaps, and today we are better equipped than ever,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce.
Safeguarding the London Olympics
There has also been a focus on potential terrorist-related incidents in the preparations for the upcoming London Summer Olympics set to take place in 2012. London Fire Brigade has been preparing for the Olympics for the past four years. Amongst many other things, they have provided advice on building security and safety.
“London Fire Brigade has been a key partner in the development of all new buildings for the Olympic Park. We look at not only fire safety issues but also construction techniques. There’s an inherent conflict between the public interest in having building safety standards in place and the construction companies’ interest in constructing the buildings quickly. Our focus is on protection and ensuring good security and exits in the case of fires,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce.
London Fire Brigade is also heavily involved in the provision of services during and after the Olympics. “During the Olympics, we will be on alert with regard to potential incidents in the Olympic Park whilst we continue to maintain our response teams for the rest of London. In addition there’s the concern for the city’s legacy after the Olympics, with the UK Government wishing to ensure a lasting improvement in infrastructure, housing conditions and the number of open spaces in this particular part of north London. “These are all planning processes we’re deeply involved in,” says Ms Ellison-Bunce.