Firefighters praised for excellent response during pandemic

Alongside responding to emergency incidents, TWFRS staff have played a crucial role in supporting communities.

This ranged from carrying out hundreds of home fire safety checks to coordinating deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS and care sector.

The scale of the work was highlighted in a report to the region’s Fire and Rescue Authority this week.

Several politicians on the panel paid tribute to the fire and rescue service’s ‘professionalism, flexibility and speed of response’ during the Covid-19 crisis.

Vice chair of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority and leader of Newcastle City Council, Coun Nick Forbes, also noted the extra responsibilities TWFRS faced in recent months.

“One was the situation that we found ourselves in at the very early stages of the crisis, with real shortages of PPE in many of our care settings,” he said.

“We had to organise at very short notice a distribution system for PPE and the fire and rescue service stepped in and took control of that, took control of the deliveries and not just received the deliveries from government but also distributed them around the system locally.

“That kept facilities open, that prevented hospices from closing their doors and that kept key workers and care workers safe.

“I think we should be really grateful to all of the staff who pulled out the extra stops to go the extra mile to make sure that that happened.”

Coun Forbes said this was a “magnificent example “of the fire and rescue service going beyond what is legally required.

Although it was never used, the council boss also praised the fire service’s plan around managing ‘excess deaths’ in the region.

Coun Forbes went on to say: “The planning that went on to put those arrangements in place is another really good example, not just of the organisation rising to the occasion, but of teamwork and partnership working across a whole range of organisations.

“One of the things that I have observed from this crisis more generally is that we can have as much government guidance as we like but actually it’s the partnership working and relationships on the ground that have got us through.

“The work of everybody in the fire and rescue service I think really should be congratulated and noted by everybody who has seen it in operation.

“If you hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have got through this. It’s as simple as that.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Peter Heath, presented the ‘Covid-19 highlight of service delivery’ report at a fire authority meeting which was held remotely and broadcast live on YouTube.

Measures outlined in the report included technology to allow staff to work remotely, keeping training sessions going, health and safety risk assessments, changes to working patterns and deep cleaning and social distancing across TWFRS estates.

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In addition, the TWFRS ‘logistics cell’ was set up in March to manage all internal and external requests for support with 1,757 requests at the end of May alone.

Fire chiefs also asked all corporate and support staff to volunteer if they were able, as well as former employees including firefighters who retired more than five years ago.

At the start of June, 207 people had registered as volunteers including 68 ex-staff.

The service also actively reached out to partners in the region and helped to provide 600 food parcels and care packages to vulnerable people and families.

Chief Fire Officer, Chris Lowther, said the Covid-19 report showed what the authority could do during “times of great pressure when there’s a huge ask of us in our community.”

He told the meeting: “During the Covid-19 public health crisis, our service has had to not only apply our robust business continuity plans but also become extremely agile, flexible, fleet of foot, bold in decision-making and really come together as an organisation to make sure we have been front and centre at the response in our community to Tyne and Wear.”

Several members of the fire authority agreed, heaping praise on the fire and rescue service.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Kim McGuinness, added: “I want to say a huge thank you from my point of view to TWFRS and all of the officers and staff who have worked through this.

“I think it’s been a fantastic bit of joint working and that has been very apparent from my point of view as PCC along with the police.

“I think it’s done the region really really proud.”

To date, TWFRS has received £1,120,705 from the Government to meet the financial burden of Covid-19.

According to fire authority papers, £284,000 had been spent by the end of May with an additional £320,000 projected to be spent by the end of September 2020.

Further commitments of £107,000 are expected to be paid by the end of 2020/21.

The report reads:“This leaves approximately £409,000 (36.5%) uncommitted at this stage.

“Expenditure against this grant funding will be tracked, monitored and reported to members later in the year, with the expectation that all of this funding will be fully utilised.”

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