Minutes:
Resilience Forum
It was noted that the Resilience Forum was a statutory body that would feed back with a resilience strategy via James Cook. The Forum would also report on various performance issues. It was noted that Public Health would be looking at what measures were in place to deal with a flu pandemic.
London Fire Brigade
Emergency planning issues that LFB were reviewing were:
· Responding to heavy snowfall
· Dealing with flooding
· Responding to incidents of public disorder
It was noted that resources were stretched when responding to calls for help during the recent flooding. During the recent flooding, Bromley Fire Brigade assisted Croydon Fire Service with a variety of emergencies. All of Bromley Fire Services’ high volume pumps were fully utilised. As well as dealing with flooding problems, the fire service also had to deal with “business as usual”. There was an ongoing discussion with local authorities as to what constituted an emergency. Daniel Cartwright (Borough Commander-Fire Services) encouraged LBB to look at what in house contingency plans existed. The example cited was a possible fire in a sheltered housing complex—what contingency plans had the council put in place in terms of assisting those affected—what was the contingency for providing alternative accommodation? The Borough Fire Commander pointed out that all parties had to consider reputational risk related to the way that emergencies were responded to, and that leadership should be visible.
Arson Sub Group
It was noted that eight courses concerning arson and fires had been completed in local schools. These had been funded from monies allocated to the Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Safety. It was further noted that work was being undertaken with potential fire starters in an attempt to reduce incidents of arson. LFB were monitoring potential fire hazard sites and arson hot spots; local crews were reporting back to the Borough Commander as appropriate. The Borough Fire Commander highlighted that arson levels had fallen by 40% in the last four years. The issue of “Beds and Sheds” and rough sleepers was raised. This was a cause of concern to the fire service. Lissa Moore promised to share information regarding this with the fire service. The ongoing issue of Waste 4 Fuel was raised at the meeting. It was noted that the matter was being heard again in the High Court in the next two weeks. It was noted by the Group that the worst case scenario would be if the site was abandoned and left unsecured. This would mean that the site would need to be cleaned up, and all the rubbish removed. The responsibility and the cost of this would need to be borne by the EA (Environment Agency).
The question remained as to what would be done with the site following the clearance. Councillor Tim Stevens stated that he felt that as this matter was causing a lot of concern and frustration among local residents—there was a danger of public disorder. Contingency plans may need to be considered in case this occurred. Jo Oakley raised the issue as to what would happen if there was a problem with the site if there was a fire brigade strike. The Fire Brigade Commander responded that the fire service would always attend in response to a 999 call. It was noted that there were portable jets and other firefighting equipment on site. The most likely response from the fire service was that they would attend and dampen down the site. The Group were informed that an LFB strike was scheduled for 21st June—10.00am to 5.00pm, and that personnel not striking would be used to command units.
It was agreed that reports from the Sub-Groups be noted.