Fire and rescue services are well placed to cope with short term disruptions to service such adverse weather but longer disruptions may risk public safety, according to an Audit Commission report published today.

The Commission’s research, Business Continuity Management in the Fire and Rescue Service, was commissioned by the Communities and Local Government department in March this year. It found that most fire and rescue services have satisfactorily flexible plans to cover short term disruptions, and that the parts of the country that have already experienced problems such as transport disruption or bad weather have used their experience to improve their plans.

But the greatest public risk, warns the report, would be caused by any major disruption which affected several fire service areas, or the whole of England, especially if this continued over a long time. Such disruption would severely test continuity plans in making both staff and equipment available.

The research looked at every fire and rescue service in England, from the smallest on the Isles of Scilly employing just 39 staff, to the 7,000-strong London Fire Brigade.

The report – published in a week when the Fire Brigades Union is balloting its members on industrial action in London and amid speculation on government cuts to fire and rescue service budgets – found various ways of being prepared for staff shortages. Some areas have ‘resilience contracts’ with certain employees who agree to always make themselves available. Others, including London, have arrangements with private contractors to provide external staff in an emergency. Retained, or part-time, firefighters would stand in for whole-time crews in some parts of the country, and other services rely on suitably trained senior managers or support staff to crew fire engines in an emergency.

“Our overriding finding was that England’s fire services are becoming more resilient, and have satisfactory business continuity plans in place,” said Michael O’Higgins, chairman of the Audit Commission. “But we do make suggestions about improving engagement with local communities, partners and staff, and protecting the vulnerable. We say plans should be tested, special equipment made available, and control rooms made more resilient in emergencies.”

Audit Commission report