Fire chiefs warned of target flaw

NEW performance targets for firefighters could create a “race to the bottom”, bosses have been warned.

From next year, Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Authority will trial the new measures.

This will set defined standards for how quickly emergency calls should be answered and how long it should take for a crew to be dispatched and to arrive.

The idea of introducing Incident Response Standards is being put to the public as part of the ongoing consultation on cost-cutting measures to save more than £3m.

“The authority’s priority has always been to respond as quickly as possible,” chief fire officer Chris Lowther told Monday’s meeting of the fire authority.

He added: “As part of the consultation being undertaken, we’ve asked the question of whether it’s responsible for us to set a response standard as well.

“Critics often argue it creates a race to the bottom.”

Most fire and rescue authorities in the UK set Incident Response Standards, with advocates of the system claiming it allows the public a greater say in how they expect firefighters to react to different incidents.

But, according to a report prepared for authority members, detractors counter it can also be used to lower standards over time.

Gateshead councillor Kevin Dodds, a former firefighter, said the means of measuring performance could mean the authority was seen to officially miss targets, despite good performance.

He said: “Sometimes [when you’re at an incident], pushing a button on a screen is the last thing you’re thinking of.”

On average, firefighters in Tyne & Wear reach the most serious incidents in five minutes and 12 seconds, from when a crew leaves a fire station.

Under plans currently being considered to save cash, fire chiefs have suggested “low risk incidents” could have a longer response time to protect the speed they can reach the most serious incidents.

The trial of standards is set to start in April and, if successful, could be fully implemented in 2020.

Proposed standards included:

■ 96% of 999 calls to be answered within seven seconds;

■ Crews sent to emergency incidents within an average one minute of answering the call and first fire engine to arrive within an average of six minutes later;

■ First fire engine to arrive at incidents where there is significant risk to life and property within 10 minutes in more than 95% of cases.