Fire chief remains ‘confident’ in face of coronavirus crisis
West Sussex’s chief fire officer has said she confident in the face or the coronavirus crisis.
Sabrina Cohen-Hatton said it had been an ‘incredibly strange’ time for the team at the West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, despite it being used to being ‘in the thick’ of a crisis situation.
But managing the service under the new circumstances had been ‘so far, so good’, Dr Cohen-Hatton said.
“We have done an incredible amount of planning and working around this,” she added. “We have been making sure our plans are really robust throughout the crisis whilst maintaining the social distancing that we need to.
“We review daily to make sure we are responding to any kind of change we may have.
“Not just responding, but joining up with other agencies.”
The other agencies include local authorities, Sussex Police and health workers.
Dr Cohen-Hatton said the service was still there for people in an emergency.
“Rest assured, if someone was to dial 999 then we would absolutely be there,” she said.
“We have done all that we can to try and practise safe distancing unless we have had to be.
“Everyone else is working from home.
“It feels incredibly strange for all of us because we are all so used to dealing with a crisis situation.
“Normally we are in the thick of the crisis.”
Visits to people’s homes have become more difficult but things still need to be done to protect those who are at risk, as Dr Cohen-Hatton explained: “Where we can we have started to do them by Skype. For the people with the absolute highest risk of having a fire, extra protections and extra PPE.
“We are finding ways around this – new, inventive ways. We have been working
really hard to make sure that as soon as someone dials 999 we know were are going to be there. I’m really confident.
“The best thing people can do is to take as much care as they can in their own homes so they don’t need to call us out.
“With more people working from home there are some simple home safety messages.
“Make sure you aren’t overloading plug sockets.
“Also, the roads are a lot quieter but that doesn’t mean we are going to have fewer road traffic collisions – the speed limits are in place for a reason. Please still take the same amount of care.
“If people want to show their support, please keep yourselves as safe as you can.”
Dr Cohen-Hatton’s warning about speeding on the county’s roads echoed a warning that had been issued by West
Sussex County Council.
The council’s message was that while the roads may be quieter, the speed limit remains the same.
With reduced traffic during the coronavirus outbreak Sussex Police had contacted West Sussex County Council to say that some drivers had been tempted to drive too fast.
Roger Elkins, the county council’s cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “As well as being against the law, speeding at any time involves unnecessary risks.
“During the coronavirus outbreak, emergency services and the NHS are facing immense pressure – being tempted to speed now risks additional strain on services if there’s an accident.
“We urge all road users to follow Government guidance during the outbreak and stay at home: only travel if absolutely necessary.
“But if you do have to travel, always drive, or ride, within the speed limit and at a speed appropriate to road conditions at the time.”
Anyone witnessing antisocial driving was asked to report it via the Operation Crackdown website: www. operationcrackdown.org