Analysis of the Incident by Station and Time in Merseyside - Case Study Example

Community Fire Safety 2 Name: Course: Lecturer: Institution: City & State: Date: Community Fire Safety 2 Summary Merseyside has achieved number goals through different strategies that they have put in place with an aim to be the best in fire risk management. Amongst these strategies, include developing and refining their existing methodologies as well as inclusion of new approaches to deal with emergencies (Beard, & Carvel, 2005: 51). Professional judgment for the data obtained from fire instances has also been a key to success of these new strategies for Merseyside. This report analyzes the four years of incident by station and time in Merseyside. The fire stations involved have different number of incidents that have reduced with time taking baseline as 2004/05. Introduction According to the data obtained about Merseyside 2004/05 incident data, there are 26 stations that have different number of appliances that face different fire risks. The main differentiating factor here is the false alarm incidents which are used to rank the incidents. It is evident from the Merseyside incident data that secondary fires take the lead in most of the stations cases followed by false alarms. In some stations, there are higher false alarms than the secondary cases. For instance, at C3 city center station has 284 secondary fires while the false alarm fires are 1,499. Other stations that have higher false alarm fires that the secondary fires include N1 Bootle with 332 secondary fires less than the false alarm fires which are 333; N7 Southport has 216 secondary fires, while the false alarm fires are 607. 2004/05 incident data These rankings are in the order of total incidents that involve fewer false alarms; with N3 Croxteth station being top in false alarm fires recorded a total less false alarm fires of 1700. N6 Formby is 26th in the list with False alarm fires recorded 125 cases. In this year, the total less fire alarms were 23,385 cases which averaged about 64.07 % of the total cases. Daily averages of the fire cases in all the stations were as follows: dwelling fires had an average of 3.49 %, other building fires 4.10 %, other fires 8.59% secondary fires 33.24%, other special services 5.96%, and false alarms 26.54%. Therefore, the 2004/05 data clearly shows that the secondary fires ware leading on an average basis for all the fires at Merseyside. For this data C4 low hill recorded the highest number of dwelling fires as well as other Building fires. S2 Speke had the highest cases of other fires in that year (2004/05). N3 Croxteth station had 1,056 secondary fire cases, which was the highest of the cases in Merseyside in that year. The leading other special service and false alarms were severe cases at C3 city center which was 214 and 1,499 cases consecutively. These cases might have resulted due to a number of factors that the community has contributed in the Merseyside area which include: Property stock Developing an appropriate population stock since it serves as a means to develop an inventory of the risks that the society may accept. This determination involves deciding the residency details as per the property stock and non-building stock. The property stock is categorized as class occupancy, which involves the groupings of people in one region. In addition, the professional and business occupancies have a greater threat to fire. Height and size of the building Tall buildings produce more space to take a significant number of people; this in turn increases higher chances of fire risks. Compared to shorter buildings, taller buildings have the highest level of risk, which pose a greater threat to neglect of property. These buildings have a problem in maintaining higher population, which causes longer leave time in times of a breakout. In addition, it is difficult to maintain established contact with occupants in the building. Therefore, to convey an appropriate response in case of emergency is almost an impossible thing. Other challenges that these buildings experience include fuel in the buildings are accumulated, as well as having problems to access the floors at the higher levels in times of firefighting. Building exposure Highly populated areas where buildings congested in one area are a significant threat to start exposures. This is in relation to the cases of the buildings that are at proximity thus causing higher chances of catching fire and spread to others. A building that has been exposed to start in such areas is a significant threat to other building in that area. These buildings have a number of accelerating factors that promote fire spread in conditions of a fire breakout. These are: Type of roofing Type of wall used, Fire protection openings, The surface and combustibles around the building 2006/07 incident data In 2006/07 cases, the number of less false alarms decrease in some station while others show an increase rate of false alarm fires. For instances, E1 St Helens, although it has reduced cases it tops in the list while N6 Formby retain the least number of false alarms although they have an increase from 125 to 147 total less false alarm cases. This shows a reduction on the average daily cases on total false alarms to 58.97 % from 64.07% cases recorded in 2004/05. The decreasing rate of cases in this year is a significant progress in that most of the stations recorded a reduced number of cases from the previous year. The average daily cases for all the stations are as follows: dwelling fires 3.49% less 0.39% from the previous year, other building fires 4.10% less 0.56% compared to 2004/05. Other fires recorded 8.59% which is less than 10.38% for 2004/05. Secondary fires also showed a reduction to 33.24% compared to 34.95% for 2004/05. Other cases showed the same trend in reducing the cases of fire cases in all stations and all type of fires, which average to a total of 85.51% daily cases compared to 92.13% for the previous year. These drastic changes in the fire outbreaks could be as a result of the people’s reaction towards protection which was because of: Resilient and strong leadership It not morally right for the fire authority to escape from making tough decisions that are used in the event of protecting fire events. The government should be prepared to spend on the rescue services that involve fire risks (Michael, 2005: 150). This way, people can change their behavior and lend a hand in relation to safety from fire risk. A dedicated work force of professionals When a group of dedicated professionals joins hands to provide services, they should make a thorough job. With such motivational work force, the people can positively change their attitude and behavior towards protection from fire. Communication When dealing with fire issues, regular communication must be emphasized amongst the people. Failure to have proper communication between the firefighters and people can make a large gap between them. Therefore, the people’s behavior on protection from fire is based on fear which if not help can lead to greater risks thereafter (Haley, 2007. p. 69). Moreover, firefighters must develop a positive attitude to the people and encourage then to have courage and take the appropriate precautions to deal with the problem. 2006/07 incident data Although in most of the stations have shown a reduction in the fire cases, a good number of the stations have neglected to follow the patterns and guidance in reducing the fire cases in the area. For instance, E1 St Helens this year recorded an increase in number of false alarms from 406 to 499 cases. To the centrally N6 Formby recorded a higher quality figure to maintain the position with the least number of false alarms, as well as the total less false alarms. This increase in fire case in some stations like in C4 Low hill showed an increase in total daily average cases from 85.51% to 86.50%. In addition, this showed an increase in the total less false alarms to 61.89% from 58.97% from the previous year. The 2006/07 incident data cases showed such incidents due to inefficiency in information management in the communities in the Merseyside. Proper communication required in Merseyside may require a number of drivers to enhance the chances to lower the cases. They include: Problem solving and creative thinking There is a reason to communicate well there is a reason to judge effectively. Use of these techniques gives one an extensive expertise in creating new ideas in services that are meaningful to evaluate and analyze the ideas. Working creatively with others is an ideal way to accomplish dependable communication amongst the members of a given community. Collaboration and communication There is a need to access information as well evaluate the available information. This process of critical evaluation of the available information is the ideal way to achieve the problem at hand. 2007/08 incident data Greater decreases in all fires were recorded this year; with N3 Croxteth being the top in lists as per the total less false alarm fires data. N6 Formby maintained the lowest numbers of all cases except the secondary fires which was 38 cases compared to 37 cases for the W3 Heswall. C4 Low Hill maintained the leading cases in all dwelling fires. Total cases recorded had 74.22% which shows a significant decrease from 92.13% in 2004/05, while the totals less false alarm fires were 50.48%, which was less compared to 64.07% for 2004/07 case. Good strategies were all the community needed to protect the stations from the fires that were recorded in each year (Haley, 2007). With this in mind, some strategies which may help to reduce these cases further are included in the table below. Incident type Strategy Economic importance 1 Dwelling Installation of fire extinguishers in homes (Michael, 2005) Fuel switch Teaching the people on how to use the implement provided Lower the high number of fire cases in dwelling areas Appropriate fuel for the right purpose can lower incidence of fire breakout If people are taught on how to deal with the fires they reduce the required work in response to fire calls 2 Other building Installation of firefighting stuff like fire extinguishers Saves time and reduce the backup needed to deal with the issue 3 Other fires Use specific firefighting equipment for specific fire Ensure a quick response to reduce the risk incidence to inaccurate responses 4 Secondary fires Ensure fire fighters are in proximity to the dangerous areas like N3 Croxteth station Lowers the value in transport to these areas as well as save the time and ensure speedy action 5 False alarms Install automated alarm systems that correspond to fire outbreak. Reduces the number of the circumstances that have to be handled on daily bases Discussion Analyzing this data on Merseyside report, it is important to note that the acquired information can be used when planning on the major steps that might be required to solve the Merseyside safety issues. In addition, the statistics on the trend of the cases on fire safety for different stations is clear indications that, this data can help in planning on what proper measures that Merseyside needs to ensure safety of the people. Thus from this information, there is a possibility that if a station has so consistent in causing alarms then something must be done to ensure safety for such areas. Generally, over the past four years of fire risk Physics in (MRI) Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Merseyside have been going down. This can be attributable to the maturity and understanding of the people to take care of themselves as well as being concerned about their welfare. For example, C4 St. Helens has being the only station leading in secondary fires. This can be attributed to the careless ness of the people as well as poor management of the facility. For the other cases, there has been a reduction in the cases safety issues within Merseyside. In essence, it appears that with time the either the people of Merseyside and the firefighting departments have taken a proper step in ensuring safety as a first priority thereby reducing the high number of cases. Conclusions N3 croxteth and E1 Helens appeared as top 3 stations with secondary fire incidents. E1 St Helens recorded 3,999 incidents of secondary fires, while N3 recorded 3,807 incidents. E3 Huyton had a record of 3,182 incidents in that period. The period, 2004/05 being the baseline, there were 6000 reduction in the cases recorded over the entire region. This was recorded a reduction for all cases in the entire region. Moreover, all stations recorded a decrease in cases in 2006/07 compared to the past year 2005/06. These cases showed even in the reduction of the cases in: The dominating incidents were secondary fires and false alarms; the rescue services in Merseyside called measures to deal with these incidents; The peak months that showed a steady flow of the incidents were July, October, and November; The greatest numbers of incidents recorded were at the City Center Station Bibliography Beard, A. & Carvel R. (2005). The handbook of tunnel fire protection, London: Thomas Telford. P. 51 Haley, A. (2007). Roots: the saga of an American family, Hillsboro: Vanguard Books. P. 69-72 Fire & Rescue Service Circular 25/2007 IRMP Steering Group Action Strategy Department Of Communities and Local Government 68 May 2007. www.communities.gov.uk/firecirculars. Merseyside Community Risk Register (2011) Merseyside Resilience Forum. http://www.merseyfire.gov.uk/aspx/pages/Default2.aspx. Michael, W., (2005). Fire Officer: Principles and Practice, New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning. P. 150-175. Appendices Table 1: Table of incident in 2004/05 in all stations in Merseyside Table 2: Incident data for 2005/06 in Merseyside Table 3: Incident data for 2006/07 in Merseyside Read More