Our Safety Plan has been formally approved allowing the fire service to progress the work consulted upon last year.
At the Fire Authority meeting which took place last week, members agreed to approve the document which sets out the direction we go in as an organisation from 1st April 2025 until 31st March 2030.
You can find out more about the Fire Authority, read the agenda and minutes from the latest meeting, and rewatch the live stream on the dedicated HIWFRA webpage.
The 10-week public consultation concluded on 18 December 2024. Responses from the public survey, external focus groups, and internal engagement were analysed, and the draft Safety Plan was updated to reflect the findings.
Throughout the consultation feedback was gathered through the public ‘Have Your Say’ survey, with other fire services, blue light agencies and the local resilience forum all invited to take part, as well as our staff and representative bodies.
We held 12 focus groups with 123 diverse participants, including underrepresented groups, addressing economic and equality factors.
Chairman of the Fire Authority, Cllr Rhydian Vaughan MBE said:
“Thank you to everyone who took part in the consultation, helping us shape the future of our fire service.
“The fire service exists to make life safer. This document is our way of identifying the risks we face across Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and our plan to manage them.
“Now that the Safety Plan has been formally approved, our teams can now make progress on our objectives, following this blueprint of how we can improve the already proud service we deliver to our communities.”
The strategic objectives in the Safety Plan which will be focused upon this year include:
- Protecting people, especially those who need it most
- Working with others to make buildings safer
- Preparing for emergencies and being there if you need us
- Empowering our teams to do their best
- Ensuring the best use of our funding, people and assets
The full HIWFRS Safety Plan for 2025-2030 will be published on 1st April 2025.