Emergency planning

Our ability to warn and inform the public about the public safety consequences of our emergencies isn’t just a nice thing for us to do - under the Civil Contingencies Act, it’s law!  Whatever other functions we deliver in our departments, handing media and public relations for our incidents is always likely to be a core part of an FRS communications function and for this reason, the emergency planning workstream is unlikely to be developing anything new that we’ve haven’t all got in some shape or form. 

But it will be about setting up a system to encourage better sharing of what we have; identifying a toolkit guide that a new starter could use to familiarise themselves with the basic of managing a communications response to a major incident; sharing of warning and informing key messages – (why reinvent the wheel on a risk if someone’s already covered it!) and perhaps producing something more specifically on weather-related risks (it rains everywhere!). 

Other suggestions have included looking at our role in building community resilience, closer working within our resilience forums; tabletop exercises and the creation of a national network of “go to” contacts. 

Kathy Stacey will co-ordinatate this workstream and volunteers for this work stream so far are; 

James Morton - Hampshire FRS
Leanne Ehren - Cambridgeshire FRS
Heather Challinor – Staffordshire FRS

Work hasn’t started yet, so there’s plenty of opportunity to be involved from the outset.  Contact Kathy on kathystacey@lancsfirerescue.org.uk or 01772 866787 if you need more information or want to get involved.