CFRS departments
When most people think about the fire and rescue service, they think of fire stations and the front line firefighters they see in fire engines. However, behind this there is a variety of support functions which ensure that Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service meets its obligations and works towards the aim of creating safe and secure communities. Brief details of some of the departments within the service can be found below;
Community Risk Management
This department is responsible for the identification of where our risks are using a variety of sources of information and using this to plan and implement strategies to minimise the risk. They are also responsible for the enforcement of fire safety law and the Fire Protection function throughout the county carry out compliance audits in relevant premises as part of a risk based audit programme.
Operational Support
In this department much of the research and procurement of uniform and equipment takes place, as well as the management of many of the procedures and policies required for dealing with emergencies. The department liaises closely with other fire and rescue services within the North West.
Health and Safety
The health and safety culture in the fire service is strong and particularly so in Cumbria. Health and safety management is an integral part of the service and has been recognised by achieving the ROSPA Gold Award again this year.
Learning and Development
This department, based at Penrith, is responsible for the delivery of training throughout the service from training new recruits through to management training at a senior level. The department collaborates closely with other services within the North West region and also adheres to national frameworks.
Corporate Resources
The remit of this team is to develop and maintain the website, produce the Weekly Update (internal communication) and all publicity materials for the Service events including community safety work, youth engagement work and special events (Awards Night). The team attend events to take high quality photographs and video footage for use throughout the service.
The team also provide support for fire investigations / enforcement and take the lead in producing plans as part of the risk information available to crews.
The team consists of the following personnel;
Pat Parker, Corporate Resources Manager
Chris Francis, Corporate Resources Officer
David Blenkinsopp, Corporate Resources Assistant
All team members can be contacted by email for assistance although every effort is also made to visit localities on a regular basis. The team is led by the Strategic Development and Planning Manager, Lizzy Shaw.
Projects Team
The remit of this team is to develop and maintain the end-to-end information strategy to ensure that the Service can rely on its data to support timely mobilisation, to plan for incident response and develop its community programmes.
The team is responsible for data security, and also provides quality assurance and training to support all aspects of management of data throughout the service.
The team consists of the following personnel;
Karen Frith, Data Manager
Pat Gallagher, Watch Manager Support
Juliet Grieves, Crew Manager Support
All team members can be contacted by email for assistance although every effort is also made to visit localities on a regular basis. The team is led by the Strategic Development and Planning Manager, Lizzy Shaw.
Planning and Performance Team
The team was established as part of the restructure in January 2007 to deal in a consistent manner with the increased demands on the Service of external assessment. The remit of the team covers all the processes to ensure that performance management, risk management, project management and planning (Service, Directorate and IRMP) are carried out effectively, each driving service improvement. The lead for equalities in the Service also now resides within the team as part of service improvement.
The team also organise Service events including the annual A&T day and the Together Towards Success Awards Evening.
The team consists of the following personnel;
John Moody, Planning and Performance Manager
Catriona MacGillivray, Service Statistician (01900 820288)
Suzanne Pender, Service Improvement Officer
Michelle Armstrong, Planning and Performance Co-ordinator
Donna Nisbet, Planning and Performance Administrator
All team members can be contacted by email for assistance although every effort is also made to visit localities on a regular basis. The team is led by the Strategic Development and Planning Manager, Lizzy Shaw.