Birmingham Fire Reduction Partnership
Since the beginning of Birmingham City Council’s first Local Public Service Agreement (LPSA) in 2001, West Midlands Fire Service has become embedded in the delivery of community safety across the City. Fire reduction has developed into a central part of the City’s Community Safety Strategy.
In the first LPSA, signed by Birmingham City Council and the Government in 2001, targets were set around three issues pertaining to fire reduction. These were for a reduction in the number of accidental dwelling house fires; the number of injuries in those fires; and the number of deaths in those fires. All the targets were achieved at the end of 2003-4 and that success generated a Performance Reward Grant from central government. The grant is paid to the City in two parts: during 2004-5 and during 2005-6 but is being employed over a longer period to support a range of community safety initiatives, with a substantial portion directly available to support fire reduction activity.
The Birmingham Fire Reduction Partnership (BFRP) was established, during 2005, Chaired by the Cabinet Member for Local Services and Community Safety, to ensure that this reward grant is used effectively. The BFRP also oversees work on a further fire reduction LPSA which was signed with Government in 2005. That second LPSA covers performance during the period from April 2004 to March 2007.
The targets now being pursued within the new LPSA are for further reductions in accidental dwelling fires; reductions of arson in non-dwelling houses; and in the reduction of vehicle arsons.
The Partnership is supported on a day-to-day basis by a full-time Divisional Officer from West Midlands Fire Service who is based with the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership Team.
For a detailed overview of the Birmingham Fire Reduction Partnership, follow the link to the 'BFRP Annual Report 2005-07'.
Related Links:
BFRP Documents:
• Evaluation of Selected Interventions 2006