NFCC

The government has issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable BBQs as it looks to reduce risk of wildfires during the continued heatwaves across the country.

A 68-strong team of firefighters and staff from 14 fire and rescue services has arrived in Venezuela and is now conducting systematic searches of collapsed structures, deploying canine search teams and using specialist equipment to locate survivors after devastating earthquakes left over 1500 dead and thousands unaccounted for.

One year on from the ban on the sale of single use vapes, fire chiefs and charity campaigners are warning that retailers are failing to provide enough recycling points leading to millions of vapes being thrown away and fuelling waste fires.

Professional standards and modern regulation should support the fire safety system in England, says the Fire Minister as a new consultation launches about the creation of a College of Fire and Rescue.

A new study commissioned by the National Fire Chiefs Council looks at the viability of the on-call firefighting system and finds that recruitment and retention remain a problem but with a focus on national leadership, cultural and employment issues, the model can be re-shaped for modern community protection.

Ahead of local elections in May, NFCC Vice Chair Rick Hylton outlines the reasons why local government reorganisation should be part of all strategic leaders’ conversations during this period of change.

Meeting in Manchester last week, fire chiefs heard more detail on the plans for a College of Fire and Rescue ahead of the public consultation due to start at the end of May, with the NFCC Chair suggesting its remit should embrace resilience.

In our recent webinar, sponsored by Texport and Hunter, Phil Garrigan, Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, reflected on his first ten months in post and the pressures shaping the sector’s future. 

Artificial intelligence is already embedded in many of the systems fire and rescue services use every day, but the challenge is how to utilise its capabilities in a way that enhances decision-making without undermining the trust that the public should have in emergency services.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service is inviting 13–17-year-olds to apply for a new fire cadet unit opening in Fakenham, with applications now open across the county.