Kent Fire and Rescue Service
Customer Safety Plan 2021-2031

We have undergone considerable changes over the lifetime of the previous Customer Safety Plan. The key changes and developments are set out below.

2017

• Work starts on designing and drafting the new Customer and Corporate Plan 2018-2022.
• Recruited 21 wholetime firefighters – the first such recruitment since 2007.
• New fire station opened in Chatham.
• Maintained emergency medical response capability from the majority of on-call sections and a number of wholetime sections.
• Roll out of flexible rostering to Dartford, Thames-side, Tunbridge Wells, Dover, Folkestone and Ashford.
• Building work started on the new fire station at Ramsgate.
• Introduced improved desktop terminal devices and software across the Service.
• Maintained “Excellent” status in the Local Government Association equality framework.
• Achieved Kent Dementia Friendly employer of the year.
• We made a corporate commitment alongside Kent Police to support the White Ribbon Campaign.

2018

• Recruited a second cohort of 24 wholetime firefighters.
• Completed the move to flexible rostering.
• Rolled out response to medical emergencies by on-call crews
• Invested in new operational assets to improve our capabilities.
• Created a new team to focus solely on the On-call section.
• New Customer and Corporate Plan 2018-2022 published. Delivery of this underpinned by eight strategies. Two of the strategies (Community Safety and Engagement) are outwardly focussed. The other six (Operational Response, Procurement, Performance and Data, Assets, IT and Business Change, and People) focussed primarily on internal processes essential for the delivery of an effective and efficient fire and rescue service.
• Embedding the concept of ‘customer’ in the Service. Developing the Customer Advocate Programme.
• Consolidated our support for mental health and well-being, culture change and embedded the ‘Think Contaminants’ project.
• Cultivation of talent pipeline and future leaders.
• Restructured middle management layer to bring resource into projects and new Station Leaders following restructure of station leadership teams.
• National lead on procurement (PPE, workwear and training).

2019

• Ramsgate fire station officially opened, replacing the previous fire station which had been in operation since 1905.
• EU exit planning successfully implemented.
• Customer and Corporate Plan refreshed and underpinning strategies reviewed to ensure that they remain suitable.
• Wide-ranging restructure of the Community Safety and Technical Fire Safety teams undertaken. The two departments were renamed Customer Safety and Building Safety respectively and we implemented an investment programme to allow the teams to deliver the aims of the Community Safety strategy.
• Creation of a new Collaboration Team (following restructure) to lead on delivering collaboration activities efficiently and economically, whilst making sure benefits could be tracked and evaluated.
• The Customer Experience and Behaviour Change Team (also created as part of the restructure) implemented the framework and methodology for behaviour change, using customer insight and research to develop safety programmes that ensure customers’ needs are put first.
• New wellbeing manager role created and dedicated Wellbeing Zone set up on our intranet.
• Year one of national operational guidance project fully delivered.
• Set up of complex buildings programme and externally created baseline survey.
• Introduction of Stairwell Protection Teams and smoke hoods.
• Creation of central Risk Reduction Team centralising risk data.
• Pilot of safe and well visits in high risk premises.
• Station Leader model embedded and joint work on development of stations underway.
• New station plans created by fire stations.
• Work completed on full analysis of our actions against prevention of future death notices.
• Work started on review of training with workshops with crews leading to an integrated model of learning.
• Further progress and delivery on our ‘Think Contaminants’ project to protect firefighters.
• People impact assessments for four core activities created and opened up for consultation across the sector.
• Leadership framework and new leadership curriculum being implemented along with leadership programme for Crew Managers.
• Leadership conference held all managers (including Station Leaders) leading to new thinking on a number of issues.
• Co-design of promotion questions for all staff shared with fire sector.
• Safeguarding training completed by all staff
• Continued to move on from appraisal to an approach centred on high performance coaching.
• Recognition of the FRSA (Fire and Rescue Services Association, formerly called the Retained Firefighters’ Union).
• Network and data security improved through removal of password reset and introduction of three new words.
• Improvements to our maternity and paternity provision.
• Carry out ‘Feeling Valued’ survey with full results given to staff and actions taken forward.
• ACAS commissioned to ensure we are doing all we can to support staff in relation to bullying.
• Wellbeing continues with work on trauma release
• Work with Kent Autistic Trust leads to improve the Service’s support for customers with autism. KFRS’s approach shared with the sector.
• Schools education programme overhauled and improved in consultation with schools.
• New format station open days found to be hugely successful.
• Support ‘BeYou’ project for LGBTQ+ young people at fire stations.
• We accept the invitation of the HeForShe campaign for men and people of all genders to stand in solidarity with women to create a visible and united force for gender equality (referred to as ‘Men and Women as Allies’).
• ‘Ten from Len’ safe and well campaign with Len Goodman launched.

2020

• On 24 March, the multi-agency Strategic Coordination Group declared the coronavirus pandemic to be a major incident. In response to the pandemic, we undertook additional work which included: supporting SECAmb with logistics and delivery of PPE to ambulance facilities across Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and Surrey; making our Fleet Technicians available to assist with ambulance breakdowns; operational crews responding to falls in the home; supporting SECAmb with testing equipment and PPE; releasing KFRS staff to undertake more supportive work to SECAmb colleagues, and acting as the procurement hub for the provision of covid PPE to all 45 fire and rescue services in England. In addition, we assisted Kent County Council with the distribution of food parcels to the vulnerable and elderly, delivered meals for Age UK and provided pharmacies with support for delivery of prescriptions.
• We declare a climate emergency and begin to develop a Carbon Action Plan to make KFRS carbon neutral by 2030.
• We introduced our first 11 hybrid vehicles to the fleet. We aim that by 2030, 75% of our pool cars, vans and maintenance vehicles will be ultra-low emission or hybrid vehicles.
• All vehicles in our fleet are now fitted with telemetry tracking systems allowing us to monitor mileage and engine idling time.
• New mobile data terminals installed on fire engines. New software under development to further improve their effectiveness.
• Operational groups reorganised into four sections: East Group, West Group, On-call Group, and Ops Readiness Group. The latter created to support the delivery of Station Based Training and provide management of operational establishment and sickness.
• ‘Station Based Training’ project implemented with the aim to provide operational personnel (including Fire Control Operators) with background knowledge of relevant National Operational Guidance as well as local risk based guidance.
• Moved away from the traditional recruit course and began a new trainee pathway that trains both on call and whole time together for 20 weeks with periods of on station development.
• Gained accreditation from the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) for station-based training and ensured all operational and Building Safety colleagues have IFE membership.
• Folkestone becomes the first fire station in Kent to be a ‘fire and ambulance response station’. Two ambulances are now based at Folkestone fire station and available to respond on a 24/7 basis.
• KFRS brand refreshed and rolled out internally bringing clarity to our brand identity and helping us to explain our beliefs and ambitions. Focus of the brand is ‘Together’, based on the idea of: KFRS as a great place to work – ‘we are one team’; and KFRS working with customers to build a safer Kent and Medway.
• The Engagement team launch the ‘Kent Together’ campaign to identify resources and support to help people get through the coronavirus pandemic.
• Equality of access. Developed and published a range of national equality of access cases and shared them with the sector.
• In September, HMICFRS undertook an inspection of our response to the coronavirus pandemic (results to be published early 2021).
• July 2020, our updated Customer and Corporate Plan 2020-2024 was approved by the Fire Authority. The document was renamed the Customer Safety Plan 2020-2024 in line with our stated focus on the customer.
• December 2020, prior to their replacement a final update was presented to the Fire Authority on progress made to deliver the eight strategies of the Customer Safety Plan 2020-2024.
• This confirmed that over 70% of the activities within each strategy had already been completed or were being progressed. As a result, the Service is successfully working to deliver its stated aim and objectives.
• Embed processes to ensure that Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Black Minority Enterprises (BMEs) bid for contracts without discriminating against larger firms.
• Roll out of a toolkit and evaluation template that can be adopted to ensure social value and social wellbeing can be accurately and realistically quantified and tracked throughout the life of new contracts.
• Publish our Code of Ethics, which is based on the Nolan Principles and clearly sets out the standards of ethical and professional behaviour we expect.
• Corporate policy refresh – more accessible format

2021

• New KFRS brand rolled out to external audiences across Kent and Medway.
• Following the experience of flexible working during the pandemic, we commit to truly flexible working for office-based teams.
• We publish our Modern Slavery Policy, which sets out our zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery, human trafficking and all forms of servitude and forced and compulsory labour in all our own business, commercial relationships, and any of our supply chains.
• Initiated review of planning assumptions for emergency cover. Part of the process of ensuring that our cover continues to be as effective as possible.
• Adopt the first four fire standards published by the Fire Standards Board (Emergency Response Driver Training, Operational Preparedness, Operational Competence and Operational Learning Fire Standards).
• HMICFRS publish results of their inspection of our response to the coronavirus pandemic, stating that we adapted effectively and efficiently to the considerable demands that were imposed upon us by the pandemic and also recognising that we did so while maintaining our day-to-day service and fulfilling all of our statutory duties.
• Lead on two national projects: the National Firefighting Specific Training Framework and the National Specialist PPE Framework. The former will deliver a route to market for all FRSs to procure their training service requirements to align with National Operational Guidance (NOG) training outcomes.
• Purchase of new response cars undertaken through a collaborative approach with the Metropolitan Police.
• Companion devices (tablets) to fire engine mobile data terminals rolled out to trial fire stations as part of a test of their effectiveness ahead of Service-wide roll out.
• Green Forum established to oversee the Climate Action Plan and generate new ideas to drive change and achieve our goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.
• Code of Ethics further updated and linked to the proposed Code of Ethics Fire Standard that has been drafted in partnership with the Local Government Association and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. As part of our commitment to the highest ethical standards, all colleagues are required to commit to this.
• Learning and Development Team reorganised into Technical Training and Professionalism as part of wider Response and Resilience re-structure.
• Re-structure of Response and Resilience and move towards an approach based on principles of matrix management.
• Two of our officers leaving on two new work streams for the National Fire Chiefs Council: Environment and Climate Change and Alternative Fuels and Energy Systems.
• Completed the National Operational Guidance project, resulting in the alignment of all KFRS operational policies to national guidance – the first FRS in the UK to do so.
• Supported other FRS across the UK with their efforts to implement, sharing what we had learnt and developed.
• Awarded ServiceMark by The Institute of Customer Service in recognition of excellent customer service, the first fire service and one of the first public sector organisations to achieve this standard.
• Two new NFCC work stream lead officers – Dir. Rist (Environment and climate change) and AM Deadman (Alternative fuels and energy systems)
• Completed the National Operational Guidance project, resulting in the alignment of all KFRS operational policies to national guidance – the first FRS in the UK to do so. Supported other FRS across the UK with their efforts to implement, sharing what we had learnt and developed.

2022

• Plans approved for a state of the art live fire training facility to replace the existing facility at Ashford approved.
• Introduction of the Home Fire Safety Visit Task Force carrying out proactive visits to our priority customers.
• Adopt the latest fire standards published by the Fire Standards Board (Prevention, Protection, Safeguarding).
• Re-introduction of evening/weekend working within the Safe and Well Team (originally introduced in January 2020 but paused in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic).
• Introduction of Response Assessment Intelligence Visits (RAV-Int).
• Introduction of All Together Days, bringing colleagues together from across the service delivering targeted home fire safety visits.
• Specific training to all operational crews on complex lifts rolled out in response to increasing musculoskeletal injuries – resulting in zero injuries post training.
• Aid for Ukraine. Hosting the co-ordination of 5 convoys which departed from Ashford fire station, providing much needed fire service resources to Ukraine.
• Peer review of Customer and Building Safety quality assurance processes. Review team comprised of colleagues from South East Region FRS, NFCC and the LGA. Review found Kent to be ‘leading the way’ with our quality assurance processes which are being used to influence national best practice.
• Introduction of level 3 and 4 safeguarding training. Training developed in Kent being proposed as best practice nationally across FRS.
• Procured and taken delivery of a fleet of 66 new response cars. These cars have been procured in collaboration using a National Police framework agreement.
• Reviewed areas of our approach to customer service; covering aspects such as customer service training; improving opportunities for customer feedback; introducing a new customer feedback policy; and completing phase 1 of a project looking at equality, accessibility and customer experience.