The plan, which was approved by the Fire Authority last month outlines the risks in communities and how your fire service intends to manage them over the next five years to keep people safe. Chief Fire Officer Lee Howell said: “Devon and Somerset are great places to live, with a diverse mix of rural, coastal, urban cities, and small market towns. “But this also creates a range of different risks that may lead to an emergency, which we will need to respond to; but will ideally like to prevent happening in the first place. “Risks change over time. Some things we can predict, are the increase in the use of electric cars for example, and we will review this strategic plan annually to identify any emerging trends. “The Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that change can happen unexpectedly. I’m really proud of how we, and our partners, including other emergency services, adapted during this time to keep the public safe. We have learnt much over the last two years and will increasingly use community partnerships moving forward to support our prevention-first approach. “Our Community Risk Management Plan will focus our work over the next five years on reducing the likelihood of incidents and being able to respond effectively when we are needed.” When writing the plan, the Service looked at incident data and listened to what their staff, partners, and those who live and work in Devon and Somerset told them. Over the next five years, the Service will continue to build upon the work it has already delivered under previous plans to keep people safe and will share an annual progress report on their website to show how they are doing. A copy of the plan can be read or downloaded.
