Fire brigade staff hailed for their ‘fantastic’ work during the Covid-19 pandemic

Officers at Cleveland Fire Authority said they have been working to ensure they remained ‘resilient and effective’ throughout, and have teamed up with other public sector organisations to support vulnerable residents.

However Ian Hayton, chief fire officer, did warn they have moved back from its ‘recovery’ position to the ‘response’ phase due to the increase in Covid-19 cases across the region.

They had previously moved from ‘response’ to ‘recovery’ back in July, before cases began to rise again.

It came as the authority’s executive committee met remotely for their first meeting since the coronavirus outbreak.

Cllr Mary Ovens, Redcar and Cleveland representative, praised the work of staff so far and said they look prepared for the next wave.

She said: “Everyone has done a fantastic job and should be congratulated.

“I think we’ve got to just try and gear ourselves up for the next wave unfortunately, and it looks as if we’re well prepared.”

Cllr Luke Frost, Stockton-on-Tees representative, applauded the ‘great work’ of all personnel at the fire service to date, especially in helping the most vulnerable communities.

He also thanked the ‘outstanding members of the community’ which have supported the brigade.

He said: “I’ve been immensely proud of the brigade throughout the pandemic, we’ve certainly shown we are a service that is ready, willing and able.

“I’ve been absolutely bowled over by the support and gratitude that has been shown to us, and continues to be shown to us.”

Chief fire officer Ian Hayton, in his presentation to the committee, noted the pandemic had hit the fire service just as it had other public sector agencies.

He added as well as carrying out their normal activities, firefighters had also taken up additional activities as part of the Covid-19 response.

This included current and former firefighters training to drive ambulances, delivering food parcels and essential items, delivering PPE, and helping with temporary testing arrangements.

Through the three month period from the end of March over 3,000 home fire safety visits were carried out to the most vulnerable to ensure their safety while isolating, along with over 400 business safety audits.

Mr Hayton noted the fire authority fulfilled its objectives during the initial period, and work has been ongoing to prepare for the second wave which they are now facing.

He said: “We fulfilled all of our objectives during that period of time, we retained our service, we supported the broader role and of course we looked after our staff.

“In the last couple of months the strategic team here have been preparing for the second wave which we’re now in and looking at what the potential challenges are.

“Not only of a second phase, we have the winter months coming in, there is the potential of a flu epidemic. We’re looking at those challenges and what they mean for our approach in the second wave.”

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