National Risk

The risks the UK faces are continually changing. The Government monitors the most
significant emergencies that the UK and its citizens could face through the National
Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). The National Risk Register (NRR) is the public
version of this assessment.

North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum (NYLRF)

This is a multi-agency  partnership, of which NYFRS is a key member, that provides a structure to help agencies plan and work together to prepare for major incidents and emergencies which may have a significant impact on the community. While major emergencies are unlikely, it is useful to understand the types of risks. By understanding these risks, we can ensure that we have either taken steps to mitigate the risk or if that cannot be done, taken steps to monitor and respond to it should it happen. The government is committed to enhancing the approach of “whole society resilience” to emergencies and by working with partners through the Local Resilience Forum we provide a key component of this (UK Resilience Academy, 2025). Within North Yorkshire the Local Resilience Forum undertakes a review of the national risks and those risks facing the county.

A ‘Community Risk Register’ has been developed which highlights potential hazards in our area. The top three risks are:

•  Pandemic Influenza: an influenza type pandemic remains the highest assessed natural hazard which has a significant impact on our communities.
• Flooding (Coastal, Fluvial and Surface water): this is the most common and widespread natural disaster and can occur from the sea, rivers and from
  continuous and/or abnormal rainfall levels. The highest flooding risk is surface
  water flooding which happens when drainage systems are unable to cope with
  the volume of rainfall; and
• Adverse/severe weather: we experience a wide variety of weather systems and the impacts are varied from heavy rain, snow and ice to shortage of rain and drought along with a wide range of temperatures.

Emerging technologies

The way we provide power to our lives and heat our homes is changing. Infrastructure projects are being developed within North Yorkshire to harness renewable technologies.
Lithium-Ion batteries present a particular challenge for firefighting, and these are becoming more common, whether it be in transport such as cars and scooters, or for large scale storage of energy in the National Grid. We need to ensure we are aware of the location of these sites, and we have training and equipment in place to deal with incidents. We have developed and rolled out training to crews specifically to deal with electric vehicle fires and will continue to monitor developments and plan to respond appropriately.

Counter terrorism

Although we are not a specified authority under the Counter Terrorism Act, we still have an important role to play in preventing people becoming drawn into terrorism.

Incidents like the Manchester Evening News Arena attack show us how important it is to work closely with our partners to make sure we can respond effectively to major incidents. Our safeguarding team are trained to signpost people to get the right support to prevent radicalisation and we have other staff who are trained and equipped to liaise with police and the security services to respond appropriately to incidents.

Heritage risk

There are approximately 13,000 buildings listed as Grade 1 or 2 in North Yorkshire and the City of York. A fire in any type of building can be disastrous but in the case of a heritage building there is a further dimension; the loss of property that forms part of the nation’s cultural heritage which is irreplaceable. Older buildings can pose a greater risk of fire spread due to building materials and methods as they do not have the same level of compartmentation and fire stopping features as modern buildings. NYFRS gathers information and we undertake training on the highest risk buildings to help us make operational decisions should an incident occur at these sites. Heritage buildings also have risk management plans to further reduce the risk and likelihood of fire and impact.

Firefighter safety

We have a robust process for identifying new risks that could pose a threat to firefighters during an incident. The identification of specific premises/sites is via a wide range of sources, including:

• Our own Risk Profile and existing premises/sites
• Police
• Health and Safety Executive
•  Local Authority Emergency Planning Departments – COMAH sites
•  Other emergency responders
• Neighbouring Fire and Rescue Services risk information (risks within 10 kilometres of our county borders)

We are investing in new equipment to ensure firefighters are well equipped to deal with the risks present in York and North Yorkshire.

Political

Decisions made by the government and local leaders can affect our economy, community, and environment – and these changes can influence the level of risk in our area.

North Yorkshire has recently become a unitary authority, merging the previous district and borough councils into one overarching body (North Yorkshire Council) which along with the City of York, forms the area we cover as a Service. We continue to work with the localities across the county to ensure risks identified locally are adequately addressed. In
2024 the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was formed. We are part of the Combined Authority under responsibility of the elected Mayor who delegates responsibility for the fire service to the Deputy Mayor. We work closely with the new authority to take advantage of the benefits on offer, such as improved access to community networks to reduce the risk in York and North Yorkshire.

Economic

The York and North Yorkshire Mayor is responsible for the fire and rescue budget, which comes from government funding and the portion of council tax people pay for the fire and rescue service. About a third of funding comes from the Government while two-thirds is raised locally through the fire and rescue precept. We are facing several challenges in relation to our rurality and On-call service model, our ability to invest in our capability to protect our communities with increasingly ageing equipment, fleet and estate, and our ability to transform and diversify our Service and workforce.

In 2025/2026 the Mayor increased the fire and rescue part of the council tax which will help provide longer term financial stability and enable some investment in our Service to help tackle these challenges.

Legislation

We are required to operate in line with several pieces of legislation. Anticipated Government proposals on Fire Service Reform and recent changes to fire safety legislation will potentially impact upon the way we deliver our services.

Any changes to legislation or shift in priorities has implications on the way that we deliver our services. For example, A following the tragic loss of 72 lives at Grenfell Tower, London in 2017, the Government provided additional funding to all fire and rescue authorities to
carry out an assessment of all high-rise residential buildings.

Societal

Societal change including demography, employment, and cultural attitudes and behaviours, shape the way we need to deliver our services to ensure we are effectively targeting, engaging with and supporting our communities in the best way possible. It is important for us to understand these changes so we can plan and prepare for long term changes to how we deliver our services. We will continue to strive to ensure our workforce better represents the communities we serve as this enables us to deliver the best services.