Executive Summary
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) is committed to reducing risk and vulnerability through early, targeted and person-centred prevention. Prevention means identifying risk early, supporting vulnerable people, and taking action to reduce the likelihood and impact of harm before incidents occur.
This strategy sets out how we will deliver prevention across the Service between 2026 and 2029. It explains our strategic approach, our priorities, and the shared responsibilities that support safer homes, safer communities and stronger community resilience.
Who This Strategy Applies To
This strategy applies across the whole Service, including:
• Operational Crews
• Prevention Specialists
• Fire Control
• Operational Managers
• Safeguarding Leads
• Support Staff
• Public Safety Service Personnel
Why This Strategy Matters
Prevention is not the responsibility of one team alone. It is a whole-Service commitment that supports the aims of the Community Risk Management Plan and helps us reduce harm in a more proactive, evidence-led and person-centred way. Effective delivery depends on staff having the knowledge, skills and confidence to identify risk, engage people appropriately and take timely action.
This strategy explains the responsibilities we all share in delivering prevention. It also helps you understand how your role contributes to identifying and reducing risk within our communities.
Our Prevention Commitments
Over the life of this strategy, we will focus on six core commitments:
• Risk-led targeting – identifying who we should reach
• Person-centred interventions – tailoring support to individual need
• Partnership working – working with others to reduce harm and vulnerability
• Targeted education and community engagement – focusing activity where it has the greatest impact
• Data, insight and digital tools – using evidence to inform decisions and improve delivery
• Assurance and quality improvement – strengthening consistency, learning and
performance
Our Areas of Focus
We will prioritise prevention activity where there is greatest risk, vulnerability or opportunity to reduce harm. Our key areas of focus are:
• Safer Homes – targeted Home Fire Safety Visits for individuals at greatest risk
• Young People – early intervention, safety education and reducing risk-taking behaviours
• Road Safety – reducing deaths and serious injuries among vulnerable road users
• Water Safety – targeted messaging and engagement around inland and coastal water
• Environmental Risks – wildfire, flooding and climate-related risk prevention
• Vulnerability – safeguarding, early identification and partnership pathways
Our Delivery Model
We will deliver prevention through a three-tier model to ensure the right support is provided at the right level:
• Universal prevention – campaigns, community events, general advice and online tools
• Targeted prevention – risk-based interventions informed by data, referrals and local intelligence
• Specialist prevention – intensive, person-centred support for high-risk individuals and complex cases
This model enables us to balance broad prevention activity with more focused interventions for those most at risk.
Converting Strategy to Delivery
Following this strategy, a detailed Prevention Tactical Delivery Plan will set out how we will deliver our priorities, monitor performance, evaluate impact and drive continuous improvement.
Roles and Responsibilities
Prevention is a shared responsibility across NYFRS. While some teams lead on specialist or targeted activity, everyone has a role to play in helping people stay safe.
This strategy helps you understand what that means in practice:
• Operational crews identify risk, deliver Home Fire Safety Visits and make safeguarding referrals
• The Prevention Team leads targeted education, specialist interventions and support for complex cases
• Managers provide oversight, assurance, competence and performance management
Everyone contributes through professional curiosity, accurate recording and a consistent focus on reducing harm.
Governance
The Director of Community Risk & Resilience and the Head of Prevention & Early Intervention are accountable for the delivery of this strategy. Progress and performance will be overseen through established governance and performance arrangements, including:
• The Prevention Tactical Delivery Plan
• Community Risk & Resilience Performance Meetings
• Service Delivery Performance Processes
• Annual Review and Assurance Activity
Closing Statement
Early intervention and prevention are everyone’s responsibility. They are central to our mission as a Service, and every one of us has a role in making communities safer, reducing vulnerability and preventing harm before it happens.
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service plays a vital role in protecting lives, property, and communities through proactive early intervention and prevention work. Our purpose is to reduce risk and vulnerability as a progressive and people-centred service.
We exist to:
• Respond to emergencies whenever and wherever they occur
• Protect communities, reducing risk and keeping people safe
• Safeguard property and the built environment, minimising damage and disruption.
While emergency response remains essential, reducing risk before incidents occur is the most effective way to keep people safe. This strategy sets out our approach to early intervention and prevention, ensuring that our efforts are evidence-based, inclusive, and aligned with national standards and local needs.
Our focus is on identifying and addressing risk factors early, supporting vulnerable individuals, and working collaboratively with partners to create safer homes and communities. By embedding early intervention and prevention into everything we do, we aim to reduce harm, improve wellbeing, and deliver value for the public.
We also work as part of the wider Public Safety Service (PSS). In Craven, NYFRS and North Yorkshire Police jointly fund Public Safety Officers who deliver targeted prevention and early intervention in the community supporting vulnerable residents on behalf of fire, police and health partners. This model strengthens our person-centred prevention work and helps reach people who may face barriers accessing our services.
This strategy sets out what we will do as an organisation. This strategy covers:
• What prevention means for the whole Service
• Why our approach is risk-led and person-centred
• What your responsibilities are in identifying and reducing risk
• How prevention supports delivery of the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP)
• How we work with partners to support vulnerable people and build community resilience
The purpose of this prevention strategy is to:
• Provide a clear framework for all prevention activities, including home fire safety,
community engagement, and targeted interventions.
• Align with national and local guidance, including the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, Fire Standards Boards, and the Community Risk Management Plan.
• Ensure consistency and quality in how we deliver prevention work across the Service.
• Promote collaboration with partners and communities to address shared risks and
vulnerabilities.
• Set measurable objectives that allow us to monitor impact, learn, develop and
continuously improve.
National and Local Drivers
Our prevention strategy is shaped by national legislation, frameworks, local risk, emerging challenges and public expectations.
Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
Places a statutory duty on fire and rescue services to promote fire safety and reduce community risk.
Fire and Rescue National Framework (2018)
Sets government priorities, including:
• Delivering prevention, protection, and response
• Assessing foreseeable risks
• Collaborating with partners
• Driving efficiency and effectiveness
• Being accountable to communities
• Maintaining a skilled, diverse, and resilient workforce
National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC)
NFCC guidance, position statements and national campaigns help shape our approach to prevention. They provide sector-led evidence, practical frameworks and consistent messages that support local delivery across areas such as home safety, water safety, wildfire prevention, safeguarding and person-centred prevention.
Fire Standards Board
Provides standards for person-centred prevention and safeguarding, integrated health interventions, and partnership working.
HMICFRS
Inspections and annual reports shape our approach, emphasising prevention effectiveness, risk based targeting, and continuous improvement.
The Mayors Fire & Rescue Plan
Sets expectations for enhancing public safety and ensuring resources are effectively targeted to meet community needs.
Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP)
The CRMP is our core strategic document, identifying and prioritising risks across North Yorkshire. It uses evidence-based analysis to determine where prevention, protection, and response resources should be focused. Key risks include accidental dwelling fires, road traffic collisions, water safety, and climate-related incidents such as flooding and wildfires. The CRMP ensures our prevention activities are proportionate, targeted, and aligned with local needs.
Core Code of Ethics (CCoE)
The Fire and Rescue Service Core Code of Ethics underpin everything we do. It reinforces our responsibility to act with integrity, professionalism, and fairness, and to put the community first in all decisions. The code highlights the importance of respect, openness, inclusion, and doing the right thing for those we serve.
For NYFRS, the CCoE shapes how we deliver prevention by ensuring that:
• we prioritise community needs and wellbeing
• we treat people with dignity, compassion and fairness
• we act transparently and build trust in every interaction
• we work collaboratively to support those most at risk
• we make decisions that reflect public interest and community safety
Embedding the CCoE ensures our prevention work is ethical, people-centred and aligned to the national expectations for modern fire and rescue services.
Public Safety Service (PSS)
Within Craven district, NYFRS and North Yorkshire Police fund a joint Public Safety Service. Public Safety Officers proactively find and engage isolated or minoritised residents; deliver person-centred prevention aligned to fire, police and NHS priorities; and help build rural community resilience. This aligns with our focus on early intervention, safeguarding and reducing harm.
Where we focus our early intervention and prevention work
Understanding who is most at risk allows us to focus our prevention activity where it will have the greatest impact. Using our Community Risk Profile, CRMP data and national evidence, we identify people and communities who are more likely to be harmed by fire, road traffic collisions, water-related incidents and environmental risks. This evidence-based approach ensures our work is person-centred and directed towards those who need us the most.
Fire in the Home
There are several factors which contribute to the likelihood of an accidental dwelling fire, and consequently, someone being either killed or seriously harmed as a result.
National evidence (NFCC, 2022) provides additional factors which can significantly increase the likelihood of harm in a fire-related incident:
• older adults (65+)
• people with mobility issues or reduced ability to self-evacuate
• those living alone
• people living in areas of higher deprivation
(Data taken from NYFRS Community Risk Profile 2025)
Higher risk groups include:
• people living in rented homes
• residents in flats rather than houses
• households with five or more occupants
• adults under 60
• people with long-term illness or disability
Each factor contributes to risk, but the greatest likelihood of fire or serious harm occurs when several risks combine. These overlapping vulnerabilities guide how we focus our prevention activities using a blend of universal, targeted and specialist engagement. By using this approach to risk, we ensure our prevention activity is truly person-centred, matching the level of support to need.
North Yorkshire has a higher proportion of older residents (24% compared to 18% nationally), and this is projected to increase by 2030. While older adults are statistically less likely to have a fire, the consequences are significantly more severe when incidents occur.
While national data shows that dwelling fires tend to occur more frequently in urban areas largely due to higher population density, deprivation, and housing type, the consequences of a fire can be more severe in rural communities. Longer travel distances, isolated properties and a higher proportion of older residents mean that people living further from an emergency response may experience greater harm if a fire occurs.
Road Traffic Collisions
North Yorkshire’s large rural road network and high visitor numbers contribute to this risk. There are approximately 6,000 miles of road across our service area.
Between 2019 and 2023, there were 4,926 collisions recorded on York’s and North Yorkshire’s road networks, resulting in 6,882 casualties. Of these:
• 197 people were killed
• 1,562 people were seriously injured
(Data taken from NYFRS Community Risk Profile 2025)
National data from 2024 tells us that:
• 1,602 people killed on Great Britain’s roads in 2024
• The share of the number of people killed or seriously injured by user group was:
o 20% Motorcyclists
o 18% Young People (17-24)
o 12% Older People (70+)
o 8% Children or young people (below age 16)
o 42% Other road users
• Every 18 minutes someone was killed or seriously injured on Great Britain’s roads
• Road users are six times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads
compared with motorways
(Data taken from the National Road Safety Strategy.)
People identified as higher risk on our roads include:
• Young drivers
• Motorcyclists
• Older drivers
• Pedestrians and cyclists
• Road users on rural routes.
Water-Related Incidents
North Yorkshire’s extensive coastal and inland waters, combined with high levels of seasonal tourism, increase the exposure to water-related risks. Visitors may be unfamiliar with the specific dangers of local waterways, cold water hazards, and changing environmental conditions.
Across Yorkshire there have been multiple accidental drowning incidents recorded each year, with inland waterways such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs representing the most common incident locations.
(Data taken from waid-uk-2024-summary-may25-v5-amend-july25-for-website.pdf Evidence and Data | National Water Safety Forum Yorkshire Water)
National data from 2024 tells us that:
• 193 water-related accidental fatalities occurred in the UK
• 84% of accidental fatalities were male
• Males aged 20–29 were the highest risk group for accidental fatalities across the UK
• Young people aged 10–19 were the highest risk group for accidental fatalities in England
• Approximately 61% of accidental fatalities occurred at inland water sites
People at higher risk of drowning or water-related harm include:
• Young people
• Individuals under the influence of alcohol near water
• Visitors unfamiliar with local waterways and the site-specific hazards they can present.
• People around inland waters such as rivers, canals, lakes, and reservoirs
Environmental Risks
North Yorkshire’s geography, including large areas of countryside, forests, national parks, coastline, and river networks, increases exposure to environmental risks. Severe weather events such as heavy rainfall, storms, extreme heat and drought, are expected to become more frequent due to changes in climate. These risks highlight the importance of prevention activity, including community awareness,
partnership working, and preparedness. This will help improve local resilience and reduce the impact of environmental incidents on communities.
Local risk information shows that:
• Flooding remains one of the highest rated risks on the North Yorkshire Community Risk
Register. (NYLRF 2025)
• During periods of dry weather there is an increase in visitor numbers to our national parks, which subsequently increases the risk of fire starting on our moorlands. This can be due to the incorrect use of open fires, BBQs, and the improper disposal of smoking materials.
Some communities are more at risk from climate related incidents such as flooding and wildfires. Higher risk communities include:
• Rural communities, especially near moorland and forested areas
• Residents living in flood prone areas
• Older adults or individuals with limited mobility who may require additional support during
severe weather events
• Communities with limited access to emergency services during severe weather events
Young People
These risks can be influenced by wider factors such as poverty, family stress, poor mental health, adverse childhood experiences, or disengagement with mainstream education.
Early intervention, education, and partnership working with schools, safeguarding partners, and community organisations are key to reducing these risks, keeping young people safe, and improving their long-term life chances.
For North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, this means working with partners to deliver targeted prevention activities such as road safety education, water safety awareness, fire setting interventions and wider safeguarding work to support vulnerable young people and ultimately, reduce preventable harm.
Young people are more likely to be involved in several types of preventable harm. Higher-risk groups include:
• Young drivers (aged 17–24), who are more likely to be involved in road traffic collisions
• Young men (aged 15–30), who are more likely to take risks near water and are over
represented in drowning incidents
• Young people who may be vulnerable to criminal or sexual exploitation
• Young people involved in, or at risk of, serious violence
• Young people who go missing or experience unstable or difficult home environments
• Young people engaging in risk-taking behaviours such as fire setting, drug and alcohol use, or unsafe behaviour around roads and water
Principles
Our principles describe the values and approach that will underpin all our prevention activities.
They reflect the commitments we will make to improve how we reduce harm and work closely with communities.
Person-Centred
We will tailor our interventions to individual needs, prioritising those most at risk and ensuring support is appropriate, proportionate and effective.
People’s risks and circumstances vary greatly, especially for those with complex needs. Person centred practice ensures that prevention activity genuinely reduces harm and supports those who need it most.
Inclusive and Equitable
Our prevention services will ensure all communities can access information and support while recognising that some individuals require additional or tailored interventions to address the greater risks and barriers they face.
Evidence-Led and Evaluation-Driven
We will use data, intelligence, insight and evaluation to understand risk, target our activity and continuously improve outcomes. We will embed evaluation so we can learn, demonstrate impact and strengthen assurance.
Targeting work where it is most needed and understanding what works are essential for reducing harm and ensuring public money is used effectively. Evaluation strengthens accountability and improves service quality.
Collaborative
We will work with partners across health, housing, policing, social care, education and the voluntary sector to identify risk early, share information and deliver collaborative prevention and safeguarding solutions.
Many causes of preventable harm cannot be addressed by one organisation alone. Working collaboratively enables earlier identification of risk, better outcomes and more coordinated support for vulnerable people.
Community Resilience
We will provide communities with accessible information and guidance to help them understand foreseeable risks, prepare for emergencies and take practical steps to stay safe. Strengthening community resilience supports greater local independence and can reduce demand on emergency services by enabling individuals and communities to better prevent, respond and recover from incidents.
Assurance and Continuous Improvement
We will maintain our standards through quality assurance, learning from incidents, feedback, evaluation and inspection. We will use these insights to improve effectiveness, consistency and public confidence in our prevention work.
Strong assurance processes and a commitment to continuous improvement support better outcomes and ensure our work remains consistent, effective and aligned with national expectations.
Wellbeing and Professionalism
We will support and develop a competent, confident and resilient workforce through training, development, supervision, wellbeing support and a culture of professionalism, learning and reflection.
Effective prevention depends on staff having the right knowledge, skills and confidence to identify risk, apply professional curiosity, engage individuals appropriately and take timely action. Staff who feel supported and well-prepared deliver safer, more effective and more confident prevention activity, which directly improves outcomes for our communities.
Aligned to National Standards and Best Practice
We will align our prevention work to relevant NFCC guidance, position statements, national campaigns and wider sector best practice to ensure delivery is evidence-based, consistent and continually improving.
National standards and sector guidance provide clear expectations and tested approaches. Aligning to them strengthens assurance, supports consistency and ensures we continue to learn from effective practice across the fire and rescue sector.
Areas of Focus
Our areas of focus reflect the risks that cause the greatest harm within our communities and where targeted intervention can have the greatest impact on protecting life. Using evidence, data and partner insight, we will focus our efforts on reducing the likelihood of incidents occurring while prioritising support for those most at risk of death or serious injury.
Protect People from Fire in the Home
We will deliver person-centred Home Fire Safety interventions, prioritising individuals and households most at risk of fire and fire-related harm. This will include targeted HFSV visits, education, and support to encourage safer behaviours and reduce the likelihood of accidental dwelling fires.
Accidental dwelling fires remain the leading cause of fire-related fatalities and serious injuries. Evidence shows a disproportionate impact on older adults, people with reduced mobility, and those experiencing wider vulnerabilities. Early identification of risk and targeted prevention interventions significantly reduce the likelihood of fire and help protect those most at risk.
Improve Road Safety
We will work with the North Yorkshire and City of York Road Safety Partnership to reduce deaths and serious injuries through intelligence-led campaigns, targeted education and engagement with those most at risk.
Road traffic collisions remain a significant cause of preventable death and serious injury across North Yorkshire and York, particularly on rural roads. Evidence shows that some road users, including young drivers, motorcyclists, older people, cyclists and pedestrians, face a higher likelihood of harm. Our approach will focus on those groups and locations where targeted intervention can have the greatest impact.
Prevent Water-Related Harm
We will work with local and national partners to reduce drowning and water-related incidents through education, awareness campaigns, risk-based prevention activity, targeted engagement around open water environments, and support for relevant NFCC and national water safety campaigns.
Drowning remains a significant cause of accidental death, particularly among young people and in areas with accessible open water. Risk increases during warmer months and is further heightened by tourism, as visitors may enter rivers, reservoirs and coastal environments that are unfamiliar to them and where site-specific hazards may not be fully recognised.
Climate-Related and Environmental Risks
We will reduce harm from wildfires, flooding, heatwaves and other environmental risks by strengthening preparedness, supporting community resilience and promoting safer behaviours. Climate-related and environmental risks are increasing in frequency and severity, creating greater risk for communities and additional demand on emergency services. Our approach will focus on communities, locations and circumstances where the likelihood or consequence of harm is greatest, supported by partnership working, public awareness and improved preparedness.
Engage and Support Young People
We will deliver education, engagement and early intervention programmes that promote safety, reduce risk-taking behaviours, and support positive life choices. This includes fulfilling our responsibilities under the Serious Violence Duty and contributing to wider partnership work, including the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy.
Young people can be disproportionately affected by risk-taking behaviours, exploitation and exposure to serious violence. Early engagement, education and positive pathways help reduce vulnerability, improve safety, and support long-term outcomes and community wellbeing.
Protect Vulnerable People Through Early Identification and Support
We will work proactively with partners to identify vulnerability, prevent harm and safeguard individuals at risk of fire, neglect, exploitation or other forms of harm.
Vulnerability across communities is increasing, with more individuals experiencing complex needs such as mental health challenges, substance misuse, social isolation and unsafe living conditions. Fire and rescue services are uniquely placed to identify risks early through their engagement within communities and to act as trusted partners in safeguarding and prevention.
Further detail on safeguarding arrangements is set out in the Safeguarding Strategy.
Delivery Model Overview
Our prevention approach is designed to ensure that we balance broad community engagement with targeted intervention for those most at risk.
We will deliver our prevention priorities through a clear, structured and evidence-based approach that ensures the right people receive the right support.
Prevention is a shared responsibility across the Service. However, the type and intensity of intervention vary depending on risk and need. Our delivery model is therefore structured across three levels of prevention, ensuring that resources are directed where they can have the greatest impact.
Specialist Prevention:
– Complex Interventions
– High Risk Individuals
– Multi Agency Approach
– Safeguarding & Specialist Support
Targeted Prevention:
– Increased Risk & Need
– At Risk Groups
– Home Fire Safety Visits
– Focused Road & Water Safety
– Post Incident Engagement
Universal:
– Safety Campaigns
– Community Events
– General Advice
– Online Home Fire Safety Check
Universal Prevention
Universal prevention aims to reach broad sections of the public to raise awareness and promote safer behaviours. This work provides general safety messaging and information to support people to reduce everyday risks.
This includes:
• Seasonal and national safety campaigns (Targeted to localised need)
• Community engagement activity aligned with our prevention priorities
• General fire, road, environment and water safety advice
• Online Home Fire Safety Checks and digital self-assessment tools (e.g. Safelincs)
Routine school talks are not delivered as part of universal prevention. School engagement is undertaken only where evidence demonstrates a clear risk or as part of targeted or specialist youth intervention.
Targeted Prevention
Targeted prevention focuses on individuals, groups or locations identified as higher risk using data, referrals, incident information and local intelligence.
This includes:
• Bespoke education packages tailored to specific year groups or to address identified
risks
• Risk-based Home Fire Safety Visits
• Targeted road, water and wildfire prevention interventions
• Identification and escalation of safeguarding concerns
• Post-incident engagement following fires, near misses or emerging local risks
This level of prevention ensures resources are directed toward those most likely to experience harm.
School Engagement
Our engagement with schools is targeted and based on evidence of need. While we recognise the value of universal education in reducing long-term risk, we need to prioritise schools and year groups where evidence shows higher likelihood of harm.
We therefore deliver school engagement when:
• Data or intelligence demonstrates a clear local risk
• It is part of targeted youth intervention
• It supports our statutory duties (e.g., SVD, VAWG)
• It contributes to preventing risk-taking behaviours or exploitation
This ensures we deliver meaningful, impactful education while balancing resources against the two prevention functions:
Routine school visits are not delivered by operational crews and are undertaken by the Prevention Team where they support identified prevention priorities.
Community Events
Community engagement events must directly support our prevention priorities and be aligned with identified risks within our communities, rather than attendance for general presence alone.
Specialist Prevention
Specialist prevention supports individuals, communities or situations requiring enhanced expertise, multi-agency coordination or more intensive intervention. This work is primarily delivered by the Prevention Team and often involves partnership working.
This includes:
• Complex Home Fire Safety interventions for highest-risk individuals
• Targeted youth engagement and diversionary programmes
• Fire-setting behaviour interventions
• Reactive education following significant incidents
• Follow-up activity from partner referrals
• Safeguarding identification and referral processes
• Work with high-risk or vulnerable young people
• Delivery of responsibilities under the Serious Violence Duty
• Early intervention linked to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
• Attendance at multi-agency safeguarding and partnership meetings
• Delivery of the Public Safety Service
Our Prevention Commitments
To ensure prevention is effective, consistent and evidence-based, we will:
Risk-Based Targeting – Identifying who we should reach
We will:
• Use CRMP data, partner referrals and local intelligence to identify risk
• Prioritise people and communities with the highest likelihood or consequence of harm
• Review targeting criteria regularly to remain responsive to emerging needs
Person-Centred Interventions – How we support individuals
We will:
• Tailor advice, support and equipment to individual needs
• Encourage the use of professional curiosity to identify wider vulnerabilities
• Maintain clear referral pathways into safeguarding, health and social care
Partnership Working
We will:
• Work alongside partners in health, housing, policing, social care and the voluntary sector
• Maintain strong information sharing and referral protocols
• Work collaboratively to reduce vulnerability, exploitation and harm
• Deliver joined up prevention in Craven through the Public Safety Service
Targeted Education & Community Engagement
We will:
• Provide evidence-based school and youth education in response to identified risks
• Deliver age appropriate and relevant prevention content
• Run community campaigns aligned to seasonal trends, local intelligence, relevant NFCC campaigns and wider national programmes.
Data, Insight & Digital Tools
We will:
• Use accurate and secure data to guide activity
• Link datasets across teams and partners where appropriate
• Use dashboards, mapping and trend analysis to inform decisions
• Embed feedback loops from the public, partners and staff
• Use insight to target prevention where it has the greatest impact
Assurance & Quality Improvement
We will:
• Align delivery to the CRMP and quality assurance frameworks
• Use audits, reviews and evaluation to ensure consistent, effective practice
• Learn from incidents, organisational learning, safeguarding reviews and inspection findings
• Drive continuous improvement across the organisation
Roles and Responsibilities
Effective prevention relies on everyone in the Service understanding their role in identifying risk, supporting vulnerable individuals and contributing to safer communities. While specialist teams lead on targeted and complex interventions, all staff play a part in delivering person-centred, risk-led prevention.
Operational Crews
Operational crews are often the first and most frequent point of contact with the public. They will:
• Deliver risk-based Home Fire Safety Visits
• Identify vulnerability, use professional curiosity and make timely safeguarding referrals
• Promote key prevention messages through everyday interactions
• Support community engagement where it aligns with prevention priorities
• Record prevention activity accurately and maintain the knowledge, skills and confidence required to deliver effective prevention activity
Prevention Team
The Prevention Team provides targeted and specialist interventions. They will:
• Deliver targeted school and youth education
• Conduct specialist Home Fire Safety interventions for individuals with multiple or complex vulnerabilities, often involving coordinated multi-agency support.
• Lead reactive education following incidents affecting communities
• Support fire setting behaviour interventions
• Manage safeguarding referrals and provide specialist case management
• Lead the delivery of Serious Violence Duty and VAWG related prevention activity
• Provide expert advice, specialist knowledge and practical support to crews and partners, helping build confidence and consistency in prevention delivery
• Deliver targeted programmes for young people at risk
• Support cadet schemes, resilience programmes and youth participation
• Provide professional advice to schools, partners and operational staff
• Support the delivery of SVD and VAWG commitments
• Build strong local partnerships with agencies and stakeholders
Watch, Station and District Managers
Managers ensure prevention is embedded within local planning and day-to-day activity. They will:
• Oversee prevention performance and ensure it aligns with risk and priorities
• Ensure crews maintain competence and confidence in prevention activity through
training, supervision, feedback and quality assurance
• Quality assure HFSVs, referrals and local engagement
• Use local risk data to plan, monitor and review prevention delivery
• Ensure prevention activity is delivered in line with this strategy and local station plans
Safeguarding Leads
Safeguarding Leads ensure high standards of practice when supporting children, adults and others at risk. They will:
• Oversee safeguarding referrals and thresholds
• Provide specialist advice, supervision and guidance
• Support multi-agency safeguarding arrangements
• Ensure compliance with statutory safeguarding duties
Performance, Evaluation & Assurance
Following this Strategy, a Prevention Tactical Delivery Plan will set out:
Objectives
• Reduce fire risk among high-risk individuals
• Increase quality and consistency of HFSVs
• Improve identification and referral of vulnerable people
• Deliver targeted road, water, youth and environmental risk campaigns
• Strengthen safeguarding pathways
• Embed data, evaluation and quality assurance
We will measure the impact of our prevention work to ensure it is effective, targeted and aligned with our CRMP. We will use data and feedback to continually improve our services.
KPIs we will monitor include:
• The number of Home Fire Safety Visits completed
• The proportion of visits delivered to high and very high-risk individuals
• The number of visits delivered in rural areas where response times are longer
• The number of safeguarding and partner referrals made and received
• Outcomes from youth engagement activity
• Activity linked to Serious Violence Duty and VAWG
• Targeted interventions for road, water and wildfire safety
• Engagement with high-risk communities and partners
Performance information will be reviewed through the Community Risk & Resilience Performance Meeting. Monitoring will take place at station, district and service level. Within the Prevention function, we will also review individual performance to ensure consistency and quality.
Evaluation and Learning
sWe will strengthen prevention by embedding learning, evaluation and continuous improvement.
We will:
• Evaluate key programmes and campaigns to understand good practice
• Use incident data, case reviews and post incident learning to improve practice
• Apply learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) and other external reviews
• Use feedback from the public, partners and staff to identify improvements
• Review trends and adapt prevention activity based on emerging or evolving risk
• Share learning across teams and partnerships to support a consistent approach
• Incorporate regional and national learning, including relevant NFCC guidance, campaigns and thematic reviews, to ensure our practice reflects emerging evidence and sector-wide best practice.
Quality Assurance
We will maintain high standards of delivery through robust assurance processes, including:
• Dip sampling and quality checks of HFSVs and referrals
• Review of compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures
• Alignment with relevant NFCC guidance, position statements, national campaigns and Fire Standards
• Monitoring of HMICFRS reports
• Internal and external peer reviews
Quality assurance ensures prevention activity is consistent, safe and effective.
Governance & Review
Strong governance ensures accountability, compliance and continuous improvement across all prevention activity. The Head of Prevention and Early Intervention will oversee delivery of this strategy and ensure alignment with the CRMP, national standards and statutory duties.
Delivery and oversight will be supported through:
• Learning, Development & Risk Management
• Community Risk & Resilience Meeting
• Service Delivery Performance Meeting
• Online public meetings
• Oversight from governance boards and multi-agency partnership forums
• Regular quality assurance, audits and evaluation
• Clear ownership of each prevention priority through dedicated tactical delivery plans
An annual review of this strategy will be undertaken, with a full refresh every three years in line with the CRMP cycle, or sooner if required.
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