Northamptonshire
Fire and Rescue
Service
About this strategy
This strategy sets out how Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service will deliver its Vision and Mission in relation to Protection delivery, as set out in the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025–2030. Each strategy bridges the gap between the service’s high-level strategic priorities and the tactical delivery required across the Service. This strategy covers:
- Strategic direction for business-as-usual (BAU): how the department will maintain statutory and core services over the 5-year period.
- Strategic direction for change efforts: what change and improvements the department will deliver against the 5-Year CRMP and subsequent Annual Delivery Plans.
Each strategy must demonstrate:
- Clear alignment with CRMP strategic priorities and their bullet-pointed commitments.
- Contribution to one or more CRMP strategic outcomes.
- Support for the seven core principles that guide service delivery.
This Protection strategy outlines the service approach to improve fire safety in the buildings people live and work.
It sets out how we aim to reduce high or intolerable risks to enable NFRS to meet its statutory duties and an enforcing authority, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and wider legislation.
This Protection Strategy supports both the Office for The Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner’s safe and sound plan and the Community Risk Management Plan for NFRS (2025-2030).
Our Prevention, Protection and Response strategies support an integrated approach to service delivery. This helps us to make the best use of our resources and to prioritise different activities to achieve our Mission – to prevent, protect and respond to keep communities safe.
Strategies form part of the service’s integrated planning cycle. It informs the 5-Year Programme Plan, guides annual delivery planning, and sets the strategic direction for both business as usual delivery and improvement actions.
This strategy outlines how the Protection function will be delivered to ensure that:
- Core functions are effectively and efficiently completed, some of which are statutory
- It supports the CRMP priority of improving building fire safety through both statutory inspection and improvement initiatives.
The Fire Services Act 2004 details requirements for fire protection and includes the need for promotion of fire safety within our area.
It is through educating and regulating those responsible for keeping buildings safe to adopt safer behaviours and delivering proportionate and robust fire protection activities, complying with its statutory responsibilities.
NFRS has a specific duty to enforce fire safety standards in the majority of non-residential and shared residential buildings in the county. NFRS hold statutory duties as an enforcing authority for The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO), The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
NFRS utilise guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to develop our risk planning and working practises.
Working towards and achieving compliance with the National Protection Standard aims to improve the safety and wellbeing of our communities by reducing risks and incidents in the built environment. The Fire Standards Board develop these for all areas with fire and rescue services, and published here.
Changes in legislation concerning fire safety, combined with the growth of commercial property has increased demand for our Fire Protection Officers in inspecting and auditing business premises.
The service discharges it’s duties in several ways:
- Using national guidance published by NFCC and our local risk information we proactively identifying buildings for inspection, focusing our resource on the higher risk premises. Risk is considered using numerous factors, such as the premises use, previous inspection history, number or users and their capabilities and characteristics. We apply this methodology to create the Risk Based Inspection Plan (RBIP).
- React to concerns raised by the public, partner agencies and fire staff, over the standards of fire safety.
- Ongoing targeted risk management (TRM), a review process to assess, plan and react to foreseen and emerging issues/changes to fire safety. This would encompass activity following relevant national and local incidents or changes to legislation. This is one of the key areas where the activity and findings provide a basis for organisational learning, derived from the review process at the end of ever TRM activity.
- Use of powers under the FSO to provide a proportionate response to risk and, where required, take formal action to drive compliance and keep people safe.
- Provision of a competent and warranted officers 24/7 to allow an appropriate response and the enforcement of the FSO at all times.
As a statutory consultee, we provide timely and competent responses to Building Regulation consultations for any premise which would be, when occupied, covered by the remit of the FSO.
Whilst we are not a statutory consultee at the planning stage, the team will provide support and guidance to influence the development of the built environment.
Engagement with those who develop and contribute to the proposed layout and design of the built environment, including planning and highways.
Publication of pre planning guidance to allow easy access to requirements. Link
The Fire Authority is a ‘Responsible Authority’ under the Licensing Act 2003 and its work directly supports the licensing objective of ‘Public Safety’. In addition to this, NFRS recognise that contribution can be made to the other three primary objectives, by understanding the wider licensing remit.
We provide active membership at safety advisory groups within the county covering both medium to large events and premises covered by the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 and the Fire Safety and Safety of Places of Sport Act 1987.
As a regulatory authority the service recognises the requirements under Better Regulation and the aims to reduce regulatory burdens and to ensure that the regulation which remains is smarter, better targeted and less costly to business.
Protection officers proactively work with premises that repeatedly suffer false alarms, which can mean emergencies resources are committed to investigating alarm activation when they are not needed. Our aim is to reduce unwanted fire signals and ensure that fire control only mobilise emergency resources to real emergencies.
Our fire safety inspectors and advisors are trained in accordance with the NFCC Competency Framework, with ongoing CPD and development undertaken to maintain their competencies and support their ability to respond and advice on risk issues.
To support all persons who have fire safety responsibilities, we provide information, publicise key messages and encourage responsible persons in respect of the steps to be taken to prevent fires and death or injury by fire. Capability is also provided to give advice, on request, about how to prevent fires and restrict their spread in buildings, and to other property, and the means of escape from buildings.
Provide support and guidance to influence the development of the built environment. Engagement with those who develop and contribute to the proposed layout and design of the built environment, including planning and highways. Publication of pre planning guidance to allow easy access to requirements. Link
As a statutory consultee, we provide timely and competent responses to Building Regulation consultations for any premise which would be, when occupied, covered by the remit of the FSO.
Within the built and occupied premises the protection team undertaking both proactive and reactive activities to reduce and mitigate fire safety risks. Engaging with other regulatory bodies, when required, to coordinate activity and ensure action is effective and efficient. This includes proactive collaboration with safety advisory groups.
Our risk-based inspection plan allows the protection resources to be focused on premises that present the highest risk within the county.
Protection officers proactively work with premises that repeatedly suffer false alarms. Our aim is to reduce unwanted fire signals and ensure that fire control only mobilise emergency resources to real emergencies.
During protection audits, information on premises is gathered and recorded. This can include details of specific processes onsite or plans of the building. When significant hazards are identified, they are shared to help emergency crews prepare and plan for an emergency they attend.
A fire protection Officer is available 24/7 to respond to life safety issues and, if required to provide advice or assistance, attend emergency incidents.
Protection activity following incidents at premises under the remit of the Fire Safety Order:
- Following a fire, officers will investigate the level of compliance at the time of the incident
- Following flooding, environmental or water leak, officers will check on the impact to fire precautions, the distortion of fire doors or damage to fire resistant barriers e.g. plaster board.
Follow any activity, e.g. after an incident, a fire safety audit or responding to concerns, the protection team can utilise either informal or formal routes to manage the identified risks. Serious breaches of the legislation will be investigated, and if suitable, proceed to formal legal action within the courts
Protection Commitments 2025-2030
1. Enhance and support our frontline crews to ensure we understand and capture risks in the built environment and how this can support a different approach to Protection activity.
National guidance is developing to recognise the wider interventions and activities that contribute to protection delivery, a greater diversity in engagement options provides wider benefits to various parts of the organisation and to the responsible persons, who are in control of premises.
Key deliverables:
- Commencement of protection checks by crews, starting within licensable premises.
- Continuation and improvement of CRG and FP exit check process within large retail building, on the lead up to Christmas.
- Days of action, a joint action across Protection, Prevention and Response, where targeted action is undertaken, commonly in conjunction with the local authorities.
- Develop the use of our community risk database, CFRMIS, to increase the ability to record premises information, to allow us greater assessment of risk within the county.
2. Provide assurance the Service has implemented Grenfell Tower recommendations to ensure we can effectively manage the ongoing challenges of the built environment in multi occupancy buildings.
Key deliverables:
- Development of systems and process to record additional building data.
- Facilitate BSR in the discharge of their duties within the county.
- Respond to inquiry findings and recommendations
3. Influence safety in the built environment by using our expertise to respond to a range of consultations from partners.
We aim to develop our engagement with those who can influence and manage risk within the built environment, allowing us to promote fire safety effectively.
Key deliverables:
- Continue to support NFCC in the development of new guidance and methodologies for delivering protection activity.
- Deliver fire safety awareness events via a range of engagement methods to maximise opportunity and understanding.
By the end of the strategy, we will:
- Share information with stakeholders about the causes of fire and effective control measures to reduce risk in our community.
- Enhance the knowledge of our front-line crews to identify hazards and risks in the built environment, capturing relevant risk information to improve the safety and effectiveness of our response.
- Implement recommendations from the Grenfell public inquiry in relation to the built environment.
- Target advice, information and inspection activity, which is aligned to our risk-based inspection programme.
- Enhance our business engagement to offer information in a range of ways which are inclusive and easily accessible, developing guidance to inform others on new or evolving risks.
- Target our inspection activity to address our higher risk and using the full range of enforcement powers to protect the public.
- Enhancing digital, data and technology for capturing and sharing building risk information
- Develop innovative solutions to aid integration and building awareness across prevention, protection and response.
- Influence safety in the built environment by using our expertise to respond to a range of consultations from partners.
- Explore and develop opportunities to involve and empower front-line crews to deliver protection activity.
- Deliver Emergency access demonstrations/Events to stakeholders and partners
- Work alongside response to improve consistency and reporting of false alarms to enable greater analysis of incidents and underpin a more effective response.
- Continue to the use of our community risk database, CFRMIS, to increase the ability to record premises information, to allow us greater assessment of risk within the county.
The CRMP 2025-2030 sets out the following strategic outcomes
- Reduce deaths, injuries and damage caused by fire and other hazardous events to our communities.
- Deliver the best value to the public with the least impact on the environment.
- Develop and maintain a deliver a high performing, and healthy workforce.
To help achieve these outcomes we shall:
- Undertake at least 5,000 inspections of business premises to provide advice and undertake regulatory activity.
- Completion of our current risk-based inspection plan and development and launch of RBIP post 2027
- Undertake 1,000 proactive protection checks and engagements by response crews.
- Respond to building regulation consultations in 15 days
- Respond to concerns of fire safety standards at 3rd party premises where there is a life risk within 24hrs
- Maintenance 100% availability of a Fire Protection Officer 24/7
- Support partners with Fire safety awareness events
We shall monitor performance and delivery against our strategic outcomes via a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and measures determined by national and local performance reporting criteria, Productivity and Efficiency plan outcomes and assurance requirements.
