Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Simon Arnold and Councillor Peter Money (Councillor Scott Farley was present as his substitute).

There were no declarations of interest in matters coming before this meeting. 

RESOLVED:  That all items of business be considered in public. 

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 February 2022 be agreed as a correct record. 

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting. 

London Fire Brigade (LFB)

Mr Glen Nicolaides, Uxbridge Station Commander for the London Fire Brigade, advised that Mr Alan Taylor was the Borough Commander for Hillingdon.  He noted that a 32m ladder had recently been purchased for Hillingdon and hose layer units were available to accommodate longer distances between a fire and the water source. 

Members were advised that home safety visits continued to be undertaken by the Fire Brigade where a list of ten issues were checked on site.  The freephone number for this service had been advertised on the side of the fire appliances, through banners on the fire station and on social media and had been promoted through a television advert and podcast.  Referrals could made by the householder, the local authority, relatives, etc, and could be made over the phone or through the website.  As part of this service, any existing smoke alarms would be tested and free alarms could be installed.  Mr Nicolaides noted that, as there had been a long list of requests for home safety visits, the most high risk or vulnerable residents had been prioritised to reduce their exposure during the pandemic.  The Fire Brigade had previously also given out free carbon monoxide alarms to landlords. 

Mr Nicolaides advised that a new service had been initiated in the Borough where the Fire Brigade provided small business premises with advice, guidance and support.  The Fire Brigade would sometimes undertake unannounced visits to these small premises (including those premises which were thought to be at less risk of fire) to ensure that fire safety regulations were being met.  Mr Nicolaides urged residents to continue to phone and report fires rather than posting reports on social media. 

It was noted that a lot of preventative work had been undertaken across the whole Borough and that visual audits had been undertaken of every street to identify any issues of concern.  As a result, there had been a reduction in the number of fires in Hillingdon from over 700 in 2018 to just over 500 in the last year.  Mr Nicolaides advised that there did not appear to be any long term hotspot areas anywhere in the Borough. 

Mr Nicolaides advised that a modelling system had been put in place for the whole of London to identify where resources would be best placed and to ensure that it only took around 5-6 minutes for a fire engine to arrive on scene.  He noted that London had quite a lot of resources at its disposal and that pumps from outside of the Borough would attend a fire in Hillingdon if needed (a Memorandum of Understanding had been put in place with places like Surrey and Berkshire for this purpose).  Although there might be a fire where a lot of fire engines attended, this might not be as a result of the severity of the fire or the need for more officers.  This demand on resources might be because the water  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme.  Members agreed to cancel the meeting scheduled for 27 April 2022.

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be noted.