West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has effective arrangements for debriefing after incidents. These are enhanced by the routine use of closed circuit television (CCTV) evidence. Known by staff as the ‘silent witness’, CCTV was introduced to monitor driving and attacks on firefighters. However, it is now used across the Service to debrief staff following incidents and exercises. Its use has brought tangible benefits when assessing operational performance, firefighter learning and development, and sharing best practice. It has become a valuable tool to address poor performance and highlight good service delivery for all operational staff.
The Service has a highly-developed and sophisticated approach to the training and development of tactical managers involved in critical incident command. They use an Incident Command Training suite for total immersion training where participants experience the demands of critical incident command in a number of realistic scenarios. The results of this training are being shared with other fire services and with partners. This approach fosters and develops improved working relationships and synergy between partners. It also delivers an enhanced understanding of the role of others at emergencies, incident management systems and operating practices.