Many fire and rescue services have good business continuity management plans, and those that have faced disruption before have used the experience to refine their plans further, according to our latest study.
‘Business continuity management: the fire and rescue service’, found that most fire and rescue services have satisfactory flexible plans in place to cover short-term disruptions, such as those caused by transport problems or adverse weather.
And some services are good at business continuity management and can ensure their services can continue when disrupted. Those services having more experience with disruption are learning a lot and are better prepared for next time.
But services cannot cope with every situation indefinitely. If disruptions are sudden, involve high numbers of staff, last a long-time and are widespread, there is a higher chance the risk to public safety will increase.
There are already some good preparations in place to deal with potential longer-term disruptions, such as a flu pandemic.