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We work closely with our community to make Greater Manchester a safer place to live, work and visit. In conjunction with the work we do with young people, visiting schools  and carrying out Home Safety Checks we are also responsible for enforcing fire safety legislations.

Your Role in the Community

Making and keeping Greater Manchester safe from fires and other emergencies is at the heart of all that we do, but you have a role to play too.

Help us to promote fire safety

If you have friends, family or neighbours that could benefit from fire safety advice, tell them about our home fire safety visits service. We are particularly keen to visit older or vulnerable people as they are more likely to be hurt in a fire. see our Home Safety Check section.

Tell us about risks

If you see a fire risk in the community, a building owner ignoring fire regulations for instance - contact your local fire and community safety centre.

Think before you park

If roads are blocked and a fire engine can't get through, time could be lost getting to a fire. It could mean the difference between life and death. Please don't park on or next to fire hydrants, in front of exits, across access routes or in front of barriers. You may stop a fire engine getting through.

Help us to stop vehicle fires

Many stolen vehicles are set on fire. Please avoid your car being stolen by removing the keys and locking it at all times, by using an anti-theft device and not leaving property in your vehicle. You should report abandoned vehicles to the police or your local authority.

Reducing Arson in the Community

Arson is the largest single cause of major fires in Greater Manchester and the UK and it costs every person in the county around £18 a year!

Three out of four fires attended by the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service are caused by arson and it's costing Manchester around £37 million a year. Not only does Arson cost millions of pounds each year, it also ties up fire service resources, putting lives at risk. Anyone caught will face prosecution and a criminal record.

Assistant County Fire Officer, Peter O'Reilly, said: "Arson is the largest single cause of major fires in Greater Manchester.  Many of them start as small fires lit as a game or bit of fun, but there is nothing amusing about it.  The main culprits are young males aged between 11 and 18 years but sometimes as young as 7 years old!  We want to teach them that deliberately starting fires has serious consequences."

"We are making a serious effort to tackle the problem - through partnership working and campaigns - and have recently restructured and strengthened our fire investigation team in a bid to catch those responsible.  We have also introduced 'Cracker' a dog that is trained to assist with arson investigations."

See details of the work/campaigns in the Community >>

People at increased risk of fire

We also work with other organisations and charities to identify people, who are at a increased risk of suffering a fire.

These people are often from hard to reach groups and are known to health and social care organisations or the criminal justice system.

Our work to prevent these fires is more effective when we work with the organisations that support these people.

We have created a Partnership Model and Referral Pathway for People at Increased Risk of Fire, which you can view here.

This model means we have a consistent approach when it comes to working with other organisations and preventing those people at increased risk from suffering a fire and devastating consequences they can cause.

Last update: 04/04/2013 13:23:20