Community Safety Department

The Community Safety Department forms one half of the Service Delivery business stream, providing an effective emergency response service whilst working to prevent, plan for and reduce the risk of emergency incidents. These services are delivered by our dedicated staff working closely with the communities they serve. The Head of Community Safety is based at Community Safety Headquarters, Macalpine Road, Dundee. A team of support managers co-ordinate the activities of the department from this location.

Emergency Response

Fire and Rescue cover is provided from our 24 fire stations strategically located throughout the Tayside area. The stations are staffed by firefighters working on either a wholetime, retained or volunteer duty system. Wholetime stations are located in our cities and larger towns and are staffed 24/7. Retained/Volunteer stations are staffed during training and maintenance periods however their crews are on standby from home and their primary workplace to respond 24/7. We have fifty emergency response vehicles responding to calls from these stations including rescue pumps, water tenders, aerial appliances, rescue units and an environmental protection unit.

Our crews, who attend around 8,000 incidents each year, can be called to attend a wide variety of emergencies including, fires, explosions, road traffic collisions, chemical spills, flooding etc. To have the skills to do so they are given extensive training in the latest rescue techniques as well as maintaining their core skills in firefighting.

Emergency Planning

The Risk Management Department also has a responsibility for the Emergency Planning aspect of the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and has contributed to the production of the Community Risk Register, a strategic Tayside wide document, covering the risks in the region and how the combined authorities will tackle these risks.

As a Category 1 responder under the CCA, Tayside Fire and Rescue plays a crucial role alongside our emergency planning partners in the Tayside RECAP (Regional Emergency Co-ordinating & Planning) Strategic Co-ordinating Group to provide a response to any serious emergency incident or disaster. The Emergency Planning Manager for Tayside is based at Perth Fire Station and is assisted by a Watch Manager.

Fire Control

Tayside Fire and Rescue Fire Control, which is located at the Command and Control Centre at Macalpine Road in Dundee, handles 15,000 emergency calls each year. In response to these calls Fire Control mobilise the appropriate fire appliances and provide support to operational crews attending incidents. Fire Control is a vital link in the chain between a member of the public making an emergency call and the appropriate resources arriving at the scene to render assistance.

Fire Control is staffed by 20 personnel divided onto 4 watches each under the leadership of a Watch Manager. Overall management for all four watches is the responsibility of our Station Manager (Control).

Fire Control personnel are involved in Community Safety projects and regularly deliver presentations to primary schools and other organisations teaching when and how to make an emergency 999 call and the dangers and consequences of making a false 999 call.

Community Fire Safety

The recent introduction of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 firmly placed greater emphasis on prevention rather than intervention for all fire and rescue services. Whilst an effective and efficient emergency response can reduce the consequences of fire, most people who perish in fires are dead before the emergency services are alerted. Our best hope of saving these people then is to prevent the fire or any other emergency from occurring in the first place. We have dedicated Fire Safety Officers who specialise in prevention initiatives with the wider community they also provide support for the crews on fire stations who increasingly are involved in safety campaigns to reduce the number of fires in domestic properties.

We are involved in campaigns both at local and national level, focusing more and more of our attention on education and raising awareness amongst the most vulnerable people within the community in order to reduce the suffering caused by fires and other emergencies. The change of emphasis from re-active to pro-active intervention has placed a requirement on our fire crews to learn and develop greater communication skills. We also understand that some of the most vulnerable people in our communities require greater specialisation and a wider approach. To reach these people it is vital that we work closely with our partner organisation. By assisting each other all agencies within local partnerships become more effective in achieving their objectives.

For more information about the Community Safety Department or to request fire safety advice please telephone 01382 825295 and ask to speak to a staff officer.

Community Safety Organisation Chart