East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
Fire & Rescue
Facts about East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
The area covered by East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (East Sussex Fire Authority) incorporates the County of East Sussex (pop 508,274) and the City of Brighton & Hove (approx pop 250,000). Our community is growing and encompasses a diverse range of people and groups each with differing needs, providing us with a broad range of opportunities and challenges when working both for and with the community.
The East Sussex area is divided into 5 local authority areas. From west to east they are Lewes; Wealden; Eastbourne; Rother and Hastings. Each has a different sense of place, culture, demographic and geographic characteristics. We have five separate Borough Plans covering the East Sussex area (The City has its own Plan) to ensure cohesive service planning and development, including working with the respective area local partnership groups, local authorities and local community groups.
Facts about the City of Brighton & Hove
The City of Brighton & Hove, with a resident population of over 250,000, has developed from a small fishing village located where the South Downs meets the sea and the broad coastal plain begins. Development, initially supported by tourism, has grown westwards and northwards until it has been constrained by other boundaries.
Demography
Over 70% of our population lives along our coastline, with the remaining 30% distributed in small rural towns and villages northwards to the Surrey and Kent boundaries. There are also differences in population patterns, including such issues as age profiles, gender and patterns of social deprivation.
Risks of fires, death & injury
Our community risk information, accumulated over several years, shows that it is generally the elderly, living alone without effective fire prevention systems in their home, who present the greatest risk of death and injury from fire. Those in rural areas are at greatest risk as detection can take longer. It is a sad reality that approximately 2-4 people each year will die in their homes as a result of a preventable fire – and the best way of preventing death is via prevention rather than response.
Risks of road traffic collisions in our area
Our area is not best served by motorways or dual carriageways. Most of our traffic is confined to single carriageways networked across our county. In terms of total road traffic collisions attended, there are higher numbers in our rural areas than in our coastal towns and The City where these also tend to be of a more serious nature. We undertake a number of road traffic intervention services including ‘Head On’; ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ and other initiatives managed through Sussex Safer Roads Partnership
Our Employees
Members of the public see our frontline staff responding to operational incidents, visiting schools, homes and businesses and working with partners to build safer communities. Supporting our more visible front line personnel are professional, technical and administrative staff who ensure the fleet remains operational, people get
The area covered by East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (East Sussex Fire Authority) incorporates the County of East Sussex (pop 508,274) and the City of Brighton & Hove (approx pop 250,000). Our community is growing and encompasses a diverse range of people and groups each with differing needs, providing us with a broad range of opportunities and challenges when working both for and with the community.
The East Sussex area is divided into 5 local authority areas. From west to east they are Lewes; Wealden; Eastbourne; Rother and Hastings. Each has a different sense of place, culture, demographic and geographic characteristics. We have five separate Borough Plans covering the East Sussex area (The City has its own Plan) to ensure cohesive service planning and development, including working with the respective area local partnership groups, local authorities and local community groups.
Facts about the City of Brighton & Hove
The City of Brighton & Hove, with a resident population of over 250,000, has developed from a small fishing village located where the South Downs meets the sea and the broad coastal plain begins. Development, initially supported by tourism, has grown westwards and northwards until it has been constrained by other boundaries.
Demography
Over 70% of our population lives along our coastline, with the remaining 30% distributed in small rural towns and villages northwards to the Surrey and Kent boundaries. There are also differences in population patterns, including such issues as age profiles, gender and patterns of social deprivation.
Risks of fires, death & injury
Our community risk information, accumulated over several years, shows that it is generally the elderly, living alone without effective fire prevention systems in their home, who present the greatest risk of death and injury from fire. Those in rural areas are at greatest risk as detection can take longer. It is a sad reality that approximately 2-4 people each year will die in their homes as a result of a preventable fire – and the best way of preventing death is via prevention rather than response.
Risks of road traffic collisions in our area
Our area is not best served by motorways or dual carriageways. Most of our traffic is confined to single carriageways networked across our county. In terms of total road traffic collisions attended, there are higher numbers in our rural areas than in our coastal towns and The City where these also tend to be of a more serious nature. We undertake a number of road traffic intervention services including ‘Head On’; ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive’ and other initiatives managed through Sussex Safer Roads Partnership
Our Employees
Members of the public see our frontline staff responding to operational incidents, visiting schools, homes and businesses and working with partners to build safer communities. Supporting our more visible front line personnel are professional, technical and administrative staff who ensure the fleet remains operational, people get
paid, equipment arrives on station, computer systems are working and your questions are answered. Everyone who works for East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service contributes towards our vision of ‘Achieving safer & more sustainable communities’
Our Service operates from 24 Community Fire Stations, a Training Centre, Vehicle Workshops and our Headquarters in Eastbourne. Our staffing comprises:
Information on Eastbourne Fire Station
Wholetime firefighters at Eastbourne crew two pumping appliances, one aerial ladder platform and a national response vehicle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Eastbourne’s pumping appliances cover an area of approximately 3700 hectares covering the seafront hotels. Eastbourne also serves the outlying villages of Jevington, Polegate, Stone Cross, Willingdon, East Dean and parts of Westham. The town has a high number of hotels and guest houses that represents an increased risk during summer months, as does the Victorian pier. To the east of the town there is a large marina complex with its associated risks.
Eastbourne’s technical Fire Safety Officers are responsible for ensuring the safety of our community by carrying out fire safety audits of high risk premises, giving fire safety advice and enforcing the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Community Safety Advisor team concentrate on carrying out home safety visits; however they are becoming increasingly involved in other safety initiatives including providing safety advice at the many community events hosted in Eastbourne including this years combined services 999 event.
Our Service operates from 24 Community Fire Stations, a Training Centre, Vehicle Workshops and our Headquarters in Eastbourne. Our staffing comprises:
- Mobilising & Communications Centre personnel who receive emergency calls, mobilise fire appliances for firefighting, rescue and humanitarian services, and who also support the management and collection of operational information
- Wholetime and retained duty system firefighters at our Community Fire Stations who provide our response to incidents and proactive safety advice to the community
- Specialist staff who provide Community Safety advice, Arson Reduction initiatives and Legislative Fire Safety services to the public and businesses
- Senior operational managers and specialist advisers located at Service Headquarters
- Support staff who provide core services including Engineering Services, Information
Management, Property Management, Human Resources and Occupational Health, Learning & Development, Finance, Procurement and Insurance Services and Business Administration Services. The Service provides its operational response service from: - 6 shift fire stations – crewed 24 hours a day by wholetime firefighters plus one retained appliance at The Ridge Fire Station
- 6 day-crewed stations – crewed by wholetime firefighters during the day time. Day crewed firefighters are also on call outside of their core work hours. Day crewed stations have a complement of retained duty system firefighters who respond to calls when alerted by a paging unit
- 12 stations – crewed by retained duty system firefighters who provide 24 hour cover on call and who are alerted to an incident via a paging unit.
Information on Eastbourne Fire Station
Wholetime firefighters at Eastbourne crew two pumping appliances, one aerial ladder platform and a national response vehicle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Eastbourne’s pumping appliances cover an area of approximately 3700 hectares covering the seafront hotels. Eastbourne also serves the outlying villages of Jevington, Polegate, Stone Cross, Willingdon, East Dean and parts of Westham. The town has a high number of hotels and guest houses that represents an increased risk during summer months, as does the Victorian pier. To the east of the town there is a large marina complex with its associated risks.
Eastbourne’s technical Fire Safety Officers are responsible for ensuring the safety of our community by carrying out fire safety audits of high risk premises, giving fire safety advice and enforcing the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The Community Safety Advisor team concentrate on carrying out home safety visits; however they are becoming increasingly involved in other safety initiatives including providing safety advice at the many community events hosted in Eastbourne including this years combined services 999 event.
