FOREWORD BY BRIAN FRASER, HEAD OF THE SCOTTISH FIRE AND RESCUE ADVISORY UNIT - REPORT ON OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE DELIVERY
In 2007/08 the Chief Fire Officers Association (Scotland) ( CFOA(S)) and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Advisory Unit ( SFRAU) agreed a methodology for assessing the position at that time on operational assessment of service delivery ( OASD). The purpose of undertaking this task was to give fire and rescue services a snapshot of the ability to deliver core services to the public and the various key elements that would need to be in place and sustainable to maintain this essential service in both the prevention of and dealing with incidents, as the public of Scotland has come to expect.
The outcome of the assessment was fed back to each fire and rescue service allowing them to use this information in the best way they could to refine local resources to address local risk. SFRAU will revisit the services in late 2009 to agree with them the progress made against specific recommendations. OASD was intended as a learning exercise and this report shares the details of that exercise highlighting what works well in some services and what could be reproduced across other services to aid continuous improvement.
It is my pleasure to present this report which I believe will add to the continued learning environment of Scotland's fire and rescue services. We all seek a genuine, open relationship where we can learn from the best but where we can also share those things that have not turned out as expected in a way which helps us understand the reasons why and what we can do to deliver a better service.
Scotland continues to be well protected by its fire and rescue services and it is pleasing to see the continued drop in emergencies faced by the public to which the fire and rescue service has to respond. The challenge for the future is improved collaborative working in the whole emergency and preparedness community and that is an area we will continue to promote.
This report contributes to the strategic outcome for a safer and stronger community for Scotland and I commend the report to readers whom I hope will receive the comments with an open mind and with a view to encouraging learning and organisational development.