We may not immediately think of climate change as a community safety issue, but its effects are resulting in an ever evolving role for our emergency services.

As leading and proactive partners in the drive to improve community safety, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Staffordshire Police have recognised the issues that climate change will present. They are taking action, both to reduce emissions from their own operations and to help our community adapt through the way that their services are provided.

Never before has Staffordshire needed two highly trained Swift Water boat rescue crews, but the ever increasing threat from floods such as those seen in Tamworth, Lichfield and Stafford in the summer of 2007 has made them a necessity.

The Fire and Rescue Service has also required large scale investment across its vehicle fleet. Customised equipment and appliances such as high volume pumps, mud and ice rescue equipment, mass decontamination and Targeted Response Vehicles (TRV’s) are also now fundamental to ensuring Staffordshire’s safety now and in the years ahead.

A close, structured partnership with the Environment Agency has been developed to plan and resource the specialised equipment needed in environmental protection.

New equipment means heightened levels of training, with specialised teams now in operation across the county as part of a national support network underpinned by improved public awareness.

Staffordshire Police are similarly preparing for change, although the risks are different. To give just a few examples:

• Extreme weather events could result in major incidents, diverting officers from other activities.
• Inward migration into Staffordshire from coastal areas will put increased pressure on police resources.
• Rising fuel costs are already tipping more families into fuel poverty, leading to increases in related crime, e.g. ‘bilking’ (fuel theft) and meter tampering.

As part of its work to address these and other issues, the Force actively contributes to the Staffordshire Resilience Forum, a multi-agency partnership designed to ensure that Staffordshire’s public agencies are as prepared as possible for large scale civic emergencies such as might be occasioned by an extreme weather event. Several of the potential threats identified and prepared for by this group (of which our Fire and Rescue Service are also members) relate directly to the impacts of climate change.