Local residents and businesses are being encouraged to have their say as part of a six-week consultation on West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.

The Integrated Risk Management Plan is a required by all fire and rescue services in the UK, and its purpose is to explain how they intend to save lives, improve public safety and reduce emergency incidents.

Participants in the consultation will be asked to comment on priorities identified by the West Sussex Fire Authority.

The plan explains the fire service’s activities in detail on:

• Prevention – educating the community on how to reduce risks through safe and well visits, school visits and other training.
• Protection – providing safer public spaces within the built environment, fire safety inspections and enforcement.
• Response – sending fire engines and firefighters to emergency incidents. This can include fires, road traffic collisions, flooding etc.
• People – how we address the challenges we face in delivering a highly trained, diverse workforce.
• Value for money – ensuring everything we do is as cost efficient as possible.
• Partnership and collaboration – how we will work with other organisations to achieve our organisational aims.

To view the plan and give feedback see www.westsussex.gov.uk/IRMP2018

The consultation runs until Monday 28 May.

A series of drop-in meetings are being held around West Sussex for the public to find out more about the plan. These are on:

• Thursday 26 April from 5pm-7pm at Parkside, Horsham
• Monday 30 April from 12pm-2pm at Crawley Library
• Thursday 3 May from 5pm-7pm at Ede’s House, Chichester
• Thursday 3 May from 5pm-7pm at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath
• Tuesday 8 May Bognor from 5pm-7pm at The Regis School, Bognor Regis

Details of further meetings will be available on the West Sussex website.