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Operational guidance for the fire and rescue service
This collection brings together all documents relating to operational guidance for the fire and rescue service.
Fire and rescue service personnel operate in a dynamic and sometimes hazardous environment. The activities covered include incidents involving fire, water, height, road traffic collisions, chemicals, biological hazards, radiation and acts of terrorism.
Operational guidance provides a consistency of approach and forms the basis for common operational practices.
The generic risk assessments in this series have been produced to help fire and rescue authorities in England in drawing up their own risk assessments to meet the requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
On 5 January 2016 responsibility for fire and rescue policy transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government to the Home Office.
Generic risk assessments
- Generic risk assessments: introduction
- Generic risk assessment 1.1: emergency response and arrival at the scene
- Generic risk assessment 2.1: rescues from confined spaces
- Generic risk assessment 2.1.1: rescue from sewers
- Generic risk assessment 2.1.2: rescues from confined spaces (silos)
- Generic risk assessment 2.1.3: trenches and pits
- Generic risk assessment 2.1.4: collapsed structures
- Generic risk assessment 2.2: ice and unstable ground
- Generic risk assessment 2.3: rescues from lifts and escalators
- Generic risk assessment 2.4: flooding and water safety
- Generic risk assessment 2.5: large-animal rescues
- Generic risk assessment 2.6: rescue of trapped persons
- Generic risk assessment 2.7: rescues from tunnels and underground structures
- Generic risk assessment 3.1: fighting fires in buildings
- Generic risk assessment 3.2: fighting fires in high rise buildings
- Generic risk assessment 3.3: fighting fire in domestic chimneys
- Generic risk assessment 3.4: fighting fires in open rural areas
- Generic risk assessment 3.5: fighting fires in farms
- Generic risk assessment 3.6: fighting fires using positive pressure ventilation
- Generic risk assessment 3.7: fighting fires in refuse
- Generic risk assessment 3.8: fighting fires in public entertainment venues
- Generic risk assessment 3.9: fighting fires in places of lawful detention
- Generic risk assessment 3.10: fighting fires in petrochemical plant and pipelines
- Generic risk assessment 4.1: incidents involving road transport systems
- Generic risk assessment 4.2: incidents involving rail transport systems
- Generic risk assessment 4.3: incidents involving air transport systems
- Generic risk assessment 4.5: working with helicopters
- Generic risk assessment 5.1: incidents involving electricity
- Generic risk assessment 5.2: incidents involving acetylene
- Generic risk assessment 5.3: incidents involving chemicals
- Generic risk assessment 5.4: incidents involving biological hazards
- Generic risk assessment 5.5: incidents involving radiation
- Generic risk assessment 5.6: public order
- Generic risk assessment 5.7: incidents involving explosives
- Generic risk assessment 5.8: flashover, backdraught and fire gas ignitions
- Generic risk assessment 5.9: incidents involving asbestos-containing materials
- Generic risk assessment 5.10: working at heights
Operational guidance
- Operational guidance: breathing apparatus
- Operational training guidance: breathing apparatus
- Hazardous materials: operational guidance for the fire and rescue service
- Guidance to the fire and rescue authorities: railway incidents
- Health, safety and welfare framework for the operational environment
- Fire and rescue protective security strategy 2012
Published 12 July 2013
Last updated 10 October 2014 + show all updates
Last updated 10 October 2014 + show all updates
- Added Generic risk assessment 3.6: fighting fires using positive pressure ventilation.
- Added Generic risk assessment 5.2: incidents involving acetylene
- Added 'Generic risk assessment 3.2: fighting fires in high rise buildings' and removed previous archived version.
- Added operational guidance: breathing apparatus
- 2 generic risk assessments added: fighting fires in public entertainment venues, and fighting fires in places of lawful detention.
- First published.