Sectors – Fire – ORH Ltd.

Fire: What we do

ORH offers a unique service designed to help answer strategic and tactical planning questions by identifying and appraising feasible options for change using proven Operational Research (OR) techniques.

ORH’s area of expertise encompasses a wide range of strategic fire cover issues including: supporting the development of an estate strategy, optimising the use of appliances, developing robust contingency plans, maximising risk coverage and minimising the impact of any planned budget reductions on service delivery.

The impact of new demand management strategies can be assessed. For example, reducing attendances to some calls (eg, unwanted fire signals, non-emergency incidents, small fires) can be appraised using simulation modelling techniques, to help refine strategies before implementing operational changes.

Options for improving fire cover can also be assessed. For example, changing duty systems, optimising the deployment of pumping appliances across existing stations and evaluating options for changing the balance between wholetime and retained/volunteer staff. The optimum deployment and crewing arrangements for specialist appliances can also be appraised through modelling.

Fire: Key Areas

Improved response
Risk cover
Estate strategy
Appliance deployments
Dynamic cover
Workforce profile
Efficiency measures
Contingency plans
Demand management

Fire: Example Questions

ORH can help you answer key questions. For example:

What is the optimal deployment of appliances and configuration of stations?
How can the impact of budget reductions be minimised?
What is the impact of changing duty systems on response times and appliance workload?
Where is the best location for a new fire station in a community?
What is the impact of changing mobilisation policies on response times and appliance workload?
How should station and appliance coverage change to best cover future planned developments?
How can brigade resource capability better match the risk profile?

Fire: How we do it

ORH uses sophisticated Operational Research (OR) techniques for data analysis and modelling.

ORH’s experienced consultants have developed a good understanding of operational fire cover by working with different types of Fire Services ranging from large metropolitan services through to through to rural and remote services.

ORH’s methodology is based on two computer models that have been developed over the last two decades and are used by our trained consultants:

An optimisation model: identifies and evaluates optimum locations for fire stations and optimal deployments of appliances by location.
A simulation model: used to answer a wide-range of ‘what if’ questions by evaluating the impact of options for change on emergency response times and appliance workload.

Fire: Why ORH?

ORH has 25 years experience working with over 100 emergency service organisations in the UK and other countries on around 500 separate projects. The company has undertaken modelling studies for 14 Fire Services in the last few years covering a range of assignments.

An ORH study can deliver significant benefits to the Fire Service: