An issue of life and death
Between 1996 and 2000, 411 people died in fires in London. Nearly 60% of those deaths involved the
over-sixties and the vast majority of them were due to smoking-related causes. Almost all of these
fires were accidental and could have been prevented. In response to these figures, the London Fire &
Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) has embarked on a major programme of fire prevention that
will change the nature of the organisation, and the role of the firefighter. It also has massive implications
for communications strategy.
An extended role for firefighters
By 2010, LFEPA aims to reduce accidental fires in homes by 5%, reduce the number of accidental
fire-related deaths by 20% and reduce deliberate fires by 10%. Our brief is to help the Authority achieve
those targets through a communications strategy that educates those most at risk and provides access
to fire safety advice. Of course, these targets have major implications for the role of the firefighter and
are triggering a drive to recruit even more women. The higher female intake is not simply an attempt
to reflect the community served by the London Fire Brigade, but an active drive for relevant skills and
qualities; firefighters must combine a high level of physical fitness with the patience and empathy to
communicate effectively with the young and elderly.
Teamwork and synergy
In the past, the Fire Safety team and the Recruitment Communications teams produced their own
marketing materials – and used two different agencies. This had some success but did not maximise the
effectiveness of all their communication; it was not reaching enough people at risk nor communicating
the true nature of firefighting to relevant minority groups. We won both parts of the account with a
strategy based on synergy between recruitment and fire safety.
