Our approach to engagement work reflects our commitment to the Core Code of Ethics.
Community Compass Advisory Group
- Advisors Wanted!
- Are you passionate about our public services and getting the best for your community?
- Would you like the opportunity to inform and advise East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service?
- Would you like to help us provide you with the best service that we can?
- Can you help support our mission to be a fully inclusive employer of choice for all the diverse communities that we serve?
If the answer is yes, then we would love to invite you to join our Community Compass Advisory Group
Become a Community Volunteer
Are you available for a minimum of 8 hours a month?
Would you like to be a Community Volunteer for East Sussex Fire & Rescue and help us support our local communities?
We are currently recruiting for a number of Volunteers to support our Youth engagement weekday events and activities.
Come and join the Fire Cadets
Are you aged 13-17
During your time on the programme, you’ll make new friends, have loads of fun and learn all about what it means to be a firefighter and make a positive impact on your community.
Support us our campaigns
A click of a button to share our news and safety advice can make a big difference.
We can be found on Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), NextDoor and TikTok (search for eastsussexfire) – and lots of our Community Fire Stations are using social media too.
These are some of the campaigns you can help support.
Save Safely
Are you thinking about different ways to save money on household energy bills and living costs? We've gathered together a few ideas which you might want to consider.
Not only could these save you a few pennies, they will help reduce the chances of a fire which in itself can be expensive, disruptive and distressing.
Project Pictogram
We would love for you to support the Project Pictogram campaign which aims to make our roads safer by making some simple pictogram images more visible.
The Merryweather Project
Help us raise the fund we need to refurbish the Bexhill's 1895 Merryweather horse-drawn, steam powered fire engine.
Be Your Own Hero
We would love to be with you all the time to help keep you safe – but there are times you need to Be Your Own Hero.
We're Wildfire Ready - are you?
Find out the actions you can take to protect yourself, property and the community from the risk of wildfire in our Wildfire Ready campaign.
Tales of the Road
Our Tales of the Road surveys capture some of the stories from the perspective of the biker.
Donate to the Fire Fighters Charity - Clothing Banks
Special clothing recycling banks are now available at eight community fire stations
Join an event
We hold lots of events throughout the year.
Sign up to our newsletter
We will send you information about opportunities to take part in focus groups, community meetings, fun days and consultations, along with safety advice.
Sponsorship and advertising opportunities
We have a number of sponsorship and advertising opportunities for organisations.
After the Incident Survey
Help us understand how we can improve the services we provide to you by completing our After the Incident Survey.
Unwanted Fire Signals
An AFA is a system that warns people of a possible fire by automatic means such as a detector or manual means such as by a call point. This is very different to an unwanted fire signal.
Whenever an alarm has activated for a reason that is not a fire, it is a false alarm. If the fire and rescue service have attended the premises for this false alarm it is subsequently classified as an Unwanted Fire Signal (UwFS)
Public Engagement and Consultations
Public engagement and consultations may not always sound very exciting but they are a vital part of our work and something we obviously can’t do with you!
We want to make sure your voice is heard when we are making important decisions and deciding what work to prioritise.
We have made the following promise.
We will:
- Ensure you have the opportunity to influence our strategic and tactical plans
- Increase the quality of engagement with you
- Ensure equality and inclusion is a prime consideration when delivering engagement and consultation to ensure no group or individual is disadvantaged
What sorts of things do we ask you about?
- Our Integrated Risk Management Plan – this is when we look at the risks in our communities and how we match our resources, such as fire stations and different types of fire appliances, to these. We do this every two to three years.
- Our strategies – these set out what priorities we are going to concentrate on over two or three years on a particular topic, such as fire safety in the home.
- Our finances – we will ask for opinions from the business community about Business Rates and also find out whether our Council Tax payers think they are getting a good deal.
We follow Government Consultation Principles
- Consultations should be clear and concise
- Consultations should have a purpose
- Consultations should be informative
- Consultations are only part of a process of engagement
- Consultations should last for a proportionate amount of time
- Consultations should be targeted
- Consultations should take account of the groups being consulted
- Consultations should be agreed before publication
- Consultation should facilitate scrutiny
- Government responses to consultations should be published in a timely fashion
- Consultation exercises should not generally be launched during local or national election periods.
In addition we consider the Gunning Principles:
- Gunning 1 – Consultation must be at a time when proposals are still at a formative stage
- Gunning 2 – Sufficient reasons must be put forward for any proposal to permit “intelligent consideration” and response
- Gunning 3 – Adequate time is given for consideration and response
- Gunning 4 – The product of consultation is conscientiously taken into account by the decision maker(s)