Improving Lives to Save Lives

A world-renowned public health expert has endorsed the work of West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) in tackling health inequalities.

The brigade is the first and only organisation to be endorsed by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London.

Sir Michael specialises in the social determinants of health - the factors which affect whether someone lives a long and healthy life. At a conference hosted by WMFS at its headquarters in Birmingham, attended by leading health figures from across the country, he praised the brigade for “clearly recognising” the links between people’s risk from fire and the conditions in which they live.

WMFS now incorporates the so-called ‘Marmot Principles’ into its wide-ranging work making the West Midlands safer - with a focus on vulnerable residents and communities.

Our 1,322 full-time firefighters are committed to delivering world-class emergency response. We organise our resources so we can get to serious incidents within five minutes. However, our prevention work is crucial in stopping fires and other incidents happening in the first place.

Reducing risk in our communities and in people’s homes is intrinsic to our work. Many fires are preventable, but we know that fire discriminates. That’s why we target our evidence-based prevention work and focus on the vulnerable and disadvantaged.

This video, launched at the event, highlights some of that work. We think you might be surprised at some of the work West Midlands firefighters do…

Видео Improving Lives to Save Lives канала Wayne Little