Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 14/12/2010 09:12

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service have signed a unique safety pact with one of Cornwall’s leading social housing providers.

The agreement – the first of its kind in Cornwall – will ensure the highest safety standards for all Coastline Housing tenants and their families.

It means that in future, staff at Camborne-based Coastline and contractors will work with firefighters and receive training to help them take on increased responsibility for home safety visits, raising awareness among householders of the dangers surrounding fire and offering practical advice on prevention measures.

The agreement was being signed on Thursday December 9 and if the scheme proves a success, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service will roll it out to other social housing agencies in the county.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Services Chief Fire Officer, Des Tidbury said, “Our main mission is to make Cornwall a safer place and protect vulnerable communities such as the elderly and people with disabilities.

“Our aim with Coastline is to assist and provide support to members of the community to make sure we can keep them as safe as possible. We are trialling this service with Coastline to see whether schemes such as this work for the benefit of the community and maximise limited resources,” said Mr Tidbury.

For the past 18 months, 50 specially–trained Coastline employees have been carrying out fire safety visits to its tenants’ homes, providing advice and guidance as part of a pilot scheme.

Coastline Chief Executive Robert Nettleton said, “We are delighted to be the first housing association to form the agreement with Cornwall Fire and Rescue service, and, investing in the training of around a quarter of our staff, we believe it will be of great benefit to our tenants and customers.

“At this time of year especially, with the cuts and recent spending review on our shoulders, it is important that we join forces where we can and keep our tenants’ needs and safety at the forefront of what we do.”

Cornwall Council cabinet member for community safety Lance Kennedy said: “This is another example of how Cornwall Council is working with partners to improve the service whilst driving down costs. Public health and safety is one of my absolute priorities and I hope to extend this scheme if it works well.″

Mark England, Coastline Housing’s Head of Technical Services who has been working with the Fire and Rescue Service to set up the partnership agreement said: “This is the first and only type of agreement of its kind with any housing association in Cornwall and clearly demonstrates Coastline’s commitment to fire safety.”

Note to editors

Photograph attached showing from left to right:

Mark Hewitt, Risk Manager Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service ; Robert Nettleton, Chief Executive, Coastline Housing; Des Tidbury, Chief Fire Officer, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service; Mark England, Head of Technical Services, Coastline Housing

About Coastline Housing

Coastline Housing Ltd is an independent, not-for-profit housing association owning and managing over 3,700 homes. The Company’s purpose is to: build great homes, and offer great services provided by great people.

The challenge faced by Coastline is enormous. At 13 times average earnings in many areas of Cornwall, high house price rises have excluded many people from owning their own home. Thousands of families have registered for affordable rented housing in the county and many more are known to be in need.

With a growing annual turnover - currently £18.6 million - and staff totalling over 200, Coastline’s contribution to solving this problem and improving people’s lives continues to increase. The growing Coastline brand now includes:

The New Connection – a team of more than 30 professionals providing supported housing services to the most vulnerable people in our communities;
Coastline Services, which offers top quality repairs and maintenance services to companies and individuals; and
Coastline Care – dedicated to meeting the domiciliary care needs of a wide range of clients.

If you would like to know more about Coastline, go to: www.coastlinehousing.co.uk. For more information please contact Mark Symington or Jaime Futers at Quicksilver PR on 01564 773366.