Operational Preparedness, Response, and Resilience Committee
page under development
The work of the committee
The Operational Preparedness Response and Resilience (OPRR) committee aims to promote and lead the highest standards of operational effectiveness in fire and rescue services.
The Committee has ten sub-committees that report to OPRR show in the organogram below: On-call; National Resilience; Operational Communications; Technical Rescue; National Security and Resilience; Operational Infrastructure and Transportation; Firefighting; Guidance, Training and Learning; Strategic Command & Control; Regions
Adjacent (the day before or after) to OPRR, the Regional OPRR leads meet. Representatives from English fire and rescue service regions and the devolved administrations meet quarterly to discuss issues affecting the sector as a whole and operational strategic areas of work.
The committee will:
Approve Operational Response and Fire Control (ORFC) products, such as, Guidance and associated training specifications, competency frameworks, learning aids, Risk Assessments and other tools, for UK fire and rescue services to improve effectiveness, efficiency and collaboration; and drive research and development, leading to safer outcomes for the public, firefighters and all fire and rescue staff.
OPRR works with organisations such as the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive and other stakeholders to lead the UK fire and rescue service and to further improve interoperability with other emergency services and Category 1 and 2 responders.
OPRR provides professional advice to UK governments, and inspectorates on National Resilience issues, work with governments and partners to identify and close any gaps between the National Risk Assessment and local Risk Management Plans, lead continuous improvement of National Coordination and Advisory Framework (NCAF) for major incidents, and support the embedding of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability (JESIP) principles into fire and rescue service guidance and day to day business
OPRR provide strategic direction in relation to call handling, mobilising and other relevant control room functions as well as technical communications infrastructure to support all aspects of fire and rescue service operations.
Committee Chair
- John Roberts is Chief Fire Officer for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, with extensive experience in the Fire and Rescue Service.
- John joined Merseyside fire and rescue service as a firefighter in 1997 and progressed through the ranks working operationally as a Leading Firefighter, Sub Officer and Station officer. In 2006 John was promoted to Station Commander with responsibility for several fire stations in Liverpool.
- In 2008 John was seconded to the Department of Communities and Local Government, working within the Fire and Resilience Directorate.
- John joined South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue in 2009 and worked in a variety of roles including District Commander for Sheffield and Barnsley, before being promoted to Area Commander, Assistant Chief Fire Officer and finally Deputy Chief Fire Officer.
- John joined the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service on promotion to Chief Fire Officer in 2017. In addition to his Chief Officer role in West Yorkshire, John fulfils several national roles within the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC.
- Throughout his fire service career, John has enjoyed specialist operational roles as a Hazardous Materials & Environmental Protection Officer, Fire Investigation Officer, and Swift Water Rescue Technician.
Public policy position statements
Public Policy position statements set out the agreed national view of fire and rescue services on important strategic and public policy issues. They explain what the sector thinks, why it matters for public and firefighter safety, and what actions we think the Government or other organisations should take.
- Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
- Climate Change
- Contaminants in Fire and Rescue Activities
- Flooding response
- Response to terrorist incidents
- Wildfires
OPRR-related publications
- Death in Service Guidance – NFCC
- Emergency services collaboration guidance
- Waste site fires
- Heroism in the fire and rescue service – HSE
- Strategic Road responders Agreement
- National Coordination and Advisory Framework
- Traffic Regulation FRS Display Screens Exemption
- The Vehicle Special Order
- NFCC guidance for Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration – NFCC
