Members of the public are being invited to have their say on what the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) council tax precept should be for 2017-18. The aim of the consultation is to gain an understanding as to the public’s preferred level of the precept- 1.97% or no increase.

Current indications are that SYFR will lose around £2 million in its Government funding in 2017/18, when compared with 2016/17.

Householders in Band D currently pay £67.33 per year for their Fire and Rescue Service, around £1.29 per week. The decision to increase council tax would raise around £441,000 in annual funding for the fire service.

Fire Authority Members will make their decision on Council Tax at the fire and rescue authority meeting on Monday 13 February.

To share your views, please fill in the short survey below. The survey closes on 31 January.

Fire officers are calling on South Yorkshire’s housing providers to install sprinklers to help protect vulnerable residents from fire.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) attends dozens of serious house fires every year in social housing and sheltered accommodation.

To help tackle the problem and increase the number of sprinkler systems fitted across the county, the fire service has announced a  £1 million fund to encourage more housing providers to install them in buildings lived in by those residents most at risk from fire.

Dozens of delegates attended an event in Sheffield this week which launched the fund and explained to businesses, charities and social housing landlords the benefits of this potentially lifesaving fire safety equipment.

Head of prevention and protection Steve Helps, said: “Sprinklers are a cost effective way of making homes safer – they stop fires from spreading, put them out quickly and save lives. We are especially concerned about those people who are most at risk of fire such as those with mobility or mental health problems or people with dementia who may not know how to react, or be able to react quickly enough, if they hear a smoke alarm.

“We play a key leadership role in helping people to better understand the benefits of sprinklers as part our commitment to reduce the impact of fire on people, property and the environment and this funding is the best possible evidence of our commitment to that goal.”

SYFR is one of the leading fire services in the country for its pioneering use of sprinklers in high risk residential settings, leading a UK first project to retrofit an automated system at the Callow Mount block of flats in Gleadless. That scheme is now internationally recognised for the improved safety it offers the people living within the building.

It has also worked alongside Sheffield City Council to make more than 540 properties in the city safer by installing lifesaving sprinkler systems at council owned flats in Gleadless Valley, Westfield, Stannington and Netherthorpe. This project was another UK first.

The installation of sprinkler systems in new build homes is now mandatory in Wales and SYFR is actively promoting the use of this type of protection in all types of buildings to build resilience and safety into local communities.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority’s sprinkler fund is open to any social  or private housing provider. It will part fund those projects which demonstrate the best value and innovation in protecting the most vulnerable people possible from fire.  It forms part of the Stronger Safer Communities Reserve, with money set aside from the Authority’s reserves.

The funding application form can be downloaded here. The deadline for applications is 10 March.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is warning businesses to be aware of a scam in which rogue publishers are offering advertising space in a publication they claim they are producing on behalf of the fire service.

The rogue publishers make unsolicited telephone calls to businesses, in particular small businesses, doctors’ surgeries and dental practices offering advertising space in a magazine they claim is produced by the fire service.

The cost of the ‘advert’ can range from £50 to anything up to £1000. However, once you have paid you’ll find the publication either doesn’t exist or only a handful of copies are printed. Generally, if the call is bogus, the caller will only provide a PO box address and the phone number will be blocked.

If you receive an unsolicited call from a publishing company:

• Don’t agree to anything until you are given full details of the publishing company and what you will get for your money
• Ask to see terms and conditions before agreeing anything
• Read all small print of any contract carefully
• Establish how many copies are being published, where they will be distributed and how, and where can you get hold of a copy
• If you are told that someone from your company has already verbally agreed to place an advert get full details of who and when, and check with the member of staff before agreeing anything further
• Ask which other companies in your area have taken advertising space and contact them to see if the caller is genuine
• If you receive a demand for payment, which could be over the phone or via an ‘invoice’ respond to the demand stating why you do not owe any money

Businesses which may have been contacted in this way should report any details they may have to Action Fraud.