Firefighters banned from using stepladders

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said the current procedure for fitting smoke alarms was under review after advice from the Health and Safety Executive.

The service has told staff fitting the alarms not to use stepladders or other equipment if people offer it to them because it "has not been evaluated".

Firefighters are not currently issued with their own stepladders.

Brigade spokesman Glenn Ramsden said: "The fire and rescue service is just like any other organisation and is not exempt from the legislation put out by Government to keep the workplace safe.

"In order to ensure our workforce and clients are safe we have to risk assess the task in hand and take appropriate measures.

"This includes introducing a safe system of work, which means that we take a look at all the aspects of the task and make a judgment based upon the possibilities of things going wrong."

Mr Ramsden said the service had fitted 15,000 smoke alarms in the last year but he had "no knowledge" of any injuries occurring.

"There is a fine balance between getting this right and providing a service to help keep members of the community alive," he said.

He said the fitting of smoke alarms in homes was essential to the survival of any family in a house fire and the service would continue to fit the alarms.

The Health and Safety Executive's Work at Height Regulations 2005 place a duty on all employers to ensure the safety of employees "where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury".

The rules state that employers must select the "most suitable equipment" and all work at height must be "properly planned and organised".

Mr Ramsden said several options for fitting smoke alarms were being considered, including an extendable pole, but a final decision had not yet been reached.

"When the best system of work has been selected and risk assessed all of this information is then put into a working document that tells our staff members how to perform that specific task safely," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said they had been approached by the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service who had concerns over the use of stepladders for fitting smoke alarms.