Partnership working improves fire safety awareness for Sandwell residents
As Sandwell’s Safer 6 campaign gets underway, a partnership between Sandwell Council, Breakthru CIC, West Midlands Fire Service and Aico is helping residents better understand how to stay safe in their homes through practical fire safety advice and community engagement.
Safer 6 is Sandwell’s annual community safety campaign, bringing together council services, West Midlands Police, West Midlands Fire Service and community partners for six weeks of coordinated action across the borough. The campaign focuses on tackling issues that matter most to residents, including anti-social behaviour, environmental concerns and community safety.
Sandwell Council’s Social Value Team responded quickly to concerns raised by Breakthru CIC about residents being at risk in their homes.
Breakthru shared that some people they support were buying electrical items online that were not safe to UK standards and were overloading extension leads. In response, the Social Value Team brought together West Midlands Fire Service and supply chain partner Aico to deliver practical fire safety workshops in local community venues.
Together, they provided simple, easy-to-understand advice on:
- Safe use of electrical items
- Preventing fire risks in the home
- How to use safety equipment already installed
To ensure everyone could benefit from the sessions, Breakthru CIC also provided interpreters, helping make the workshops accessible to a wider range of people.
Strong community response
The workshops have already reached over 130 residents, with sessions delivered in trusted local spaces across the borough:
- Wednesbury – around 35 attendees
- Oldbury – around 40 attendees
- Smethwick – around 60 attendees
Supporting learning and innovation
Alongside the community workshops, Aico hosted a learning and networking event in May, the session focused on key issues affecting residents, including damp and mould, electrical safety and the requirements linked to Awaab’s Law. The event provided an opportunity for officers to build their knowledge and understand how to better support residents across Sandwell.
Aico (who supply the fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors installed in Council properties) have also offered Sandwell Council’s Damp and Mould Team two damp and mould detectors free of charge. This will allow the team to trial the equipment within Council properties and assess whether they could support the Council’s approach to meeting Awaab’s Law requirements.
Feedback
The Electrical Manager at Sandwell Council said: “The electrical team within SMBC works collaboratively with AICO to ensure we remain up to date with the latest technology and working practices, maintaining the highest standards of safety for our tenants. Participation in regional networking workshops, such as SHPN, enables the team to absorb, review, and reflect on current challenges, successes, and future projections. This ongoing engagement serves as a valuable tool for continuous improvement and supports our commitment to delivering exemplary standards across all areas of our work”
Conclusion
As Safer 6 activities take place across Sandwell over the coming weeks, this project provides a strong example of how partnership working can help address issues that matter most to residents. By listening to community concerns and bringing together the right people to respond, more than 130 residents have already benefited from fire safety advice and support.
This work demonstrates the impact of bringing together community organisations, supply chain partners and public services to respond to local needs, and it highlights how social value can be used to create positive outcomes beyond contractual requirements.