Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I can confirm that Essex County Fire & Rescue Service does not hold the information you have requested.
Please see below the answer to your request.
Initial Request:
1. Please state the total number of times your fire service has attended a fire in a building that has exterior cladding* since 1 January 2015.
2. Please break down question 1 in the following time periods: a) 2015, b) 2016, c) 1 January to 13 June 2017, d) 14 June to 31 December 2017, e) 2018 and f) 2019 so far.
3. Please break down the total in question 1 by type of building (i.e. residential tower block, hospital, care home, office building etc.)
4. Of the total number in question 1, in how many incidents was the cladding found to have been a contributing factor to the spread of the fire?
5. Please break down question 4 by type of cladding (i.e. ACM, HPL etc.)
*If your fire service does not record ‘exterior cladding’ (or other such relevant term) as a searchable category, please run a free text search in your narrative log (and state this is how you have proceeded in your response).
Final Response:
We can confirm that this is information that is not a recordable field on our Incident Recording System (IRS).
Please find attached an excel spreadsheet containing data for incidents in which ‘cladding’, ‘exterior cladding’ or ‘outer cladding’ is mentioned in the narrative log.
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to apply for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of your original email and should be addressed to: Internal Review, Performance & Data Team, Kelvedon Park, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex CM8 3HB.
Please ensure you quote the above reference number in all future communications.
Please note that the response and data released to you as part of this request will be published on the Essex County Fire & Rescue Service website. The website address is http://transparency.essex-fire.gov.uk/. All requests will be anonymised and no personal information including contact details will be disclosed as part of this process.