The torrential rain of the past few weeks has led to widespread flooding, leaving thousands displaced from their homes, dozens injured and several people dead. Firefighters were inundated with calls – so much so that those from areas unaffected by the flooding were called to ease the burden on their colleagues in different services. One such service was Lincolnshire, whose crews were requested to drive up to South Yorkshire to help out with the situation there.

December’s edition features a guest column from Rainharvesting Systems Ltd, who explain how fire stations across the country are helping save water by catching and filtering their rainwater before reusing it for things like toilets and gardening. We also look forward to No Smoking Day, which takes place on Wednesday 13th March 2013.

Lincolnshire FRS played host to the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) Challenge 2012 at the end of August. The event was deemed a huge success by all involved.

You may notice that the format of the magazine has changed somewhat; don’t worry though we're still going to bring you up to date with the latest initiatives and stories from fire and rescue services around the UK. This edition features Alistair Campbell, Business Development Manager for TextHelp, who explains how their Read&Write Gold software is helping firefighters combat dyslexia in the workplace. We also look at how Norfolk have become the first service in the UK to set up a sub-surface rescue and recovery unit.

On top of that, our regular News, Technology, Fire Safety and Charity sections are all packed with stories and information to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the Fire Service around the country.

A topic that has been very high on our agenda recently is that of sprinklers, so we were delighted when our local service, Cheshire, invited us to attend a very special sprinkler demonstration that was taking place in a soon-to-be-overhauled multi-occupancy residential property in Crewe.

What made it so special was that, with the permission of the building owners, Wulvern Housing, the building was to be set on fire. Find out what happened when they did inside.

Elsewhere in the magazine Graeme Harrison, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Biamp Systems, talks about the type of systems needed to maintain calm in an emergency. Also, we preview the Emergency Services Show 2012, which takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, in November.

In spite of an incredibly busy year for London Fire Brigade, where a major blaze on The Strand, a huge fire under the M1 and, of course, the riots challenged the resources of the whole brigade, the number of fires and the number of people who lost their lives to fire in London actually fell last year. The brigade have provided us with a detailed breakdown of their year in fires.

Elsewhere in the magazine Steve Wright, Head of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue's Arson Task Force (ATF), has written exclusively for The Burning Issue on his role as head of the ATF and as a member of the Fire Investigation team; George Martin, the Fire and Rescue Service's National Liaison Officer for The Prince's Trust, writes for The Burning Issue on the importance between the Trust and the Fire Service.

After an incredible 12 months for those campaigning for the implementation of sprinklers for a variety of properties the topic is well and truly at the top of fire safetyrelated news.

With the help of Wendy Otway and Steve Mills from BAFSA and Welsh Assembly Member for the Vale of Clwyd, Ann Jones, The Burning Issue is able to bring you an in-depth report into the world of sprinklers and how their implementation has the potential to save many lives as well as £billions for the economy.

Elsewhere in the magazine David Sugden of the Passive Fire Protection Federation has very kindly written and article for us on why he thinks that the UK compliance with fire legislation is in a sorry state; we also take a look at the support the Fire Service is offering apprentices, graduates and retained and wholetime firefighters, all in separate initiatives.