His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services News

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is performing well and has been congratulated for its performance, the fire inspectorate has said. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas and found the service was ‘good’ in ten areas and ‘adequate’ in one area. HMICFRS praises Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service HMICFRS said Great...

London Fire Brigade has made improvements and has therefore been removed from an enhanced level of monitoring by the fire inspectorate. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) continuously monitors the performance of all fire and rescue services in England. The monitoring process consists of two stages: Scan and Engage. All fire and rescue services are in routine monitoring under the Scan stage by default, but may be escalated to enhanced...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been assessed as 'Outstanding' in one of eleven categories inspected earlier this year by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). They also received six Goods, three Adequates and one Requires Improvement. The inspection team, who visited the Service in April, gave the highest score possible for how CFRS manages its resources, highlighting innovative practices for its ‘comprehensive financial and r...

Following the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) Culture and Inclusion Conference on 27 and 28 March 2023 and the spotlight report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) entitled ‘Values and culture in fire and rescue services’, released on 30 March 2023, the NFCC has developed a Culture Action Plan to address culture and inclusion within the fire and rescue sector. NFCC’s fire and rescue services protect the pub...

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Positive Practice Portal has been launched at the NFCC Spring Conference 2023, taking place at St George’s Park, on 9 May and 10 May 2023. The Positive Practice Portal will share case studies and examples of positive practice captured by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), enabling fire and rescue services to learn from each other and improve their services for the benefit of the public. NFCC a...

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service's Chief Fire Officer has responded to the report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) on values and culture in the fire service nationally. HMICFRS report Chief Fire Officer - Chris Kirby, said: “The HMICFRS report on values and culture makes difficult reading for anyone working in the fire and rescue service. It shouldn’t need saying- but there is absolutely no place for the negative...

Responding to the inspectorate spotlight report on culture in the fire and rescue service, the Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has stated his commitment and determination to work with all fire and rescue services to deliver an open, inclusive, and welcoming culture for all. He is clear that this is his number one priority. Following His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report into values and culture, NFCC Chair - Mark Harding...

Following the publication of the annual State of Fire report, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has responded to its findings. Published by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), it looks at the fire and rescue service’s effectiveness, efficiency and how they focus on their staff. In the report, HMICFRS’ Chief Inspector - Andy Cooke said: “I am continually struck by the dedication of firefighters and other staff, and I...

South Yorkshire’s fire service says it has already taken significant steps to improve its service, following the publication of a national inspection report. The report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) identified several areas for improvement- as well as many areas of good practice. areas of good practice Inspectors said the service is ‘good’ at looking after its people, but needs to improve under the ‘effect...

The staff at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) has been praised, after inspectors rated the service as one of the top performing in the country. Tyne and Wear’s most senior fire officer has praised firefighters and fire staff after the Service was rated as ‘Good’ by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). It is the second inspection in a row that the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has been graded ‘Good&...

Following the launch of an Implementation Tool for both the Prevention and Protection Fire Standard, the Fire Standards Board are delighted to publish six further tools covering each of the previously published Fire Standards.   The NFCC Implementation Team has been pivotal in developing these tools in response to feedback from services following the launch of the first eight Fire Standards this year.   Providing useful evidence P...

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has received today’s State of Fire report which focuses on the inspection of 12 services, published today by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. According to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Sir Thomas Winsor: "The fire and rescue service (England) continues to be an enormous asset to our communities and the sector's response to the pandemic has been exemplary.” Complimented protection a...

The Fire Standards Board for England has published the Prevention Fire Standard setting out what fire and rescue services should be doing to keep communities safe from fire. This is the seventh Fire Standard to be published and sits alongside the operational response Fire Standards released earlier this year. The Protection Fire Standard will be published in September 2021. New Prevention Fire Standard published Fire and rescue services will look to use the Prevention Fire Standard to ensure...

The Fire Standards Board for England is seeking views by 9 April on a new overarching standard for Fire Protection. Having recently published the first fire standards focused on operations, the Board is now consulting on two draft standards for protection and prevention. The Fire Standards Board commissioned the development of the Fire Protection Fire Standard through the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Protection Policy and Reform Unit (PPRU). A working group, with representation from ser...

Royal Berkshire Fire Authority has successfully concluded its search for the next leader of Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. Wayne Bowcock will be joining the Service following the retirement of its current Chief Fire Officer, Trevor Ferguson, in July 2021. Wayne will join the Service in June to ensure a smooth transition, before Trevor’s departure. Wayne joins the Service from his current role as Chief Fire Officer and Director at Gloucestershire County Council. Wayne was selecte...

An inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) confirmed that Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service (RBFRS) has adapted and responded to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic effectively, thereby highlighting the additional support that the fire service has been offering its communities, throughout this public health crisis. RBFRS response to COVID-19 In August 2020, the UK Home Secretary commissioned HMICFRS to examine how fire and rescue...

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have been recognized nationally for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, SFRS was praised for its positive contributions to the local community and commitment to the welfare of its staff. In August 2020, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was commissioned by the UK Home Secretary to examine how fire and rescue services are responding to the pandemic. Effective command and control frameworks...

A national inspection has praised the response of South Yorkshire’s fire service to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue adapted to the pandemic effectively, carried on delivering its core services and provided additional support to the community during the first phase of the pandemic. Inspectors also found that staff well-being was made a clear priority for the service and praised senior pioneers for actively promoting well-being services, in a report published b...

East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) and Her Majesty’s Coastguard are trialing an initiative that aims to improve response times to search and rescue missions on the northeast Suffolk coast. One of HM Coastguard’s six response vehicles in Suffolk has been based at Saxmundham Ambulance Station since the summer and the new location is expected to significantly cut response times to incidents on the coast. This co-location will also improve joint working between HM Coastgua...

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) releases the final set of fire and rescue service inspection scores, confirming that Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is one of the best in the country. The Inspectorate has spent the last 18 months assessing all fire and rescue services and has done so in three tranches. Cambridgeshire was one of the first to be visited and last December received its rating of ‘Good’ in each of the three...

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority has expressed huge disappointment at the news it has not been successful in its fight to prevent the transfer of governance of the fire and rescue service to the Police and Crime Commissioner. The outcome of the judicial review, which took place last month, was announced and the judge has upheld the Home Office’s decision to allow the Police and Crime Commissioner to take over governance of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service from the Fire...

With record calls, a very busy summer, new life-saving equipment, and a good inspection result, 2018 was a demanding and memorable year for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS). Crews from stations up and down the county were kept busy attending more than 7,000 incidents, including fires, rescues, and road traffic collisions, as well as supporting other services in neighboring counties. Hot and dry weather conditions The Combined Fire Control, which also serves residents and mobilize...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has come out with the joint best scores from 14 other fire and rescue services in the first round of new Government commissioned inspections. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has spent the last nine months analyzing data and documents and visiting the Service to assess it in three core areas - effectiveness, efficiency, and how well it looks after its people. Best possible service The Inspectorate...