Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service make considerable progress in their latest inspection
17 Dec 2021 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service has made considerable progress the latest inspection has found.
Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) has been recognised in their latest inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) as making good progress against almost all of the areas for improvement identified in their 2019 report and is moving in a positive direction.
The report highlighted that the Service has made significant improvements across many areas, including the way it protects the public. The report also recognised the effectiveness of the Service’s strategy for fire protection and business fire safety and also how improvements in efficiency have been made in relation to financial management. Pleasingly, the inspectors recognised changes NFRS has made to improve service culture which was reflected within the HMICFRS staff survey and is a priority for the Service.
The report identified areas where the Service requires improvement all of which are ongoing areas of work being managed through the Service’s ‘Continuous Improvement Plan’.
Chief Fire Officer for NFRS Paul Hedley said: “Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service operates as part of Northumberland County Council and has 15 community fire stations situated over a vast county, delivering services 24/7 365 days a year”.
“Whilst we have been judged as requiring improvement, I am very encouraged that this report has highlighted the significant improvements that has been made by the Service, despite the impact of responding to the unprecedented challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic. If you take the time to read the report it clearly tells the story of a service which is improving.”
“Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service continues to be safe, resilient and effective and the judgements and feedback in the report have been considered by the service leadership team, and in many cases have already been addressed. We welcome the recommendations within the report which will be used to enable us to develop and evidence our priorities, continue to move the service forward and improve how we deliver all our services to residents.
Northumberland County Councillor and Fire Authority Chair Colin Horncastle said: “Our residents’ safety is our priority and a strategic priority for the council”.
“A lot of work has been going on at Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service to address the areas of improvement raised in the first HMICFRS report. Although the report recognised areas for improvement, it is good to hear from HMICFRS that we are moving positively in the right direction, as the second inspection has identified”.
The HMICFRS report was published on 15 December and Northumberland Fire and Rescue was judged as, ‘requires improvement’ against the judgement criteria of ‘Effectiveness’, ‘Efficiency’ and ‘People’.