Shropshire's fire service praised by inspectors

Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service's chief fire officer, Rod Hammerton, paid tribute to his staff for their efforts, and said they are committed to making sure their firefighters and fire stations are at the heart of the county's communities.

The inspection report ,which was compiled by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found the service to be good in effectiveness, efficiency, and for how it looks after its people.

There was areas where inspectors asked for improvement, with one conclusion stating that there are not enough protection officers to carry out the 'risk-based inspections' that are currently planned.

The report said that service is taking steps to tackle this problem.

The way the service has managed funding cuts was also praised, with inspectors concluding it has “managed to maintain strong operational performance while achieving savings; reducing its spend by £3 million since 2012”.

Mr Hammerton said: “I am really pleased the inspectors have been able to give such an accurate evaluation of our service. Shropshire is one of the smallest fire and rescue services in the country, with one of the largest geographical areas to cover; and that is always a challenge. We would not have been able to achieve such a high level of performance without fantastic engagement from all our staff and a determination to really understand our local risks.

"I am really pleased this report has shown that we have been consistently able to deliver the service our communities need and deserve. We work hard to understand the risks in our communities, knowing that our firefighters and stations lie in the heart of them.

"We are committed to ensuring all our staff are involved in decision making; their views are really listened to and they feel valued and supported. I really do feel very lucky to have such a committed team.”

Addressing the issue of protection officers Mr Hammerton said they were working to improve the situation.

He said: “Austerity has seen us move resources away from our fire safety department and, although local indicators do not currently show an increase in the occurrence of fires in commercial buildings, we will definitely look to reinforce this part of our service to ensure that risks are managed as well as they can be.”

Another element raised by inspectors was a system for identifying and developing high potential staff.

Eric Carter, chair of the fire authority, said they were both issues that are being addressed.

He said: "These are changes which are already in our plans and will improve our delivery of service and do not detract from the excellent report we have received, which places us in the top 10 fire and rescue services assessed to date.”