Devon and Somerset Fire 'requires improvement in five areas'
Across 11 areas, inspectors found the service was ‘good’ in three, ‘adequate’ in three and ‘requires improvement’ in five
Last updated 23rd May 2025
Devon and Somerset fire service have been rated as 'requires improvement' in five areas - including 'preventing fires'.
Inspectors found the service was good at responding and planning for severe weather - but raised concerns about internal cultures
The fire brigade's union say it shows those on the ground are not being properly supported.
The service says it welcomes the overall report - which looked at performance across 11 areas.
What has the Fire Brigade's Union said?
The report finds raises concerns that senior management of the service are failing to promote positive values and culture, and fairness and diversity.
52% of respondents to a survey by the inspectorate felt senior leaders consistently modelled and maintained the service values, compared to 91% of colleagues.
16% of respondents felt bullied or harassed at work in the last 12 months, and the report notes that “the primary reason for not reporting the bullying or harassment was concerns it would make the situation worse.”
The inspectorate was also “disappointed to find that the service’s equality diversity and inclusion team didn’t have sufficient staff resources.
Alex Smith, Fire Brigades Union brigade chair for Devon and Somerset said: “When the bells go down, our firefighters are called to action and we respond. Meanwhile, the senior management of Devon and Somerset fire service are putting their fingers in their ears and ignoring the call to action.
“As the inspectorate’s report highlights, senior leaders continue to model poor behaviour while failing to support firefighters who have experienced harassment, discrimination or bullying at work.
“Instead of taking action to improve the service, management have focused their attention on attacking the terms and conditions of the workforce. This has come to their detriment.
“Rather than resource fire safety visits to improve public safety, as the report calls for, they are choosing to threaten to reduce retained firefighters’ pay and change the shift patterns of wholetime staff.
“Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service senior management must stop attacking the terms and conditions of their workforce and start actioning cultural change at the top.”
What did the inspectors say?
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas. It found the service was ‘good’ in three areas, ‘adequate’ in three areas and ‘requires improvement’ in five areas.
HMICFRS said the service is good at responding to emergencies, including major incidents, and has plans to deal with risks such as severe weather events, including flooding response and water rescue. Inspectors were pleased to find that the service has continued to consistently achieve high on-call firefighter availability.
The inspectorate also said that the service has sound financial management processes in place. There are regular reviews to consider all the service’s expenditure, including its non-pay costs, and this scrutiny helps makes sure the service gets value for money.
However, HMICFRS said that since the service’s last inspection, not enough progress has been made to make prevention a sufficiently high priority. The service should implement a robust and consistent method of prioritising its home safety visits to those most at risk.
Inspectors found that while the service has done considerable work to improve its culture, there is still more to do. For example, some staff said they don’t feel confident in challenging inappropriate behaviour. The service needs to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken so far and whether they are having the intended impact to improve its culture.
HMICFRS also found that the service hasn’t made enough progress to improve its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. Inspectors were disappointed to find that this team was understaffed, meaning staff have excessive workloads and some improvements have been delayed.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Roy Wilsher said: “I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks. But the service needs to improve in some areas. In particular, it needs to do more to prevent fires and other risks.
“We recognise that the service has experienced some changes in senior leadership roles. And I don’t underestimate the challenges in changing the culture, performance and efficiency of a fire and rescue service. But we were disappointed to find that the service hasn’t made the progress we expected. For example, five areas for improvement that we highlighted during our previous inspections of the service still haven’t been addressed.
“Overall, there is a clear commitment from staff and senior leaders to improve. The service is aware of the many issues we found and had plans in place to make improvements. I will keep in close contact with the service to monitor its progress in addressing the remaining cause of concern and associated recommendations
What has the fire service said?
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today (23 May) released their latest report into the performance of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.
This follows a routine inspection of the Service, which took place at the end of 2024. The report highlights areas that the Service is doing well in, such as responding to emergencies, understanding risks within communities, and responding to major incidents, while also recommending areas for improvement.
The Inspectorate has removed a previous cause of concern for culture noting the hard work over the last three years to improve culture and introduce reporting lines for people to raise concerns. However, the Service still has more to do to further establish a consistent experience across the organisation.
A different cause of concern has been added around the Service’s prevention activities. This follows a period where the Service developed a backlog in home fire safety visits, caused by a number of factors, including a legacy from being unable to visit homes during Covid lockdowns, improvements needed to ICT systems, and recruitment challenges. The Service had already identified these issues before the inspection, and improvement work was already underway.
Gavin Ellis, Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, said:“We welcome the Inspectorate’s report, which is an important check-in against our improvement plans. It’s great to see our emergency response praised. It’s important for us that when people call 999, they get a good Service.
“Operational colleagues across the Service work hard every day to maintain cover and competency so that they’re ready should anyone in our communities need them.
“We’re pleased that our work to improve culture across the organisation has been recognised and the cause of concern removed. We know we still have more to do to make the right culture consistent across the organisation and to better support our people to develop and thrive.
“Regrettably, the Inspectorate has issued a cause of concern about our prevention activities. Preventing emergencies is a huge focus for the organisation and our people are dedicated to keeping people safe. The recommendations made are process issues and we have already acted to ensure we are better at targeting our prevention work and evaluating its effectiveness.
“Our latest analysis shows that 85% of the referrals we receive from partners are from people who are either high or very high risk.
“Overall, we have a great foundation to keep on improving. The Inspectorate recognised the Service’s self-awareness and commitment of our staff and senior leaders to improve.”
"In a change on previous inspections, the Inspectorate’s grading structure has changed to add an ‘adequate’ category. This may have had an influence on areas that were previously graded as ‘good’ or ‘requires improvement’."