Inspectors say good progress made in Essex Fire and Rescue Service

There are some areas of Essex County Fire and Rescue Service which needs to improve, but inspectors say they are impressed with the progress made so far.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) assessed how well the service has performed in 11 areas – six of which require improvement and two others were rated as adequate.

Responding to fires and emergencies, public safety through fire regulation, and promoting fairness and diversity were all areas which need improving.

It's also said the Service needs to improve the availability of its fire engines to make sure it can respond better to incidents.

It also needs to make sure its staff are appropriately trained in risk critical skills to support its response to incidents.

However, several areas of the service were rated as good, including understanding fire and risk, preventing fire and risk, and future affordability.

Roy Wilsher, HM Inspector, says he’s satisfied with some aspects of the performance of the Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.

He said: "I am encouraged that the service has continued to make progress since our last full inspection in September 2021. For example, it is now focusing its prevention work on those that need it the most, and it continues to work well with partner organisations. It has also made enough progress with its protection work for us to remove the cause of concern that we previously raised. We recognise the service’s hard work to improve this important function.

"The service’s culture continues to improve, but there is still more work to do. During our inspection, we found that work for a new community risk management plan (CRMP) for 2025 was underway. We look forward to seeing this next time we inspect. We recognise the service is working to improve its culture. It has made a lot of progress in recent years. This must continue."

Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive, Rick Hylton, welcomed the report and said it was an important milestone on their improvement journey.

He said "We have been working hard to improve and the work we are doing is keeping people, homes, and businesses safer. We have sound financial plans in place which ensures you get value for money from your fire and rescue service, and we are continuing our journey of improving our Service to make it an inclusive and safe place to work.

"I was particularly pleased to see our work on preventing risk and using data highlighted. We are identifying vulnerable people in our communities who we know are more at risk of being killed or seriously injured in a fire and are visiting their homes to offer advice and support to keep them safe. A previous cause for concern from inspectors around our protection function has been removed and this is testament to the great, proactive work our teams are doing."

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: "This report is a strong, steady, positive step forward for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.

"Since the PFCC took on joint governance in 2017, our fire and rescue service has progressed to be an organisation seen by inspectors as providing a good service to the public. We have a clear aspiration to be among the best fire and rescue services in the country.

"Transformation does not happen overnight and this turnaround has been achieved through hard work from the Service. There is more do, but this report shows we are facing and moving in the right direction."

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