According to a new report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), in the year to 31 March 2018, only 49,423 fire safety audits were conducted. This compares to 84,575 in the years to 31 March 2011.
Drop in Fire Safety Audits
HMICFRS produced their 2018/19 report on fire and rescue service inspections, with the first tranche covering 14 of the fire and rescue services in England – of which there are 45 in total. They found evidence that some fire services were planning their inspection activity based on staff numbers rather than on public risk. HMICFRS called on fire and rescue services to improve how they model and predict risk – to better explain these risks to the public. The rest of the country’s fire services will be inspected later this year in two further reports, with a final overarching report being published in December. This will include recommendations on national improvements to the fire and rescue service.
Under-resourced Fire Services
The report finds that most fire and rescue services are operationally effective overall, but there are concerns about protection. It said that protection teams often are not equipped to carry out the amount of work that is needed. Long-term underinvestment has reduced public protection activity, with eight of the inspected services found to need improvement in fire safety protection. Some fire and rescue services that were inspected said they are struggling to recruit, train and retain suitable staff with the specialist skills needed to carry out complex technical work.
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