His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services rates Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service as ‘Good’ in latest inspection

Our county’s Fire and Rescue has received the results of its most recent inspection, and has been rated as one of the highest performing services in the country.

The report, by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) ruled that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service maintained or improved its performance in almost all areas.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service performance across 11 areas, the fire inspectorate has said.

It found that the service was ‘good’ in 10 areas, including keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks, and ‘adequate’ in public safety through fire regulation.

HMICFRS said the service continues to identify risk well and has improved how it works with its communities to understand their differing needs, as well as having good systems in place to inform the public about ongoing incidents and to help keep them safe.

Inspectors said that the service is good at responding to fires and other emergencies, with the service’s overall availability of fire engines being over 93 percent. It also said staff have a good understanding of how to command incidents safely.

Chair of the Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire Authority, Councillor Michael Payne MP, said “I am proud that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has been recognised as one of the best performing fire and rescue services in our country.

“This result is a testament to the hard work and tireless dedication of every member of the Service – something I see every day.

“I’d like to thank Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin and everyone at NFRS, for continuing to improve the organisation’s performance, putting Nottinghamshire’s communities first, and remaining a welcoming place to work.

“I’d also like to thank my colleagues on Nottinghamshire & City of Nottingham Fire Authority for their hard work, scrutiny and dedication.

“I hope Nottinghamshire’s communities know that their Fire Service will always be there for them.”

The service is also improving its alignment of activity to risk, but inspectors found one key area for improvement, which was to monitor its risk-based inspection programme and make sure a robust process is in place to prioritise the highest risk.

Chief Fire Officer, Craig Parkin, said “I am extremely pleased and proud of our HMICFRS report.

“As a Service, we welcomed the scrutiny of the Inspectorate and welcome the opportunity to improve.

“Our staff work extremely hard to keep our communities safe, and we’re glad to be able to demonstrate the amazing work that we do. Recent years haven’t been easy, but every single person working at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service plays an essential role in protecting our county, so we can be there when people need us most.

“It’s important to say that we won’t be resting on our laurels: this is a huge moment for us on our journey to being Outstanding, and any recommendations for improvement will be listened to and incorporated into our next Community Risk Management Plan.”

His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Lee Freeman said: “It was a pleasure to revisit Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, and I am grateful for the positive and constructive way in which the service worked with our inspection staff.

“We were pleased to see the team’s progress since our 2021 inspection, maintaining or improving their performance in all areas, and I commend them for the changes made.

“For example, the service has increased its prevention activity, meaning it is on track to meet its target of 15,000 safe and well visits in a year by 2025. It has also increased its productivity in almost all areas of work.

“In this report, we highlight one area for improvement on prioritising the highest risks in its risk-based inspection programme. I look forward to seeing the service’s continued progression here and across all areas.”