Fire service 'needs to improve in some areas'

The fire and rescue service for West Sussex needs to improve in some areas to provide a consistently good service, a report has said.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the fire service needed to "improve fire engine availability, increase senior officer visibility, and have more effective monitoring of secondary contracts to support the welfare of its staff".

Overall the report rated the service as 'good' in five areas and 'adequate' in six others.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (WSFRS) said the inspectors "highlighted the extensive work carried out by the service to address concerns around fire service culture".

The inspector's report said: "I am pleased with the performance of WSFRS in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks, but it needs to improve in some areas.

"We were pleased to see that the service has made progress since our 2022 inspection."

It said the service had:

• improved the way in which operational staff prioritise prevention activity
• implemented an effective risk-based approach to reduce unwanted fire signals
• a positive working culture
• continued to improve its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion but could do more to increase diversity

The report said the service had improved its communication with and service to its communities through effective local risk management plans.

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, WSFRS chief fire officer, said: "We have come a long way since our first inspection in 2018, which rated the service as ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ across all areas, with four causes of concern.

"The publication of this report means that we are now one of the few fire and rescue services with no ratings of ‘requires improvement’, which is something I am immensely proud of."

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