County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service is in the North East of England. It serves an area that includes Darlington, Derwentside, Durham, Easington, Wear and Tees.
Durham city and the larger industrial and commercial towns are in the east of the area. The west is predominantly rural, consisting of open moorland and wooded river valleys, and is sparsely populated.
The service responds to emergencies such as fire, flooding, road traffic collisions, animal rescue and missing persons searches. It also works in the community, carrying out home fire safety checks and visits to schools to inform people about potential dangers.
The service also runs cadet schemes at several stations in the area.
For over 160 years, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary independently assessed and reported on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces and policing, in the public interest.
In summer 2017, HMIC (now HMICFRS) took on inspections of England’s fire & rescue services, assessing and reporting on their efficiency, effectiveness and leadership.