Overall summary

Our inspection assessed how well Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has performed in 11 areas. We have made the following graded judgments:

In the rest of the report, we set out our detailed findings about the areas in which the service has performed well and where it should improve.

Changes to this round of inspection

We last inspected Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in March 2022. And in January 2023, we published our inspection report with our findings on the service’s effectiveness and efficiency and how well it looks after its people.

This inspection contains our third assessment of the service’s effectiveness and efficiency, and how well it looks after its people. We have measured the service against the same 11 areas and given a grade for each.

We haven’t given separate grades for effectiveness, efficiency and people as we did previously. This is to encourage the service to consider our inspection findings as a whole and not focus on just one area.

We now assess services against the characteristics of good performance, and we more clearly link our judgments to causes of concern and areas for improvement. We have also expanded our previous four-tier system of graded judgments to five. As a result, we can state more precisely where we consider improvement is needed and highlight good performance more effectively. However, these changes mean it isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between grades awarded in this round of fire and rescue service inspections with those from previous years.

A reduction in grade, particularly from good to adequate, doesn’t necessarily mean there has been a reduction in performance, unless we say so in the report.

This report sets out our inspection findings for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Read more information on how we assess fire and rescue services and our graded judgments.

HMI summary

It was a pleasure to revisit Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and I am grateful for the positive and constructive way in which the service worked with our inspection staff.

I am satisfied with some areas of the performance of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks, but I have serious concerns about how effective the service is at preventing fires and other risks.

On 24 October 2024, I published an accelerated cause of concern due to a potential risk to public safety in relation to how Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service assessed vulnerability and targeted its prevention activity to those most at risk. Within 28 days, the service was required to provide an action plan against the accelerated cause of concern and associated recommendations. We will continue to work with the service to address this area and revisit the service in 2025 to review the progress made.

We were pleased that the service has made some progress in other areas since our 2022 inspection. For example, it has addressed the issues in fire control with improved structure and management. It has also fixed the issue with risk information being accessible to crews.

We were also pleased the service is progressing its estates improvement strategy, which will see much-improved and inclusive facilities for all staff. The new community risk management plan (CRMP) is a considerable improvement on previous iterations. But it needs more time to become widely understood within the service.

My principal findings from our assessments of the service over the past year are as follows:

• Prevention issues identified need addressing with urgency because areas identified for improvement in previous reports haven’t been fully addressed, and the current process doesn’t effectively assess vulnerability or target those most at risk from fire.
• The service must establish a robust workforce plan which should be used with the CRMP to make sure skills gaps are identified and necessary recruitment and promotion processes can be planned.
• The service should make sure that staff are being productive and time is spent effectively as current targets aren’t effectively leading to productivity.
• The service culture and understanding of values is much improved, and while there are areas which still need more improvement, positive progress is being made.

In view of these findings, in particular the service’s prevention processes, I have been in regular contact with the chief fire officer, and I don’t underestimate how much improvement is needed. I will continue to monitor the service’s progress in addressing the accelerated cause of concern and associated recommendations.

Lee Freeman

HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services

Service in numbers

Percentage of firefighters, workforce and population who identified as a woman as at 31 March 2023

Percentage of firefighters, workforce and population who were from ethnic minority backgrounds as at 31 March 2023

References to ethnic minorities in this report include people from White minority backgrounds but exclude people from Irish minority backgrounds. This is due to current data collection practices for national data. Read more information on data and analysis throughout this report in ‘About the data’.

Understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is adequate at understanding risk.

Each fire and rescue service should identify and assess all foreseeable fire and rescue-related risks that could affect its communities. It should use its protection and response capabilities to prevent or mitigate these risks for the public.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service identifies and understands risk in the community

The service has assessed a suitable range of risks and threats using a thorough community risk management planning process. In its assessment of risk, it uses information it has collected from a broad range of internal and external sources and datasets. This includes data from the Office for National Statistics, Acorn, Herts Insight and the index of multiple deprivation. The service also uses internal sources, such as historical incident data.

During our 2022 inspection, we found that the service had only limited communication with its communities. This was highlighted as an area for improvement. We are pleased to see a significant improvement in the service’s work and consultation with its communities. This area for improvement has now been closed.

The service has consulted and held constructive dialogue with its communities and other relevant parties to understand risk and explain how it intends to mitigate it. For example, during the consultation period for the latest CRMP, the service logged 51 community engagements and 2,345 responses.

The service makes good use of its position within Hertfordshire County Council to access community intelligence such as information from adult care services to help target prevention activities.

The new CRMP is taking time to be fully understood

Once it has assessed the risks, the service records its findings in an easily understood CRMP. This plan describes how the service intends to use its prevention, protection and response activities to mitigate or reduce the risks and threats the community faces both now and in the future. For example, the service has provided several commitments to the public in five key areas:

• keeping our communities safe
• responding to emergencies
• engaging with our communities
• workforce excellence
• sustainable service transformation.

The service’s new CRMP began in April 2024 and covers 2024 to 2028. However, we found a lack of clear strategies on how the service will achieve its commitments to the public. The service has also not clearly set out its overall aims and objectives in its departmental delivery plans or station agreements. This means staff can’t plan and prioritise work effectively.

While we were encouraged by the progress and potential the new CRMP provides, the service should make sure the wider workforce understands the overall aims of the CRMP and how they are part of it.

Risk information is accurate and up to date

In our last inspection, we identified issues with the collection and availability of risk information the service records about the highest-risk people, places and threats it has identified. We were pleased that this has been addressed.

The service has also improved its ICT provision to make sure risk information is always available to staff, rather than relying on wi-fi connectivity.

We sampled a broad range of the risk information the service collects and were pleased with the level of detail and information provided.

This information is readily available for the service’s prevention, protection and response staff. This means these teams can identify, reduce and mitigate risk effectively. For example, we were told about a premises identified by protection which had aluminium composite material cladding. This information was shared with the neighbouring stations via email, and a flash notice (which records additional risk information) was added to the mobilising system. We also saw evidence of flash notices being placed on premises which have oxygen stored at the location.

Where appropriate, the service shares risk information with other organisations, such as neighbouring fire services through the Resilience Direct system and with partner agencies via the local resilience forum.

Staff at the locations we visited, including firefighters and emergency control room staff, were able to show us that they could access, use and share risk information quickly to help them resolve incidents safely.

The service is building its understanding of risk using data from operational activity and training events

The service records and communicates risk information effectively. It also has a strategic assessment of risk which is used to identify risk and gaps in training. Changes to risk are communicated through the CRMP.

The service uses feedback from local and national operational activities and training events to inform its planning assumptions. For example, the service has analysed all types of incidents it may attend to make sure the predetermined attendance (the number of resources, including fire engines and fire officers, to be mobilised in the event of an incident) is correct and suitable for the incident type.

Preventing fires and other risks

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is inadequate at preventing fires and other risks.

Fire and rescue services must promote fire safety, including giving fire safety advice. To identify people at greatest risk from fire, services should work closely with other organisations in the public and voluntary sectors, and with the police and ambulance services. They should share intelligence and risk information with these other organisations when they identify vulnerability or exploitation.

Cause of concern

On 24 October 2024, we published some of our findings as an accelerated cause of concern.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service’s prevention processes lack a clear strategy

The service’s prevention strategy isn’t clearly aligned with the risks in its CRMP. Overall, we found a lack of awareness of risk, confusion over prioritisation of risk, and activity not targeted at those most at risk. Crews are concentrating on achieving a numerical target rather than making sure activity is targeted to those who need it most.

Although there was an increase in the number of home fire safety visits carried out in 2023/24 compared to the previous year, this was still lower than the national average. Home Office data shows that in 2023/24, the service carried out 9,925 home fire safety visits. Hertfordshire Home Safety Service, a dedicated team of trained technicians within the service, carried out 3,514 of these visits. This is equivalent to 8.2 home fire safety visits per 1,000 population, compared to the England rate of 10.4 visits per 1,000 population.

Of the home fire safety visits carried out, 48.1 percent were with individuals who were identified as vulnerable or at risk. The national rate is 81.1 percent.

There is a lack of quality assurance of home fire safety visits. Initially set up in August 2023, the internal quality assurance process has been inconsistent due to resourcing issues in the prevention team. We found no evidence of the service following up after a visit to make sure the homeowner feels safer in their home.

There were some examples of effective partnership working, especially from Hertfordshire County Council. These included automatically referring new council tenants in ‘settle homes’ and ‘first garden homes’ for a home fire safety visit. The adult care service, which is part of the Hertfordshire County Council Community Protection Directorate, is sharing data about vulnerability. This is improving the service’s ability to target vulnerable people, but this information could be used more effectively.

We were disappointed to find that all three areas for improvement highlighted in Round 2 were still present. All of these had been carried over from the Round 1 report in July 2018. The service hasn’t demonstrated enough improvement in any of these areas to discharge them.

The service isn’t targeting prevention activity effectively

On 24 October 2024, we published some of our findings as an accelerated cause of concern. The service doesn’t have a clear, risk-based approach that helps it to direct prevention activity towards the people most at risk from fire and other emergencies. The triage system used for assigning a risk level isn’t effectively identifying risk and relies on the professional judgment of the person reviewing the information. We found examples of referrals for people with multiple complex needs being allocated as medium risk due to the inflexible and unreliable triage process.

Once a risk level has been allocated, there is a lack of awareness of deadlines and timeframes to complete the visit. This is leading to visits being made according to geographic location rather than the individual risk of the people involved.

There is little evidence to show how the service is directing operational crews to make sure they are targeting the most at-risk people. The service should have a clear strategy to ensure effective and consistent targeting of those people most vulnerable or at risk.

Staff are competent and trained to complete home fire safety visits

It was encouraging to hear that staff felt they had the right skills and confidence to carry out an effective home fire safety visit. These visits cover an appropriate range of hazards that can put vulnerable people at greater risk from fire and other emergencies. We were told that some staff had received training during their initial recruit course, but most of the training was done by e-learning and sharing good practice locally. Staff told us they would welcome more face-to-face training and shadowing with the prevention department to make sure they were sharing up-to-date advice and recommendations.

The service follows the National Fire Chiefs Council person-centred framework for consistency and standardisation of visits.

The service should make sure it has an effective quality assurance and evaluation process to make sure people are receiving, and understanding, appropriate information and therefore feel safer in their homes.

Staff feel comfortable raising safeguarding concerns

Staff we interviewed told us about occasions when they had identified safeguarding concerns. They told us they feel confident and trained to act appropriately and promptly. Staff would appreciate feedback on their referrals to make sure adequate provisions and support are provided.

Training is a mix of face-to-face training with the prevention team and e-learning packages.

We were told about good partnerships the service had with local safeguarding boards and that it was involved in serious incident reviews. However, due to excessive restrictions in the service’s processes, we found that opportunities to safeguard people could be missed.

The service is collaborating with other organisations to improve safety and share information

The service works with a wide range of other organisations to prevent fires and other emergencies. These include Hertfordshire County Council public health and environmental health departments, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), local adult and children’s safeguarding boards, and Careline. The service is also an active member of the Hertfordshire road safety partnership.

In the year to March 2024, the service carried out 1,817 prevention visits which were referrals from other agencies. The service also carried out 959 visits that led to an onward referral.

We found evidence that the service routinely refers people at greatest risk to organisations that may better meet their needs. The service has improved its ICT provision which has made this process more efficient. For example, automated forms are now used to submit referrals to relevant partners.

There are also arrangements to receive referrals from others. But we found the service is inconsistent in responding to referrals. For example, the triaging process isn’t robust and relies heavily on personal discretion. The timeframes to complete a referral also aren’t clear.

The service doesn’t have a robust process to make sure that risk information is routinely shared with relevant organisations about people and groups at greatest risk. The service should have a consistent method of making sure this information is shared and received.

The service is good at tackling fire-setting behaviour

The service has a range of suitable and effective interventions to target and educate people with different needs who show signs of fire-setting behaviour. This includes a dedicated arson reduction team and a juvenile fire-setters intervention programme to educate young people about fire-setting behaviours. There are plans to create a similar programme for adults.

The prevention team and operational crews provide home fire safety advice and fit arson-proof letterboxes to premises which have been identified as a potential arson risk.

When appropriate, the service routinely shares information with relevant organisations to support the prosecution of arsonists.

The service doesn’t have a robust evaluation process for prevention activity

We found limited evidence that the service evaluates how effective its activity is or makes sure all its communities get appropriate access to prevention activity that meets their needs. This was an area for improvement in both the Round 1 and Round 2 reports, and we still haven’t seen evidence of this being done effectively.

The lack of evaluation and assurance that activity is appropriate means the service is potentially missing opportunities to improve its prevention work for the public.

Protecting the public through fire regulation

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service requires improvement at protecting the public through fire regulation.

All fire and rescue services should assess fire risks in certain buildings and, when necessary, require building owners to comply with fire safety legislation. Each service decides how many assessments it does each year. But it must have a locally determined, risk-based inspection programme for enforcing the legislation.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service’s protection strategy lacks clarity and accountability

The service’s protection strategy isn’t effective. For example, targets aren’t being achieved, and some inspections aren’t being carried out within their risk-based inspection programme (RBIP) target frequency. The protection strategy within the service’s delivery plan (‘Our plan for a safer, more resilient Hertfordshire: delivery approach’) lacks clarity and accountability on the service’s expectations.

The protection department is responsible for carrying out fire safety audits at high- and very high-risk premises. These are premises which have been identified, assessed and deemed a high enough risk to require an enhanced level of knowledge and expertise to make sure they fully comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Visits to high-risk premises should be done every three years, with those deemed very high-risk audited annually.

Operational crews are responsible for carrying out fire safety checks on medium-risk buildings, and this helps them familiarise themselves with the layout and hazards in the premises. Visits to medium-risk premises are done every five years.

The protection department is also responsible for responding to building and licensing consultations, and reviewing incident information. Following an incident at a commercial premises, they will carry out awareness visits to neighbouring commercial premises to inform and educate business owners about fire safety.

The service should use this information to adjust planning assumptions and direct activity between its protection, prevention and response functions.

The service is aligning protection activity to risk

The service’s RBIP is focused on the highest-risk buildings. Using community fire risk management information system software, the service can categorise buildings according to risk. As at 31 March 2024, the service had 580 high-risk premises, including:

• hospitals;
• mental health care units;
• care homes;
• other specialist housing;
• education establishments with sleeping accommodation; and
• other specific premises where risk assessed by the fire protection team, which include site-specific risk information premises and 7(2)d premises.

Operational crews, and those who have yet to achieve a level 4 qualification, carry out fire safety checks at medium-risk premises every five years. These visits are to make sure premises comply with fire safety regulations and to assess risk. This allows protection staff to focus their time on the highest-risk premises. Medium-risk premises include:

• mid-rise (11–18 metres);
• hostels;
• schools;
• licensed premises;
• light industrial units;
• places of worship; and
• other specific premises where risk assessed by the fire protection team including simple site-specific risk information premises and premises generating unwanted fire signals.

According to service data, between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2023 there were, on average, 171 commercial fires in Hertfordshire per year. This average has decreased by 1.7 percent since the last commercial fires report was published in 2020.

There are difficulties nationally in retaining qualified fire safety inspectors, and the service has experienced issues in recent years. However, the protection department is now well resourced. At the time of inspection, there were 16 staff with a level 4 or above qualification. In addition, eight personnel are on development while doing an apprenticeship programme. It is therefore disappointing to see that the service isn’t achieving its target RBIP audit requirements.

The quality of audits and supporting information is inconsistent

We reviewed a range of audits that the service had carried out at different buildings across its area. These included audits carried out:

• as part of the service’s risk-based inspection programme;
• after fires at premises where fire safety legislation applies;
• after enforcement action had been taken; or
• at high-rise, high-risk buildings.

Not all the audits we reviewed were completed in a consistent, systematic way or in line with the service’s policies. For example, some had no completed audit sheet. Some records were detailed, with supporting evidence such as photographs and building plans, but others lacked key details about major fire safety deficiencies.

Relevant information from the audits is made available to operational teams and control room operators.

Quality assurance in protection activities lacks consistency

The service carries out limited quality assurance of its protection activities. Line managers are responsible for quality assuring two inspections per team member per year, using an assurance report. However, the effectiveness of this process is unclear.

Standards also vary among station-based liaison officers, who carry out quality assurance of visits by operational teams. The service aims to quality assure two crews annually, but this isn’t always achieved.

The service doesn’t take appropriate enforcement action against those who fail to comply with fire safety regulations

The service doesn’t use its full range of enforcement powers consistently. We found it doesn’t always take appropriate opportunities to prosecute those who don’t comply with fire safety regulations.

In the year ending 31 March 2024, the service identified 524 unsatisfactory audits. It issued no alteration or enforcement notices and only one prohibition notice. There were 524 informal notifications. There were no prosecutions.

In the five years from April 2019 to March 2024, the service carried out three prosecutions.

We recognise the service tries to work with offending business owners to take immediate action where necessary. For example, we were told about an inspection which highlighted a serious risk to life at a high-rise residential building. The service insisted the responsible person made some immediate temporary changes to reduce the risk level while the required long-term changes were made.

The service also increased the predetermined attendance. This resulted in up to 1,000 residents being able to stay in the building without the inconvenience of being displaced while the changes were made.

However, enforcement is important to make sure compliance is maintained. In the year to 31 March 2024, the service carried out the lowest number of enforcement activities of all services in England.

The protection department is well resourced

The service told us it has enough qualified protection staff to meet the requirements of its RBIP. These include 16 staff with a level 4 fire safety qualification or above, and 12 members of staff who hold the Advanced Professional Certificate in Legal Skills in Investigation level 7 qualification so they can start prosecution and enforcement when required. This helps the service provide the range of audit and enforcement activity needed, both now and in the future.

It is therefore particularly disappointing to see that the service isn’t achieving its target of 240 RBIP audits per year (or 1.25 audits per qualified member of staff, per month). In 2023/24, the service recorded 186 high-risk audits.

Staff receive training appropriate to their role. They are required to complete 25 hours of continuous professional development annually, and there are several regional training events each year. The service has produced a fire safety operational manual for consistency in decision-making. Training and awareness have been provided to staff on the new building safety regulations. But, due to publishing delays, some staff are accessing self-study, which could lead to inconsistent application.

Operational teams are provided with in-house non-fire safety specialist training equivalent to a level 2 qualification. This is sufficient to carry out fire safety checks on medium- and low-risk premises. Operational teams are supported by a station-based fire safety station liaison officer. The service told us operational teams contributed over 900 fire safety checks in 2023/24.

However, there is no guarantee that operational crews can access a qualified fire safety officer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Flexi-duty officers who aren’t qualified at level 4 or above are provided with basic fire safety awareness training. This allows them to initiate a temporary prohibition notice if required. We were told, if no one was available, fire control would contact volunteers who might be able to provide advice.

We aren’t satisfied that the current arrangements for providing specialist fire safety advice out of hours are as robust as required. We expect all services to have the capability to respond to fire safety concerns at all times.

The service is adapting to new protection legislation

Since our last inspection, the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 have been introduced to bring about better regulation and management of tall buildings.

The service has acknowledged the introduction of the Building Safety Regulator.

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 introduced a range of duties for the managers of tall buildings. These include a requirement to give the fire and rescue service floor plans and inform them of any substantial faults to essential firefighting equipment, such as firefighting lifts. We found the service has good arrangements in place to receive this information.

The service continues to work positively with other agencies

The service works closely with other enforcement agencies to regulate fire safety, and it routinely exchanges risk information with them. The service leads on ‘better business for all’, which was highlighted as innovative practice in Round 2. This initiative encourages partner agencies and regulators from the county to take appropriate measures against an offending business.

The service responds promptly to building and licensing consultations

The service responds to all building consultations on time. This means it consistently meets its statutory responsibility to comment on fire safety arrangements at new and altered buildings. Data provided for 2023/24 shows that the service responded to:

• 97 percent of building consultations (677 out of 698) within 15 days; and
• 100 percent of licensing consultations (287 out of 287) within 28 days.

The service also works with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service on a fire engineering partnership. This collaboration provides a more cost-effective process.

The service is working with businesses to improve understanding of fire safety

The service proactively works with local businesses and other organisations to promote compliance with fire safety legislation. In January 2023, the fire protection team held two half-day workshops attended by 62 responsible persons of residential buildings, particularly high-rise, across the county. These workshops introduced the new Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. All of the 50 evaluation responses collected agreed that the workshop was relevant to their role.

The service is continuing to reduce the number of unwanted fire signals

An effective risk-based approach is in place to manage the number of unwanted fire signals. Although there has been a recent spike in calls, the service is doing positive work in reducing unwanted fire signals.

A recent trial involving a non-response to office and retail establishments reduced mobilisations by 59 percent to office incidents and 35 percent to retail premises. The service is taking additional measures to achieve a delayed response of 20 minutes. The service has suggested that this would further reduce response by 650 calls per year.

Fewer unwanted calls mean fire engines are available to respond to a genuine incident rather than responding to a false one. It also reduces the risk to the public if fewer fire engines travel at high speed on the roads.

Control staff have improved their call challenging to automatic fire alarms (AFAs). As a result, in the year ending 31 March 2024, the service didn’t attend 52.6 percent of AFAs (2,166 out of 4,120). This is an increase on the previous year when the service didn’t attend 42.8 percent of AFAs (1,965 out of 4,587).

The service should review its protection activity reporting processes

The service should review the number of protection fire safety audits submitted annually for activities carried out on commercial premises. In 2023/24, 1,094 fire safety audits were submitted: 186 at high-risk premises and 13 short audits, which the service told us they don’t complete.

We found this number included the fire safety checks carried out by operational teams which couldn’t be classed as an audit. The National Fire Chiefs Council core competency framework for fire regulators states that those with a level 2 or equivalent qualification must only do fire safety checks. The service target is 240 audits, but over 900 of these recorded audits are fire safety checks carried out by operational teams. Figures for 2016 to 2019 were consistent, but we believe there have been errors in the service’s reporting process for the following five years. The service should review this.

Responding to fires and other emergencies

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service requires improvement at responding to fires and other emergencies.

Fire and rescue services must be able to respond to a range of incidents such as fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies in their areas.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service is making efficiencies in its staffing models and station duty systems

The service’s response strategy is linked to the risks it has identified in its CRMP. Its fire engines and response staff, as well as its working patterns, are designed and located to help the service respond flexibly to fires and other emergencies with the appropriate resources.

For example, the service has recently reviewed the number of firefighters required on fire engines. Since the phased introduction from March 2023, it has reduced the number of firefighters on fire engines from five to four. This means the service can use its resource more effectively and potentially make fire engines available that weren’t previously. The service project benefits report states that the proportion of the total fleet increases by 2.5 percent for every fire engine which is made available, when previously unavailable. This increases by 5 percent for on-call fire engines on each occasion. This has also helped the service to staff special vehicles more often. The service told us about 31 occasions when a previously unavailable on-call fire engine was made available due to a spare firefighter being used more efficiently.

The service has also carried out a full review of its staffing models. This has identified efficiency savings such as the removal of the three ‘new day crewing’ stations. In January 2025, the stations were being reverted to a conventional 2-2-4 shift system or day crewed system. This will provide the service with an additional 1,000 useable shifts per annum and a saving of £300,000.

The service uses a fire cover review to make sure its resources are effectively aligned to risk. The most recent review ran until September 2023, so a new, updated review would make sure service resource matches the risk highlighted in the 2024–28 CRMP.

The service is failing to meet its response standards for fires

There are no national response standards of performance for the public. But the service has set out its own response standards in its CRMP. The service aims to have:

• the first fire engine on scene at a dwelling fire in under 10 minutes on 90 percent of occasions – in 2023/24, this was 89.6 percent;
• the second fire engine on scene at a dwelling fire in under 13 minutes on 90 percent of occasions – in 2023/24, this was 85.0 percent;
• the third fire engine on scene at a dwelling fire in under 16 minutes on 90 percent of occasions – in 2023/24, this was 85.9 percent;
• the first fire engine attending a road traffic collision on scene in under 12 minutes on 75 percent of occasions – in 2023/24, this was 86.2 percent; and
• the first fire engine attending a hazardous material incident in under 20 minutes on 100 percent of occasions – in 2023/24, this was 100 percent.

The service doesn’t always meet its standards. Home Office data shows that in the year ending 31 March 2024, the service’s response time to primary fires was 8 minutes and 48 seconds, which is slower than the average (7 minutes and 43 seconds) for predominantly urban services.

We found an example of a first engine taking almost 16 minutes to attend a house fire with people reported to be trapped. The service should make sure that effective arrangements are in place to appropriately support areas which are lacking fire cover.

Availability of on-call fire engines is low

To support its response strategy, the service aims to have 100 percent of wholetime fire engines available on 100 percent of occasions. The service also aims to have 75 percent availability for its on-call provision.

In 2023/24, overall availability was 77.0 percent. Wholetime availability was 98.3 percent and on-call 55.7 percent. The service has recorded 210 occasions when fire cover has improved since the changes to staffing of fire engines were implemented in March 2023. However, it still heavily relies on overtime and goodwill to maintain fire engine availability.

On-call availability has improved slightly since 2022/23 (55.1 percent) but was steadily decreasing from 2020/21 (76.3 percent). The service should have a clear strategy on how it will increase recruitment to under-staffed areas and how it plans to improve availability of on-call fire engines.

Incident commanders are well trained and prepared to deal with a range of incidents

The service has trained incident commanders, who are assessed regularly and properly. Staff told us they felt prepared and well trained to effectively command an incident. This helps the service safely, assertively and effectively manage the whole range of incidents it could face, from small and routine ones to complex multi‑agency incidents.

As part of our inspection, we interviewed incident commanders from across the service. They were familiar with risk assessing, decision-making and recording information at incidents in line with national best practice, as well as the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Principles (JESIP). The service has recently increased its JESIP training, working with other agencies to improve joint working and share best practice. All incident commanders are required to complete this.

The service has an effective training and exercise programme which is improving commanders’ understanding of incident command and ability to work with other agencies. In 2023/24, the service logged 94 training exercises, 84 of which involved another agency.

Control staff work well and are involved in service exercises and debriefs

We were pleased to see the service’s control staff integrated into its command, training, exercise, debrief and assurance activity. We recognised some issues in control during our Round 2 inspection, and we were pleased to see they have been addressed.

We were told that control staff are fully involved in exercises, incident command training and service debriefs where they can share feedback on an incident. Staff are effectively managed, and they are positive in their work.

There is an effective quality assurance process. Calls taking over 90 seconds to mobilise are reviewed and a rationale provided for the delay. Robust resilience plans are in place to increase the approved staffing level of control operators at short notice, if required.

Effective fall-back arrangements are in place with neighbouring services to manage multiple calls or spate conditions (where a large number of calls are made in quick succession). If a call isn’t answered within 10 seconds, it is diverted to Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service control; over 20 seconds and the call is diverted to both Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service. This ‘take-over’ process is tested regularly, and training is given on other services’ areas and key landmarks.

Risk information and reliability is much improved

We sampled a range of risk information. This included information in place for firefighters responding to incidents at high-risk, high-rise buildings and the information held by fire control.

During our Round 2 inspection, we highlighted issues accessing risk information. We are pleased to report that those issues have been fixed. Risk information is always available on the fire engine mobile data terminals regardless of internet connectivity. Control staff also have access to a mobile data terminal so they can access the same information as operational teams. Risk information is updated daily.

The information we reviewed was up to date and detailed. Staff could easily access and understand it. Encouragingly, it had been completed in collaboration with the service’s prevention, protection and response functions when appropriate.

The service should do more to learn from operational incidents

As part of the inspection, we reviewed a range of emergency incidents and training events. These include domestic and commercial fires, rescues from vehicles and an incident involving a death or serious injury.

We were disappointed to find that the service doesn’t consistently debrief after significant incidents. When a debrief does happen, the service takes too long to gather and share the learning. The service aims to complete a debrief within 58 days, but the debriefs we reviewed took between 102 and 181 days to complete.

The service has defined certain triggers for when a structured debrief should be carried out. But this process isn’t always followed, and it can often be left to the discretion of the duty group commander. This means important learning could be being missed.

The service doesn’t always act on learning it has, or should have, identified from incidents. This means it isn’t routinely improving its service to the public. For example, we found some forms which had been submitted following an incident dating back to January 2024 hadn’t been reviewed. At the time of inspection, there were 108 ops assurance forms and incident command revalidation reports awaiting review.

The debriefs we did see were detailed and covered all areas of the incident well. We heard about learning being shared regionally and nationally through national operational learning and joint organisational learning including an example of a complex incident in the HS2 high-speed train tunnel.

Incident information, such as analytical risk assessments and decision logs, isn’t being maintained. It is important that the service records important incident information and decision-making rationales. A more robust system should be implemented to record and maintain this information.

The service keeps the public informed of ongoing incidents

The service has good systems in place to inform the public about ongoing incidents and help keep them safe during and after incidents. These include:

• corporate communications officers available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• use of social media; and
• arrangements with the local resilience forum partners to inform the community about ongoing incidents.

Responding to major and multi-agency incidents

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at responding to major and multi‑agency incidents.

All fire and rescue services must be able to respond effectively to multi-agency and cross-border incidents. This means working with other fire and rescue services (known as intraoperability) and emergency services (known as interoperability).

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service is well prepared to respond to major and multi-agency incidents

The service has effectively anticipated and considered the reasonably foreseeable risks and threats it may face. These risks are listed in both local and national risk registers as part of its community risk management planning. For example, the chief fire officer chairs the local resilience forum, and the service is an active participant in the Hertfordshire Emergency Services Collaboration Board.

The service is also familiar with the significant risks neighbouring fire and rescue services may face, and which it might reasonably be asked to respond to in an emergency. The Resilience Direct system is used to share information and plans to ensure an effective cross-border response. Firefighters have access to risk information from neighbouring services which is updated regularly.

The service has a well-tested response to a terrorist incident, including test mobilisations which haven’t been pre-planned, known as no-notice test alerts. There are up to 50 specialist rescue team members from stations across the county who are well trained and understand their roles and responsibilities. In April 2024, an internal audit found 25 instances of good and 2 instances of outstanding processes.

The service is well prepared to respond to major incidents involving tall buildings

In our last inspection, we focused on how the service had collected risk information and responded to the Government’s building risk review programme for tall buildings.

In this inspection, we have focused on how well prepared the service is to respond to a major incident at a tall building, such as the tragedy at Grenfell Tower.

We found the service has well-developed policies and procedures in place for safely managing this type of incident. Staff at all levels understand them, and robust training and exercises have taken place to test them. A single point of contact is assigned to oversee the information sharing from control to the command unit and bridgehead (the position where firefighters are carrying out firefighting operations). This system has worked satisfactorily, but there were some delays in sharing information and confusion over who could update the system. The service is confident that with more training and awareness, this process will improve.

At this type of incident, a fire and rescue service would receive a high volume of simultaneous fire calls. We found that the systems in place in the service are robust enough to receive and manage this volume of calls. Staff in the emergency control room, at the incident and in assisting control rooms can share, view and update the actions that result from the individual fire calls.

The service has evidence of some realistic training at tall buildings, but this training and exercise haven’t included all staff who would be expected to respond to these incidents. We found that some firefighters and incident commanders weren’t familiar enough with the service’s procedures. There was a lack of awareness of the electronic system used to update the incident ground on fire survival guidance information. Operational teams told us they regularly did tabletop discussions or walk‑through discussions at a tall building but rarely tested the procedures in realistic training scenarios.

All flexi-duty officers carry a back-up evacuation board. This is encouraging as ICT system failures can occur. However, the service needs to make sure staff are confident in using the electronic system and it is implemented immediately rather than relying on the back-up evacuation boards.

The service works effectively with other fire and rescue services

The service supports five neighbouring fire and rescue services in responding to emergency incidents. For example, in October 2023, it assisted Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service at the large-scale Luton airport car park fire. The service is intraoperable with these services and can form part of a multi-agency response.

The service is an active member of collaboration groups with neighbouring services to make sure information sharing is robust and training exercises can be arranged to maintain effective cross-border working.

The service has successfully deployed to other services and has used national assets such as its high-volume pump in wide area flooding incidents. It has effective plans for this to happen including providing welfare support and cost-recovery processes.

The service frequently carries out cross-border exercises

The service has effective cross-border exercise planning groups with neighbouring fire and rescue services, helping them work together effectively to keep the public safe. We heard about the effectiveness of their HEL group, which incorporates Hertfordshire, Essex County and London Fire Brigade fire and rescue services. This group is used to share information, organise joint training exercises and plan for major events.

In 2023/24, the service logged 84 exercises which incorporated other agencies, some including other fire and rescue services. The service should continue to expose itself to risks across borders to improve public safety and increase the awareness and efficiency of responding firefighters.

The service understands and practises JESIP

The incident commanders we interviewed had been trained in and were familiar with JESIP. In February 2024, the service received a positive JESIP quality assurance report that highlighted good understanding across the service.

Incident commanders are trained on the use of the Joint Decision Model to resolve incidents and share information effectively. A recognised joint emergency service briefing tool is also used to make sure all incident information is effectively shared with those responding services on scene.

The service consistently follows these principles. This includes working with Hertfordshire Constabulary and EEAST to create a joint training package. Processes are tested at multi-agency tri-service training exercises. Feedback is used to help improve processes.

To date, there have been 10 JESIP tactical training sessions for level 2, level 3 and level 4 commanders. These sessions are attended by police and ambulance equivalents, representatives from the Hertfordshire Local Resilience Forum and other partnerships. A further 12 training sessions are planned for 2025.

Other exercises include:

• Exercise Deeney at Watford Football Club to test multi-agency plans for an incident at Vicarage Road football stadium;
• Exercise Trident at Hatfield Tunnel to test service response to a hazardous material leak, environmental protection, road traffic collision procedures and JESIP;
• Exercise Florian at St Albans Abbey to test use of the high-volume pump and salvage exercise; and
• Exercise Talpa, which was a communications exercise for emergency services control rooms with a simulated incident on HS2.

We sampled a range of debriefs the service had carried out after multi-agency incidents and/or exercises. While the completion of debriefs was inconsistent, we were encouraged to find that in July 2023 the service identified some actions in the Baldock Industrial Estate fire for other agencies which have all been addressed.

The service is proactive in its work with partners

The service has good arrangements in place to respond to emergencies with partners that make up the Hertfordshire Local Resilience Forum, which is chaired by the chief fire officer. The service is a valued partner and has representation in the strategic and tactical co-ordinating groups and subgroups.

The service takes part in regular training events with other members of the local resilience forum and uses the learning to develop planning assumptions about responding to major and multi-agency incidents.

In 2023/24, 84 exercises involved other agencies, and joint JESIP training now involves all category 1 and category 2 responders.

The service shares and contributes to national learning

The service makes sure it is aware of national operational learning updates from other fire and rescue services and joint organisational learning from other organisations, such as the police service and ambulance trusts. It uses this learning to inform planning assumptions that it makes with partner organisations.

The service recognises the importance of sharing learning nationally, as well as locally. The service gave evidence of sharing learning regionally in its eastern group, and nationally following an incident at the HS2 tunnel.

Making best use of resources

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service requires improvement at making best use of its resources.

Fire and rescue services should manage their resources properly and appropriately, aligning them with their risks and statutory responsibilities. Services should make best possible use of resources to achieve the best results for the public.

The service’s revenue budget for 2024/25 is £47.03. This is a 3.4 percent increase from the previous financial year.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service needs to improve how it allocates resources to meet its objectives

In our last inspection, two areas for improvement were still present from the service’s Round 1 inspection.

The first area for improvement was that the service needs to show a clear rationale for the resources allocated between prevention, protection and response activities which is linked to its risk management plan. While some progress is being made, the service needs to do more for this area for improvement to be closed.

We found that prevention staff feel under-resourced which has led to insufficient and inconsistent quality assurance activity taking place. Whereas the protection department is well resourced but not achieving the targets set. Response is improving following the changes to the number of firefighters on a fire engine, but still relies on overtime and staff goodwill to maintain fire engine availability. During 2023/24, on-call availability was 55.7 percent.

There is no current overarching workforce plan. This makes it difficult for the service to understand its resourcing requirements to meet the needs of the CRMP and identify future skills gaps. Staff told us that teams such as HR, training and development, and workforce weren’t working together and there was no consistent strategy for recruitment and promotion processes.

The service has evaluated its mix of crewing and duty systems. It has removed three ‘new day crewing’ stations to improve staff productivity and efficiency savings. The service has also carried out a full review of its response to incidents and amended predetermined attendances to meet the changing risk profile and response needs. For example, due to changes in the number of firefighters on each fire engine, the service now mobilises four fire engines to a dwelling fire with people reported trapped, compared to three previously.

The second area for improvement was that the service should ensure that its budget and resource allocation, and management of performance and projects, support the activity set out in an up-to-date community risk management plan and strategic priorities. Following this inspection, the service needs to assure itself that its workforce is productive. As a result, the area for improvement has been changed.

The service has introduced five oversight boards to manage performance and transformation. While this will improve the service’s performance management arrangements, it is too soon to see the benefits. The service needs to do more to make sure its workforce is productive and fully contributing towards the achievement of its objectives. We look forward to seeing the impact of these changes in future inspections.

The service builds its plans on sound scenarios. They help make sure the service is sustainable and are underpinned by financial controls that reduce the risk of misusing public money. We look forward to seeing the impact the 2024–28 CRMP has on shaping the future of the service.

The service is exploring new ways of working but needs to review staff productivity

The service should review team productivity. The new CRMP lacks targets which will hold teams accountable. For example, the protection department is well staffed and although it has a relatively low target of fire safety audits to complete per year, it isn’t achieving this.

Prevention targets for operational teams are also low, with one home fire safety visit per watch per shift. However, two hours of working time are designated for this. In the year ending 31 March 2024, the service’s staff carried out 6,411 home fire safety visits. This was an increase of 21.5 percent compared to the previous year.

The service’s arrangements for managing performance are inconsistent and lack detail. We saw examples of station agreements where teams log activity, such as the number of home fire safety visits, business fire safety checks, training competencies and high-risk familiarisation visits. The station commander reviews these each month. We found this information lacked detail and rationale. Operational staff told us there was a focus on achieving the target. There is no way to log additional information such as risk levels of prevention visits, and we were told the numbers aren’t scrutinised to make sure activity is being effectively targeted.

The service is taking steps to make sure the workforce’s time is as productive as possible. For example, the service has increased the number of laptops and tablets for station-based staff and flexi-duty officers to allow staff to work more flexibly and remotely. Any referrals are automatically generated, saving staff time.

The service now makes greater use of flexible staffing systems to improve ways of working. This is where additional firefighters are used to assist staffing at on‑call stations. This makes sure more fire engines are available by grouping part‑staffed fire engines together to make one fully staffed fire engine.

Although the service is improving, it recognises that it relies too much on overtime. In 2023/24, the service spent £2.08 million on overtime. The service expects, based on internal figures, this will reduce to £760,000 for 2024/25. At the time of our inspection, the service was 17 under its approved staffing level. Effective workforce planning will reduce the need to rely on overtime.

The service is proactive in accessing collaboration opportunities

In our last inspection, we highlighted an area for improvement about the service’s evaluation of collaboration opportunities. The service has since improved in this area, and this area for improvement has been closed.

We were pleased to see the service meets its statutory duty to collaborate. It routinely considers opportunities to collaborate with other emergency responders. It continues to provide operational support to Hertfordshire Police and EEAST. The service co‑responds with EEAST to medical emergencies in one station area. The service shares their Joint Emergency Services Academy (JESA) training facility with British Transport Police and has collaborated with Hertfordshire County Council in several of their estates to increase work with harder to reach people. For example, in Redbourn there is a community library attached to the fire station.

The service is collaborating with three other fire and rescue services to procure a new mobilising system. This is due to go live in July 2025.

The service comprehensively monitors, reviews and evaluates the benefits and results of its collaborations. We saw evidence of effective evaluation processes on the ongoing sharing of facilities with Hertfordshire County Council and EEAST. The service is also exploring collaboration opportunities in the future redevelopment of the service training centre.

The service has well-tested business continuity plans

The service has good continuity arrangements in place for areas in which it considers threats and risks to be high. It regularly reviews and tests these threats and risks so that staff know the arrangements and their associated responsibilities.

We found robust business continuity plans and testing for events such as industrial action or loss of the mobilising system in fire control.

Fire control is part of the East Coast and Hertfordshire Control Room Consortium so would work together with other member services to support each other’s calls. This was tested in Exercise Spike, a tactical exercise to test response to a weather‑related incident. The industrial action plan was last reviewed in May 2023.

The service has improved how it monitors overtime expenditure

There are regular reviews to consider the service’s expenditure, including its non‑pay costs. For example, the service has improved its budgeting and forecasting of expenditure on overtime. Actual and forecast revenue expenditure are reviewed monthly and monitored by the senior management team. Expenditure is also regularly reviewed through county council monitoring and scrutiny arrangements.

In 2023/24, the service made £285,000 of savings and efficiencies. This hasn’t affected its operational performance and the service it gives the public. Savings were made primarily through departmental restructuring and budget reductions in ICT, fleet maintenance and property. Additional savings and efficiencies are being made with the transformation of the three ‘new day crewing’ stations, which was scheduled for January 2025.

The service is taking steps to make sure it achieves efficiency gains through sound financial management and best working practices. It is doing this in important areas such as estates, fleet and procurement.

Making the FRS affordable now and in the future

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at making the service affordable now and in the future.

Fire and rescue services should continuously look for ways to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. This includes transforming how they work and improving their value for money. Services should have robust spending plans that reflect future financial challenges and efficiency opportunities, and they should invest in better services for the public.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service understands its future financial challenges

As part of Hertfordshire County Council, the service has a sound understanding of future financial challenges. Hertfordshire County Council has supported the service with mitigating its main financial risks. For example, the revenue budget includes funding to cover recent staff pay awards.

Hertfordshire County Council faces financial challenges and is required to make savings of £46 million in 2024/25. The service told us that its 2024/25 revenue budget included identified savings of £570,000. These savings include changes to fire investigation, crewing models and community safety, as well as removing unnecessary expenditure at fire stations.

In our last inspection, we gave the service an area for improvement to make sure that the objectives in its integrated risk management plan (now CRMP) offer value for money. Considerable effort has gone into creating the new CRMP. While it is a significant improvement on the previous plan, it is still too soon to see the full impact it will have across the organisation and the wider community. Therefore, this area for improvement will remain, but the wording has been updated. We look forward to seeing how this progresses in our next inspection.

The service doesn’t have its own reserves

The service doesn’t hold its own reserves. Access to Hertfordshire County Council reserves is available if required, and when other funding opportunities aren’t accessible.

The service’s fleet provisions are improving and becoming more efficient and sustainable

We were encouraged to see the improvements the service has made since our last inspection with its fleet and equipment strategy. We can now see a clear link to its CRMP, such as the commitment to improve sustainability and increased effectiveness for response. This strategy exploits opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness within the service, such as the use of gas-to-liquid fuel and installation of additional carbon filters. This has reduced vehicle CO2 emissions. Following requests from staff, the service added a specialist water bowser to the fleet after the 2022 heatwave.

The service has introduced changes to improve its future sustainability. It has implemented measures in 18 of its 29 sites. It is investing in electric and alternative fuel vehicles, including 39 hybrid vehicles for officers. Electric vehicle charging points have been installed, and the service has secured a grant to install more.

The service regularly reviews progress so that it can properly assess the effect any changes in fleet provision, equipment or future innovation have on risk.

Progress has started, but there is still significant work required to improve the service’s estates

While it is encouraging to see that the service is beginning to address issues with its estates, there is still a significant amount of effort required to make them fully inclusive and effective at controlling contaminants.

The service has a five-year estates refurbishment strategy, due to end in 2027. Hemel Hempstead is the first station to be completed. The facilities are now fully inclusive, and contamination is controlled effectively. It is a positive example of what the next ten station refurbishments will be aligned to.

As part of the Hertfordshire County Council estates plan, the service has secured capital funding for the following schemes:

• £16.9 million training centre redevelopment;
• £3.6 million station refurbishment and installation of gender-neutral facilities; and
• £11 million new shared services development with Hertfordshire County Council libraries and estates.

In June 2022, Hertfordshire County Council audited the fire service estates. Of the 82 service assets, including stations, houses and garages, 16 were highlighted for further development or refurbishment. The overall building conditions scored poorly, with an average age of 53 years and many buildings “not fit for purpose”.

During our inspection, we visited several stations. Garston and Cheshunt were in a particularly poor state, with inadequate facilities for staff who identified as a woman or non-binary, shared dormitories which lack privacy and dignity, and a lack of showering and cleaning facilities. Several stations lacked sufficient contamination control and equipment washing facilities.

The development of Longfield training centre is ongoing and expected to be completed in 2026. This will provide the service with updated facilities and more incident-type specific training areas such as mock roads and breathing apparatus rigs. We look forward to seeing the progress of this strategy in future inspections.

We recognise that change is happening. Providing staff with dignity in the workplace should be a priority.

Transformation in the service is improving

We were encouraged to see the improvements the service has made in its ICT provision since our last inspection. This was previously highlighted as an area for improvement, which has now been closed.

The service has invested in improved connectivity across its estates. New digital boards have been installed on stations to share communications, new laptops are available to improve efficiency of working, and tablets are available to staff when carrying out community safety activity.

The service has improved its use of technology, management of data and future innovation. It also seeks to exploit opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness presented by changes in technology. Wide area network improvements have increased internet connectivity across the estates.

The service has put in place the capacity and capability it needs to achieve sustainable transformation, and it routinely seeks opportunities to work with others to improve efficiency and provide better services in the future.

In the last inspection, there was an area for improvement for the service to make sure it successfully manages change. We have seen enough evidence of the service effectively managing change, and this area for improvement has now been closed.

The service is exploring opportunities to create additional income

The service actively considers and exploits opportunities for generating extra income. At the time of our inspection, EEAST was sharing several stations and British Transport Police was using space at the JESA training centre. The service is working closely with Hertfordshire County Council to make efficiencies to maximise use of estates and resources.

The service anticipates that the proposed renovation of the JESA training centre will provide areas which can be let to private companies for additional revenue generation. It is also exploring additional external funding sources such as National Lottery grants and Sport England funding.

Promoting the right values and culture

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is adequate at promoting the right values and culture.

Fire and rescue services should have positive and inclusive cultures, modelled by the behaviours of their senior leaders. Services should promote health and safety effectively, and staff should have access to a range of well‑being support that can be tailored to their individual needs.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

Service leaders are continuing to lead on improving the culture, behaviours and values

The service continues to improve its culture through well-defined values which staff understand. These are integrated with the Core Code of Ethics.

Since the last inspection, the service has carried out several targeted initiatives to make sure that its values are understood by staff and actively applied. Our staff survey showed that 94 percent of respondents (216 out of 231) were aware of the service’s statement of values.

We found staff at all levels of the service showing behaviours that reflect service values. This, in the most part, was reflected in the staff survey results which showed that 95 percent of respondents (220 of 231) agreed that they were treated with respect by the people they work with.

While we were encouraged by the cultural improvements the service had made, there is still evidence of poor behaviours such as bullying which don’t align with the service’s values.

Staff consistently told us that senior leaders were visible and acted as role models. They create change through open, honest discussions during annual station visits.

Following national media stories about the service’s culture, the chief fire officer wrote to all personnel explaining the service would be taking a zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour. This was reinforced by HR who had face-to-face meetings with all staff to reiterate service values and expected behaviours.

Separately, the chief fire officer met with several firefighters who identified as a woman from across the service to help understand the challenges they face in the fire service. Following this meeting a new staff network was established. This is a very positive addition, providing staff with the opportunity to share suggestions and concerns.

There is evidence of dismissals of personnel who haven’t met the service’s standards for values or behaviours.

There is a positive working culture throughout the service. Staff are empowered and willing to challenge poor behaviours. The service has implemented an anonymous reporting line and actively encourages staff to report any poor behaviours.

It is also encouraging to see that HR is increasing awareness about challenging inappropriate behaviours by holding workshops to give managers training to appropriately identify and deal with concerns raised.

The service has good workforce well-being provision which prioritises both mental and physical health

The service has well-understood and effective well-being policies in place, which are available to staff. A significant range of well-being support is available to support both physical and mental health. For example, the service has a dedicated well-being officer, in-house occupational health doctor and nurses, a psychologist, and trauma risk management practitioners who provide post-incident support.

The service should review its employee assistance programme. We heard several complaints from staff about being left on hold or being cut off when trying to access this support.

There are good provisions in place to promote staff well-being. These include gyms and ten agreed ‘keeping in touch’ days for staff on maternity or paternity leave. Two staff members have recently returned from maternity leave on flexible working contracts to help with work-life balance.

Most staff reported they understand and have confidence in the well-being support available. Of respondents to the staff survey, 93 percent (214 out of 231) agreed that they were able to access services to support their mental well-being. And 77 percent (179 out of 231) had a discussion with their line manager at least monthly about well-being and work-related stress. The workforce told us that they felt the well-being support provided had been improved.

There is a robust fitness assessment for all operational staff to complete. Most operational watches complete two assessments per year. Non-operational grey book staff are still required to maintain fitness levels to support service resilience.

The service has a positive health and safety culture but should do more to make sure staff have sufficient rest periods

The service continues to have effective and well-understood health and safety policies and procedures in place. The service’s health, safety, welfare and care policy is detailed and up to date. The policy clearly defines the health and safety structure and roles and responsibilities. Key stakeholders meet regularly to monitor performance and highlight trends.

These policies and procedures are readily available, and the service promotes them effectively to all staff. Staff with supervisory or managerial responsibilities are appropriately trained.

The service works closely with representative bodies such as the Fire Brigades Union to make sure staff fully understand the implications of a positive health and safety culture. Both staff and representative bodies have confidence in the health and safety approach the service takes.

Increased awareness of contaminants and the introduction of a contaminants working group has resulted in the service investing in two breathing apparatus washing machines.

The service requires staff who have secondary employment or dual contracts to declare them and for these to be approved. However, emphasis is placed on the individual to monitor their own working hours and declare if they are unfit for work due to working excessive hours. The service should make sure staff are sufficiently rested before starting a shift. The service doesn’t do enough to monitor and enforce this.

We heard about examples of on-call firefighters being at incidents throughout the evening before then reporting for duty for a wholetime shift. This is unacceptable, and restrictions should be implemented to protect the health and safety of the individual, their colleagues and members of the public.

The service has a robust absence management process, but staff sickness is too high

We found there are clear processes in place to manage absences for all staff. There is clear guidance for managers, who are confident in using the process. The service manages absences well and in accordance with policy.

In 2023/24, service-provided data showed high levels of sickness absence. In addition:

• the total cost of sickness absence was £1.6 million, compared to £557,000 in 2022/23; and
• the average number of days lost per firefighter due to sickness absence increased by 10.3 percent compared to 2022/23 (12.8 days compared to 11.6 days).

Musculoskeletal injuries were a main reason for long-term absence, costing the service £138,000 in 2023/24, compared to £65,000 in 2022/23.

The service told us this was now improving, and in the last six months, the number of staff on long-term sickness had reduced from 42 to 8 people.

The service should continue to monitor trends and make sure risk is reduced as much as possible.

The service should do more to protect staff from contaminants on stations

We visited several stations which didn’t have clear guidance on decontamination of equipment and personnel when returning from operational incidents. The service should make sure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities when decontaminating and for reducing the risk of spreading contaminants.

We witnessed staff using makeshift sinks and carrying dirty equipment through gym areas. There was a lack of awareness across the service, and most learning is from self-study or information shared by the Fire Brigades Union.

We recognise that the service is working on an estates improvement project. Early indications are that decontamination processes on newly refurbished stations are being improved.

Getting the right people with the right skills

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service requires improvement at getting the right people with the right skills.

Fire and rescue services should have a workforce plan in place that is linked to their community risk management plans. It should set out their current and future skills requirements and address capability gaps. This should be supplemented by a culture of continuous improvement, including appropriate learning and development throughout the service.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service needs to improve its workforce planning

The service doesn’t have an effective workforce plan. There is no long-term vision to support workforce planning. We found limited evidence that the service’s planning allows it to fully consider workforce skills and overcome any gaps in capability. For example, the recruitment and learning and development departments are provided with reports from the county council-led HR department on a six-monthly basis. This doesn’t allow time for planning new recruitment and promotion processes. Two promotion process ‘windows’ are allocated each year with little understanding of what level they will be used for.

Staff at on-call stations told us that recruitment, especially in the on-call stations, was very reactive, with no long-term strategy in place.

The service also needs to make sure it is attracting the right people for the role and do more to retain staff who have received training. The service told us that, since April 2022, 13 trainees had resigned.

As at 31 March 2024, 34 members of staff were on temporary promotion. The average length of time for a temporary promotion was 468 days, an increase of 90.2 percent on the previous year (246 days). This is higher than the England average of 328 days.

In our last inspection, we highlighted an area for improvement about the service’s need to recruit to fill vacancies rather than relying on overtime to provide its core service. While we recognise numbers have improved towards the approved staffing level, at the time of inspection, the service had 17 vacancies. The service continues to rely on overtime to fill gaps. Therefore, the area for improvement will remain, and we will review progress during our next inspection.

Staff generally feel well trained for their role and can access training and development when required

Most staff told us that they could access the training they need to be effective in their role. This wasn’t just focused on operational skills. For example, of those who completed our staff survey, 87 percent (200 out of 231) agreed that they had received enough training to carry out their role effectively.

However, we heard about difficulties rescheduling missed training. For example, some staff told us about a two-year wait for a fire-behaviour training course due to missing the previous date.

In our last inspection, we identified an area for improvement that the service should ensure its electronic system for recording and monitoring operational staff competence is accurate and accessible. During this inspection, we found sufficient evidence for this area for improvement to be closed. The service has appropriate oversight and scrutiny at various levels. We found risk-critical competencies were up to date and well managed.

At station level, staff face challenges recording training and development, overwhelmed by the extensive information required for completion. This is particularly difficult for on-call staff, who have limited training time. Implementing a more structured process will help guide staff on which topics to focus on.

Ofsted recently awarded the service a rating of outstanding for its apprenticeship programme, and the service can demonstrate a 100 percent endpoint assessment pass rate.

The service supports staff with learning and development

The service promotes a culture of continuous improvements throughout the organisation, and it encourages staff to learn and develop. For example, 80 percent (185 out of 231) of respondents to the staff survey told us they were able to access the right learning and development opportunities when needed. Specialist staff in prevention and protection roles log annual continuous professional development hours to make sure they maintain the skills required for their roles.

We were pleased to see that the service has a range of resources in place. These include formal development courses, e-learning modules, training courses, continuous professional development (such as national seminars), and coaching and mentoring opportunities.

Those in managerial roles can access 360-degree feedback which is helping managers be more self-aware and address any development needs.

However, there is uncertainty about the number of command hours incident commanders should log. This lacks clarity at all levels.

Staff told us they can access a range of learning and development resources. These include specialist training such as safeguarding and prevention advice. We were also told that staff could request courses to improve their development including courses on fire investigation, water rescue and breathing apparatus instruction. This provides the service with more resilience in specialist roles and allows the teams to do their job effectively.

There is limited practical training for staff with specialist skills

Some staff with specialist skills, such as heavy and technical rescue, told us they hadn’t received sufficient practical training on the equipment they carried.

Some staff who have been on stations for more than two years haven’t been given training on specialist tasks required in the event of a unique incident such as shoring a trench or cutting an HGV in a heavy rescue incident. As they are service specialists in these areas, we would expect their practical training to match their level of theoretical expertise.

The service should assure itself that all staff are fully trained in any specialism they are responsible for. We have been told of a three-year investment in this training which is now ongoing, and we look forward to seeing the results of this in our next inspection.

Ensuring fairness and promoting diversity

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is adequate at ensuring fairness and promoting diversity.

Creating a more representative workforce gives fire and rescue services huge benefits. These include greater access to talent and different ways of thinking. It also helps them better understand and engage with local communities. Each service should make sure staff throughout the organisation firmly understand and show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. This includes successfully taking steps to remove inequality and making progress to improve fairness, diversity and inclusion at all levels of the service. It should proactively seek and respond to feedback from staff and make sure any action it takes is meaningful.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

Senior leaders welcome challenge and feedback from staff to improve processes

The service has made good progress in the area for improvement from our last inspection to make sure staff are confident using its feedback systems, so these help the service gather valuable information. We have seen enough positive evidence to show that staff are confident in raising concerns and providing feedback. This area for improvement has therefore now been closed.

Most staff feel that senior leaders are visible and approachable. Leaders are intentionally positioned at the training centre to increase opportunities for engagement. Senior leaders make annual station visits where they encourage open discussions about the service. We were told of examples of changes which had been implemented because of feedback received during these discussions.

The service has put in place several methods to work with staff on issues and decisions that affect them. For example, the change to the duty system of the three ‘new day crewing’ stations was a difficult period for the service and the staff involved. This change could have had a significant impact on some firefighters but was necessary for financial efficiencies and wider productivity improvements. The service has been open and honest throughout its discussions with the workforce and worked with those affected to offer alternative opportunities including transfers to other services if necessary.

The service has taken action to address matters staff have raised including the dismissal of staff following investigations into inappropriate behaviour. Staff have reacted positively to the zero-tolerance approach and support its implementation.

The service needs to do more to eradicate bullying, harassment, and discrimination and manage grievances

The service should improve staff understanding of bullying, harassment and discrimination, including their duty to eliminate them. In our staff survey, 9 percent of respondents (21 out of 231) reported feeling bullied or harassed in the workplace over the past 12 months. And 12 percent (28 out of 231) reported feeling discriminated against in the same period. We have received some submissions through our independent reporting line which further support this.

Although the service has clear policies and procedures in place, staff have limited confidence in how well it can deal effectively with cases of bullying, harassment and discrimination, as well as grievances and discipline. Disappointingly, of the 21 people who had experienced bullying or harassment in the last 12 months, 7 people didn’t report it. The most common reason for not reporting was believing that nothing would happen as a result.

One staff representative body also told us the service doesn’t manage grievances effectively. While the service doesn’t specify timeframes, staff told us that investigations and grievances take too long to conclude. This is supported by the average completion timeframes provided by the service below:

• discipline, performance and probation: 17 cases in the last 12 months – average duration of 53.7 days to closure;
• grievances including bullying and harassment: 3 cases in the last 12 months – average duration of 111.6 days to closure; and
• ill health: 9 cases in the last 12 months – average duration of 112.4 days to closure.

The service has recognised this issue and has provided investigation leads with an HR business partner to offer legal advice. The service is also using external consultants to review any significant cases and offer recommendations to improve the process. Any cases involving senior staff are investigated using an external company to make sure impartiality is maintained.

The service doesn’t collect or monitor equality, diversity and inclusion data for grievances and complaints. Staff expressed their frustration that the service wasn’t fully aware of the barriers diverse staff face.

The service is making progress in addressing disproportionality in recruitment and retention, but there is still work to be done

There is an open, fair, and honest recruitment process for staff or those wishing to work for the fire and rescue service. The service has an effective system to understand and remove the risk of disproportionality in recruitment processes. For example, if an applicant requires reasonable adjustments, these are then offered to all applicants to make sure no one faces discrimination. The process is accessible and explained clearly online. Some positive impacts have been seen.

The number of new joiners who identified as women increased from 16 in 2021/22 to 29 in 2023/24. The service told us that there had also been an increase in the number of recruits who disclosed they were neurodivergent.

The service needs to do more to increase staff diversity. As there is no specific equality, diversity and inclusion policy, it is unclear if the service has a plan for recruitment and positive action.

During 2022/23, 10 percent of staff who joined the service identified as being from an ethnic minority background.

In 2022/23, there had been a slight decline in the overall number of people identifying as being from an ethnic minority compared to the previous year.

In 2023/24, the number of staff who identified as being from an ethnic minority background started to increase again. But there is still a long way to go. The number of firefighters who identified as a woman remained consistent at 49 people in both 2021/22 and 2022/23.

For the whole workforce, in 2022/23:

• 5.3 percent identified as being from an ethnic minority background compared to 26.6 percent in their local population and 8.4 percent in all fire and rescue services; and
• 20.3 percent identified as a woman, compared to an average of 19.4 percent in all fire and rescue services.

We are encouraged to hear that the service is committed to improving diversity. For example, it takes positive action to help under-represented groups in the preparation phase before they apply, such as targeted fitness support for those who identify as a woman.

To make sure representation is fair, the service told us it aims for recruitment to consist of one third from under-represented groups, one third people who identify as a woman and one third British males.

The service has also changed the interview questions used to make the process more inclusive to younger people who may have less life experience.

The service’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion is improving, but some areas could be better

The service is improving its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. It makes sure it can offer the right services to its communities and can support staff with protected characteristics. For example, staff can attend an inclusive leadership programme or attend a ‘managing positive behaviours’ workshop. Staff also complete a mandatory e‑learning module on equality, diversity and inclusion. The service has introduced staff inclusion network groups to direct new initiatives such as improving workwear for staff who identify as a woman and reviewing its maternity policy.

The service has a process to assess equality impact but, due to the lack of an equality policy, it isn’t consistently followed. We were told that equality impact assessments were carried out for large projects, but there was no definition for what was considered a large project. There is also a lack of review process for published equality impact assessments to make sure they remain valid.

The service needs to continue improving its estates to make the workplace fully inclusive

The service has a strategic commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and is making improvements. However, some outdated estates are slowing progress.

During our inspection, we visited several stations. Garston and Cheshunt were in a particularly poor state, with inadequate facilities for staff who identified as a woman or non-binary. There were shared dormitories which lacked privacy and dignity, and limited showering and cleaning facilities. Several stations didn’t have sufficient contamination control or equipment washing facilities.

We were told about a station with no facilities for people who identified as a woman, who were therefore unable to be located there. We recognise that progress has started, but having workplaces which are fully inclusive and provide staff with dignity should be a priority.

Managing performance and developing leaders

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service is good at managing performance and developing leaders.

Fire and rescue services should have robust and meaningful performance management arrangements in place for their staff. All staff should be supported to meet their potential and there should be a focus on developing staff and improving diversity into leadership roles.

We set out our detailed findings below. These are the basis for our judgment of the service’s performance in this area.

Main findings

The service is managing performance well

There is a good performance management system in place, which allows the service to effectively develop and assess the individual performance of all staff. For example, the service uses personal development records. It has recently introduced a model to profile staff and identify development opportunities. Each staff member has individual goals and objectives, and regular performance assessments.

Through our staff survey, 87 percent (201 out of 231) told us they had had a formal personal development review/appraisal in the last 12 months.

Staff we spoke to feel confident in the performance and development arrangements in place. Staff in non-operational positions told us they were now able to see clear development pathways into senior positions within the service.

The service has improved the fairness and transparency in promotion and progression processes

In our 2022 inspection, we highlighted an area for improvement for the service to ensure that all elements of its promotion process are fully transparent to staff. We are pleased to see the service has put considerable effort into developing its promotion and progression processes so that they are fair, and all staff can understand them. This area for improvement has now been closed.

We heard from staff who had been both successful and unsuccessful in recent promotion processes. All agreed the process was fair and transparent. The promotion and progression policies are comprehensive and cover opportunities in all roles.

The service manages selection processes fairly and consistently. All staff have access to a description of the process online. Applicants are required to complete an e‑learning package which explains the process in detail. Personal information on application forms is redacted. Candidates also no longer require line‑manager approval.

The service had previously had an issue with information being leaked to people prior to their assessment. Access to the assessment information is now restricted. All assessors are trained, and selection interviews include independent observers to help overcome any biases and ensure consistent marking. Interview panels are diverse, and feedback is provided to the candidate within 28 days.

Reasonable adjustments are provided when required, which all other applicants can access. For example, if one person is provided with the questions before interview or given additional time, then this is offered to all applicants.

The service seeks feedback from applicants following a promotion process. There have been 35 responses to date, which the service is using to help shape future processes.

The service has effective succession-planning processes in place, which allow it to effectively manage the career pathways of its staff, including roles needing specialist skills.

The service uses temporary promotions appropriately to fill short-term resourcing gaps. As at 31 March 2024, there were 34 staff in temporary promotion positions.

The service recognises it needs to do more to diversify leadership

The service recognises it needs to go further to increase workforce diversity, especially in middle and senior management. It has put in place plans to address this. These include encouraging high-potential staff from diverse backgrounds to apply for promotion.

The service is also working with staff networks to promote the importance of diversity. The service’s culture is changing for the better. More staff who identify as a woman or are from minority ethnic backgrounds apply for promotion. The service sees this as an organic process, and we look forward to seeing the process evolve.

The service is developing its leaders and high-potential staff at all levels

The service has effective succession-planning processes in place, which allow it to manage high-potential staff into leadership roles.

There are talent management schemes to develop specific staff. Newly qualified leaders are enrolled on an effective leadership programme run in partnership with Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire fire and rescue services. This is improving leadership and creating positive working relationships when responding to incidents with neighbouring services.

Leaders can also access resources and courses to help their development and understanding of their role. Coaching and mentorship are available for new and aspiring leaders. Senior leaders are reverse-mentored by staff, which allows them to understand issues and concerns more effectively. A range of other courses and programmes are also available.

The service advertises talent and leadership opportunities fairly through its internal communications for all staff to consider.

The service has considered the December 2022 Leading the Service and Leading and Developing People fire standards and how it will implement them.

Our last inspection highlighted an area for improvement about the way the service manages all staff careers. We are pleased with the progress the service is making. This area for improvement is now closed.

Further information

Download the PDF report

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service 2023-2025

More about Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service

You can find more about Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service on our dedicated service page.

Get the press release

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has made some progress, but must improve its fire prevention

Our work

Find out more about HMICFRS’s work and other inspection areas.

Other services

Find out how well other services have performed during their FRS assessment.

Inspection programme and framework

Detailed information about the inspection methodology.

Useful links

Fire and rescue national framework for England 
National Operational Guidance website
National Fire Chiefs Council website