Avon Fire and Rescue Service shortcomings a potential risk to public safety
Avon Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is not effectively gathering and recording up-to-date risk information, and its mobilisation system is unreliable and crashes during 999 calls, the fire inspectorate has said.
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Avon Fire and Rescue Service inspection – accelerated cause of concern
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the issues were a potential risk to public safety, and must be urgently addressed.
In a 2021 inspection HMICFRS said Avon FRS should make sure it gathers and records relevant and up-to-date risk information to help protect firefighters, the public and property during an emergency. And that the service should make sure staff are trained in how to carry out and identify site-specific risk information.
After making limited progress since 2021, Avon FRS has today been issued with two causes of concern. HMICFRS issues causes of concern when it identifies a serious, critical or systemic shortcoming in a service’s practice, policy or performance, and normally provides details in the subsequent FRS report. This process can be accelerated when a fire and rescue service’s failures raise concerns about public safety – as is the case with Avon FRS.
The inspectorate said it was not confident that all buildings and places of risk had been identified, and that some firefighters were gathering risk information with no training or quality assurance processes in place.
It also found ongoing issues with the mobilisation system during 999 calls, including system crashes, causing slower responses to emergencies.
HMICFRS recommended that Avon FRS should, by 19 September 2023, develop action plans to address the issues.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Wendy Williams said:
“Despite demonstrating some improvements over the years since our inspections began, the shortcomings our recent inspection found in Avon Fire and Rescue Service are so serious that they are a potential risk to public safety.
“It is unacceptable to have a 999 emergency response system which is unreliable and crashes during calls. This means the service is delayed in responding to emergencies in moments of most need.
“Ensuring Avon FRS can effectively gather and record relevant and up-to-date risk information is crucial to protect firefighters, the public and property during an emergency.
“I will be closely monitoring the service’s performance to make sure that public safety comes first.”
Avon FRS is the first fire and rescue service in the country to be issued with an accelerated cause of concern.
HMICFRS will monitor Avon FRS’s progress against its recommendations and will publish its full FRS report in due course.
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Avon Fire and Rescue Service inspection – accelerated cause of concern
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.