Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has made some progress, but must improve its fire prevention
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has made progress in some areas since its previous inspection, but there are serious concerns about how it prevents fires and other risks, the fire inspectorate has said.
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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has graded Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s performance across 11 areas. It found the service was ‘good’ in three areas, ‘adequate’ in three areas, ‘requires improvement’ in four areas and ‘inadequate’ in one area.
HMICFRS said the service needs to urgently review how effective it is at preventing fires and other risks, finding that prevention activity isn’t a sufficiently high priority for the service. Inspectors said that the service’s prevention processes lack a clear strategy, and that crews are concentrating on achieving a numerical target rather than making sure activity is targeted to those who need it most.
However, inspectors found that the service has improved how it assesses risks and threats, including through consultation and holding constructive dialogue with its communities and other relevant parties. The service has also addressed collection and availability issues around information it records on risk, making sure that staff can easily access and understand it.
HMICFRS also said that the service continues to improve its culture through well-defined values. Staff consistently said that senior leaders are visible and act as role models. But while inspectors were encouraged by the cultural improvements the service had made, there was still evidence of poor behaviours such as bullying which don’t align to the service values.
The inspectorate also found that the service doesn’t have an overarching workforce plan. This makes it difficult for it to understand its resourcing requirements and identify future skills gaps.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Lee Freeman said:
“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 engaged with our inspection staff.
“I am satisfied with some areas of the performance of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which has made progress since our 2022 inspection. For example, it has fixed the issue with risk information being accessible to crews and is working to improve its culture.
“But I have serious concerns about how effective the service is at preventing fires and other risks, which I issued as an accelerated cause of concern in October 2024. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
“The service must also establish a robust workforce plan to make sure skills gaps are identified and necessary recruitment and promotion processes can be planned. It should also make sure that staff are being productive and time is spent effectively.
“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 do not underestimate how much improvement is needed.
“I will continue to work with the service to address areas for improvement and revisit the service to review the progress made.”
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Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2023–2025: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
- 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 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 have expanded our previous four-tier system of judgements to five. These changes mean that it isn’t possible to make direct comparisons between grades awarded in this round of inspections with those from previous years.
- A reduction in grade, particularly from good to adequate, doesn’t necessarily mean that there has been a reduction in performance, unless we say so in the report.
- Read more information about the assessment framework for fire and rescue service inspections.