Lancashire firefighters praised for 'outstanding' service in latest inspections

Lancashire firefighters have been praised for their 'outstanding' service to the public by government inspectors.
Lancashire firefighters battle the Winter Hill moorland blaze, July 2018.Lancashire firefighters battle the Winter Hill moorland blaze, July 2018.
Lancashire firefighters battle the Winter Hill moorland blaze, July 2018.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is the only fire and rescue service in the country to be awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating following an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

Inspectors concluded that there were no areas that 'require improvement' in any of the 11 categories that were assessed.

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Phil Gormley, HM inspector of fire and rescue services, said: “Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service should be proud of the work it does to keep its communities safe.

Lancashire firefighters battle the Winter Hill moorland blaze, July 2018.Lancashire firefighters battle the Winter Hill moorland blaze, July 2018.
Lancashire firefighters battle the Winter Hill moorland blaze, July 2018.

“In each of the areas we inspected we found that the service was doing a good job – or when it comes to promoting the right values and culture – an outstanding job.”

The Service was inspected by HMICFRS during the Winter Hill moorland fire in July, in the first full assessment of fire and rescue services in England for several years.

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The inspection assessed how effectively and efficiently Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service prevents, protects the public against and responds to fires.

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Chief Fire Officer, Chris Kenny, says: “The report released today is further evidence that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is a strongly performing, forward thinking service and I am proud of every member of staff who has helped us get to this position.

"It is no accident that the culture and values of the Service were rated as outstanding – this is a reflection of the attributes I see in our staff every day.

“We have had to make some tough decisions in recent years because of the budget constraints, but we made those decisions early.

"This has meant that we are now in a stronger position financially and it has allowed us to innovatively reinvest some of those savings in frontline services.

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“I believe that we are one of the best equipped, best trained and most professional fire and rescue services in the country and we are committed to finding new ways of working to improve services for the people of Lancashire.”

Firefighters across the county went to 16,187 calls in the 12 months to March 31 – an average of just over 44 a day. The majority, 44 per cent, were false alarms. Fires made up 31 per cent, while “non-fires” made up 24 per cent.