Bucks Fire and Rescue Service makes ‘progress’ after safety and diversity concerns

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has made ‘progress’ after concerns about its diversity and safety, inspectors have said.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) raised several concerns with the service in October last year, including failures to prioritise risk and being ‘overly reliant on neighbouring services’ in emergencies.

But in a new update, the regulator said Bucks Fire and Rescue had made good progress, including by identifying and prioritising those most at risk of fire and other emergencies.

In a letter HMICFRS inspector Roy Wilsher said the service was now prioritising those most at risk of fire for a home visit and so the ‘prevention’ cause of concern could therefore be closed.

He said: “We were pleased to see the significant steps the service has taken in response to the causes of concern we issued.”

Mr Wilsher said the service’s referrals for home visits were now well prioritised and quickly dealt with, while the service has started to train all firefighters and staff involved with processing referrals.

Another improvement, HMICFRS said, was a new programme to identify very high-risk and high‑risk premises that should be prioritised for annual audit.

Bucks Fire and Rescue told the regulator it had audited 95 per cent of these premises in the year to September 2024.

Another concern raised by inspectors in October was that the service had not improved its equality, diversity and inclusion.

But in his new letter, Mr Wilsher said the service had also improved in this area, including by appointing a ‘people and culture officer’ and a ‘director of HR and organisational development’.

He said: “These two roles are relatively new but will help the service to focus on its work on equality, diversity and inclusion and make sure it is co-ordinated across the service’s departments.”

Bucks Fire and Rescue’s chief fire officer Louise Harrison welcomed the update from HMICFRS and Mr Wilsher’s findings.

She said: “I am especially pleased that they have closed the cause for concern around prevention, recognising the hard work and dedication of BFRS staff in implementing measures to support their recommendations, and evidence that our approach to offering home fire safety visits prioritises those most at risk of fire.

“I look forward to the virtual revisit that the inspection team have planned for January and hope they will find the reassurance and satisfaction they are seeking on the sustainability and embedding of our implemented measures in relation to protection and equality, diversity and inclusion.”

The service said it ‘remained committed to continuous improvement’ and ensuring the safety of residents and would ‘continue to monitor its progress’.

HMICFRS will assess the impact of the changes Bucks Fire and Rescue has made in January 2025.