Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service is making ‘significant progress’ after being told to improve last year.
The service was inspected last July by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) with five of 11 areas being rated ‘good’ but the other six areas were rated ‘requires improvement’.
This resembled an improvement from its last inspection in 2023, where the inspectorate found ’causes of concern’ meaning a serious, critical or systemic shortcoming for efficiency and people.
In the most recent inspection, HMICFRS found that, within the six areas that require improvement, there were 17 specific ‘areas for improvement’.
These included addressing a backlog of home fire safety visits, having effective processes to monitor the working hours of staff, that all staff have a current and valid fitness assessment, and more.
The improvements are being monitored by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria David Allen.
A report monitoring the fire service’s progress from Mr Allen’s office has been published on Westmorland and Furness Council’s website ahead of its Police, Fire and Crime Panel.
The author of the report says there has been ‘significant progress’ made against the 17 areas of improvement.
The report continues: “The work completed to date demonstrates a strong and sustained commitment to improvement across the organisation.
“The service has made considerable strides, placing it in a positive position ahead of the next HMICFRS inspection, which is expected to begin in January 2027, with fieldwork commencing as early as November this year.”
The report also outlines how the service is organising the improvements, enlisting heads of departments to lead work on the areas for improvement, as well as working alongside other fire and rescue services – for example, working with West Yorkshire to see how they monitor data.
Westmorland and Furness Councillors will consider the report at Barrow Town Hall on Monday, April 20 at 10.30am.
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