About us
We are here to protect and save.
We work every day with our communities and partners to prevent emergencies, to make people safer in their homes, their places of work and where they visit.
However, emergencies do happen and when they do we will respond as quickly as possible in order to help people and save lives.
Read more about our plans, meet our executive board team and learn about our Service values.
Who we are
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority (the Authority) is responsible for ensuring that the communities of Somerset and Devon, including Plymouth and Torbay, are protected and supported by an effective and efficient fire and rescue service.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (the Service) is the organisation put in place by the Authority to deliver its duties and responsibilities. We are the largest non-metropolitan fire and rescue service in England, covering almost 4,000 square miles. We protect 820,000 households, 74,000 businesses and a further 1.1 million visitors a year. Our Service area has a network of over 13,000 miles of roads, 90% of which are smaller, rural roads and country lanes, and 659 miles of coastline. We have 332 emergency response vehicles and 1,915 dedicated staff.
Learn more about the Fire and Rescue Authority.
Our vision
"Together, we will work to end preventable fire and rescue emergencies, creating a safer world for our communities."
We will do this by:
- involving communities and colleagues in designing our services
- innovating, using new technologies and approaches to reduce or remove risk
- influencing behaviour, design and legislation, to make living and working environments safer.
Our work
Keeping people safe is what we do and we have a proud history of this.
We know that risk in our communities has changed and we now face different challenges than in the past.
It is great to see that the number of deaths from fire is falling. This is a result of years of prevention work and we have come a long way from being seen as just an emergency response service. But incidents still occur and we are ready 24/7 to respond.
Preventing fire and other incidents is an important part of our work. We aim to support and educate communities to take steps to protect themselves.
Our plans
Our Community Risk Management Plan sets out how we will respond to our communities' current and future risks.
We need a different, flexible and more cost-effective operating model to meet those challenges. Our improvement plans will support us to adapt to the changes around us.
Our people
There’s a great team ethos across the Service – likened by many to a strong family.
We know the importance of what we do. And we’re all pulling together to make our communities safer.
Inclusion is our passion – we are resolved to improve the diversity of all kinds in our workforce. We are making steps forward but our gender and Black and minority ethnic diversity is a long way from where it needs to be.
We are proud of our people and their dedication to the safety of the communities in Devon and Somerset and all those who visit our counties. They dedicate much of their lives to making a difference – especially as the vast majority of operational staff are on call.
We want to ensure that the people who deliver our services are supported to have a better work-life balance, have more opportunities to develop new skills and progress, are more empowered, and are involved in shaping better services for the community.