Inspection report praises emergency response and Service’s awareness of areas to improve
People who dial 999 and ask for the fire service in Devon and Somerset, receive a good response according to the Service’s latest inspection report.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today (23 May) released their latest report into the performance of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.
This follows a routine inspection of the Service, which took place at the end of 2024. The report highlights areas that the Service is doing well in, such as responding to emergencies, understanding risks within communities, and responding to major incidents, while also recommending areas for improvement.
The Inspectorate has removed a previous cause of concern for culture noting the hard work over the last three years to improve culture and introduce reporting lines for people to raise concerns. However, the Service still has more to do to further establish a consistent experience across the organisation.
A different cause of concern has been added around the Service’s prevention activities. This follows a period where the Service developed a backlog in home fire safety visits, caused by a number of factors, including a legacy from being unable to visit homes during Covid lockdowns, improvements needed to ICT systems, and recruitment challenges. The Service had already identified these issues before the inspection, and improvement work was already underway.
Gavin Ellis, Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, said:
“We welcome the Inspectorate’s report, which is an important check-in against our improvement plans. It’s great to see our emergency response praised. It’s important for us that when people call 999, they get a good Service.
“Operational colleagues across the Service work hard every day to maintain cover and competency so that they’re ready should anyone in our communities need them.
“We’re pleased that our work to improve culture across the organisation has been recognised and the cause of concern removed. We know we still have more to do to ensure our culture is consistent across the organisation and to better support our people to develop and thrive.
“Regrettably, the Inspectorate has issued a cause of concern about our prevention activities. Preventing emergencies is a huge focus for the organisation and our people are dedicated to keeping people safe. The recommendations made are process issues and we have already acted to ensure we are better at targeting our prevention work and evaluating its effectiveness.
“Our latest analysis shows that 85% of the referrals we receive from partners are from people who are either high or very high risk.
“Overall, we have a great foundation to keep on improving. The Inspectorate recognised the Service’s self-awareness and commitment of our staff and senior leaders to improve.”
In a change on previous inspections, the Inspectorate’s grading structure has changed to add an ‘adequate’ category. This may have had an influence on areas that were previously graded as ‘good’ or ‘requires improvement’.
You can read the full report on the HMICFRS website