Highlights of our work (CRMP 2023)

Every fire death is one too many. When these tragedies occur however, we carry out post-incident reviews to understand the causal factors and learn what we can from them to support our own understanding and to improve the fire prevention and protection services we provide. Following the inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, we are working with the Building Safety Regulator to safeguard these types of buildings and their occupants.

Our crews and home fire safety technicians carry out home fire safety visits, a service for which we have received significant demand in recent times and have conducted more than 18,000 visits during 2023/24. 

We continue to publicise our community campaigns, targeting our prevention advice on seasonal risks such as chimney fires, or on vulnerable road users like cyclists. Our Biker Down courses are continually popular with motorcyclists, and we support the Vision Zero road casualty reduction campaign in Devon.

We have begun a project to analyse our specialist rescue vehicles, looking into their locations and capabilities relative to the risks they cover and the incidents to which they are deployed. This work is linked to other research, including making the best use of space at our fire stations and the specification for any new vehicles we buy. For example, our newest aerial ladder platforms have a longer vertical and horizontal reach than those being replaced, and we have new off-road vehicles to help us access and work in challenging terrain. 

New equipment we are using includes smoke curtains and escape hoods, used to protect people and their escape routes out of buildings on fire. These were all recommended in the inquiry following the Grenfell Tower fire. 

As well as providing crews with equipment and training for the work they carry out, it is vital they have information about the location and nature of the risks present in their area. We are continuing to improve the ways in which this information is gathered, assessed, and then re-used at incidents and whilst training. 

Demand for our services increases during extreme weather events. We support the Environment Agency’s community drop-in events to engage with at-risk communities, and we hold regular training exercises together with colleagues in other emergency services, both within our area and in neighbouring counties. 

Workplace culture in emergency services has attracted media attention recently, prompting HM Inspectorate to undertake a cultural audit of all fire and rescue services.

In support of the findings, we had already started our own cultural improvement journey, where we introduced processes to actively promote the reporting of unwelcome conduct, such as introducing Speak Up Guardians throughout the organisation to support all staff and enable them to raise concerns safely and confidentially. Where conduct is reported, we would always prefer to educate and improve behaviours by encouraging self-reflection, but we have disciplined or dismissed employees in necessary cases. 

As part of our recruitment activity, we attend community and careers events, demonstrating the opportunities available for people of all backgrounds to join our Service and contribute to their communities. We support the professional development of all employees, enabling a career pathway for those who wish to explore and achieve their potential. 
  
The safety and welfare of our staff is paramount. At incidents and within our workplaces, we monitor for actions or events which increase risks to safety and review the key factors to understand how recurrences should be prevented. 

We offer crews support with defusing after particularly harrowing or emotionally impactive incidents. This now includes our control room staff. We monitor crews who may be frequently exposed to such incidents, offering improved mental health and stress awareness guidance. 
 

Our Service was last assessed by HM Inspectorate in 2021, who rated our efficiency as ‘good’, an improvement on our 2019 rating. We are due to be reinspected in 2024 and have been working through an action plan to address the causes for concern previously identified by the Inspectorate. This action plan is just one part of our organisation’s sustainability programme.
 
Many of our buildings are decades old and we are modernising and improving these to reduce operating costs. This includes installing low energy lighting and solar panels, and we have built new stations with leading levels of energy efficiency. Some of our premises are also used by police and ambulance crews. We are exploring how we can increase collaborative work in communities as well as our buildings. 

As we replace our oldest vehicles, we are choosing more environmentally friendly options, including electric vehicles where practical. We have also begun to fit recording devices in our vehicles, which gives us more accurate data about their usage and provides valuable evidence in the event of being involved in a collision. 

Listening and learning are vital to providing our services efficiently and effectively. We welcome our communities to tell us about what they need; we use this information to inform decisions we must make to continue to provide a quality service as well as value for money. We use geographical analysis to design ways in which we should prioritise our resources where they are most needed, according to the risks and hazards we identify.