Watchdog says Devon and Somerset fire service rating has dropped in four area

The performance of Devon and Somerset’s fire service has dropped in four areas, according to a watchdog’s report.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is now only rated as ‘good’ in three of the 11 areas scrutinised by the body that oversees fire service performance. Three areas are rated as ‘adequate’ and four as ‘requires improvement’.

Two of the ‘good’ ratings included its response to fires and other emergencies, plus major and multi-agency incidents.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) previously rated seven areas as ‘good’ when it released the findings of its 2021 visit, but in the latest report (Friday, May 23) which covers its 2024 inspection, it believed only three areas warranted that rating.

Preventing fires and other risks, protecting the public through fire regulation, how it makes the best use of its resources, and getting the right people with the right skills are now a lower rating – two are now deemed ‘adequate’ and two ‘require improvement’.

Making sure the fire service is affordable now and in the future was the only area of 11 to improve its rating between inspections, rising from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘adequate’.

One key issue highlighted was the huge backlog of home safety visits. At its last inspection, HMICFRS inspector Roy Wilsher said there were roughly 1,400 outstanding, but that this figure now stood at more than 7,000.

“We were disappointed to find in this inspection that the service couldn’t meet the volume of referrals and clear the backlog. This is due to factors including high staff turnover and an ineffective system,” Mr Wilsher said.

He added the fire service had “paused” all home safety referrals in January last year except for “very high-risk referrals made by emergency service partners.”

Crucially, Mr Wilsher said there had been one instance where the waiting list for home safety visits had led to “tragic consequences.”

“A fatal fire review revealed that despite historic engagement, the service hadn’t made a home safety visit to an individual who was on the backlog list. Months later, before a visit was made, the occupant died in a fire,” he said.

HMICFRS has raised the issue of prevention as a cause of concern, which requires the service to draft a report in 28 days outlining an action plan to improve this area.

The fire service said it was pleased that a separate prior cause of concern around culture had been removed, “noting the hard work over the last three years to improve culture and introduce reporting lines for people to raise concerns.”

Gavin Ellis, chief fire officer at the fire service, said it was “great to see our emergency response praised.”

“It’s important for us that when people call 999, they get a good service,” he said.

“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.”

He acknowledged the cause for concern given around its prevention work, something he said was a “huge focus for the organisation”.

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,” he said.

“Our latest analysis shows that 85 per cent 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.”

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) was critical of senior management at DSFRS following the report.

Alex Smith, FBU brigade chair for Devon and Somerset said:  “When the bells go down, our firefighters are called to action and we respond. Meanwhile, the senior management of Devon and Somerset fire service are putting their fingers in their ears and ignoring the call to action.

“As the inspectorate’s report highlights, senior leaders continue to model poor behaviour while failing to support firefighters who have experienced harassment, discrimination or bullying at work.

“Instead of taking action to improve the service, management have focused their attention on attacking the terms and conditions of the workforce. This has come to their detriment.

“Rather than resource fire safety visits to improve public safety, as the report calls for, they are choosing to threaten to reduce retained firefighters’ pay and change the shift patterns of wholetime staff.

“Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service senior management must stop attacking the terms and conditions of their workforce and start actioning cultural change at the top.”