Nottinghamshire fire service celebrates after inspection rates it 'good' across all areas

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services visited the service between September and November last year to assess how efficient and effective it is, and how it looks after its people.

The results have today been published, with the service found to be ‘good’ in all areas and inspectors stating ‘clear improvements’ have been made since the last inspection in 2018-19, when it was said to ‘require improvement’ in the same categories.

As well as finding the brigade to be ‘good’ in the three core areas, the inspectorate also found the service to be ‘good’ in each of 11 subcategories: Responding to emergencies; Preventing fires and other risks; Understanding fires and other risks; Protecting the public through fire regulation; Responding to major and multi-agency incidents; Promoting the right values and culture; Ensuring fairness and promoting diversity; Making best use of its resources; Being financially fit; Having the right people with the right skills; Managing performance and developing leaders.

Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin said: “This is fantastic news for everyone at our service and for the communities we protect and serve.

“The last inspection helped us identify where we needed to improve and, through the dedication, tenacity, and passion of my staff, we’ve become a better service.

“Our long-term ambition is to become an outstanding service and we are now working towards that.”

Coun Michael Payne, Nottingham Fire Authority chairman, said: “I’m so proud we have a service which is effective, efficient, and has amazing people working for it to make our communities safer.

“The service learnt a lot about its strength, resilience, and ability to transform from the pandemic.

"The support its staff gave to communities was sensational and rightly highlighted nationally. Helping administer more than 75,000 vaccinations, set up more than 20 vaccination centres and provide nearly 500 urgent care shifts for East Midlands Ambulance Service shows the type of people the service has.

“During this time and since, the service also worked tirelessly to improve in the areas it needed to, while also achieving incredible results day-to-day.

“When you think our service still attended 28,000 emergencies since the last inspection, this is an extraordinary achievement.”