Fire service praised after making improvements

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

A fire service has been praised for making improvements following its latest inspection.

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (SYFRS) was rated good in five areas and adequate in a further six after an inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

It was previously given a rating of 'requires improvement' for its effectiveness and efficiency in 2022, but did win praise for how well it looked after its people.

Chris Kirby, chief fire officer at SYFRS, said he was pleased with the findings but admitted: "We also have more work to get to where we want to be as a service".

Michelle Skeer, HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services, said she was "pleased" with the progress the service had made since 2022.

"It needs to improve in some areas to provide a consistently good service," she added.

The latest inspection, carried out in 2024 and earlier this year, rated the service good at preventing fires and other risks, promoting the right values and culture and ensuring fairness and promoting diversity.

Inspectors also said the service was good at making best use of its resources and future affordability.

'Not quite there'

SYFRS was rated adequate for understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies, protecting the public through fire regulation, responding to fires and other emergencies, responding to major and multi-agency incidents, getting the right people with the right skills and managing performance and developing leaders.

Mr Kirby said: "Clearly, there is still room for improvement.

"We aspire to be one of the country's leading fire and rescue services. Based on these results, we are not quite there yet.

"But overall, it's clear that the hard work people across the service have put in to improve our performance since our last inspection has paid off.

"We will now look to address the remaining areas for improvement which inspectors identified, as we strive towards a better service for all those we serve and employ."

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