Bedfordshire's firefighters not meeting fitness levels say inspectors

Chief fire officer Andy Hopkinson said Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue had "made steps forward in many areas"

Bedfordshire's firefighters are not meeting "the minimum fitness requirements", inspectors have said.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said this was "a cause of concern".

Chief fire officer Andy Hopkinson said there had been a backlog in assessments due to the pandemic and "95% of operational staff" had now passed.

The service was rated good in understanding risk and fire and required improvement at fire response.

Chief fire officer Andy Hopkinson said it had "made steps forward in many areas".

HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Service Roy Wilsher said: "The service can't assure itself that its firefighters meet the minimum fitness requirements.

"There has been a decline in this area and this is a cause of concern."

Mr Hopkinson said the service had suspended annual fitness testing during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

"We made it clear to HMICFRS that the backlog would be cleared and their cause for concern fully discharged before the report published," he said.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service was assessed in 11 areas covering all elements of fire and rescue service work carried out by firefighters and staff at all levels.

Its last inspection was in January 2021.

'Positive and constructive'

Inspectors, who visited in February and March, criticised the service for not meeting its own response standards and said it did not fill staff vacancies quickly enough.

The service needed to be better at handling staff grievances and it needed to improve development for its on-call firefighters.

But staff were proud of the service, its work and their own contribution, Mr Wilsher said.

He praised the "positive and constructive way in which the service worked with our inspection staff".

Jacqui Burnett, chair of Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "The service has invested great time and effort on important issues like establishing a more detailed understanding of risks within the county... and importantly, improving service culture and how we recruit, develop and look after our staff.

"We now have a much better understanding of the risks we face in Bedfordshire, which will directly shape what we do, and the inspection report recognises this."