West Midlands Fire Service praised for performance

Inspectors have praised West Midlands Fire Service for showing "first-rate performance".

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has published reports on 21 fire services in England.

It deemed the overall effectiveness of the West Midlands service as outstanding.

It also found that it had made necessary improvements to its work culture and staff development.

Fire services in Warwickshire and Herefordshire and Worcestershire made progress, inspectors said, but will require follow-up inspections.

The watchdog measured the prevention of fires, enforcement of legislation, and response to incidents.

West Midlands Fire Service's overall effectiveness was previously rated good but this was upgraded after inspector Wendy Williams said it had shown "first rate performance".

She also noted improvement to the way the service looks after its staff since a a previous inspection in 2019 when that element was graded as requiring improvement.

West Midlands fire crews were called to a number of major fires in 2022, including this one in Saltley

In 2021, inspectors had concerns about the way Herefordshire and Worcestershire Fire and Rescue Service worked on fire prevention.

Its most recent report said that was no longer the case but a follow-up inspection was needed because more progress needed to be made.

Fire prevention had also been a cause for concern for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, along with its work on equality, diversity and inclusion and its inspection of high-risk properties.

Again, HMICFRS said some improvement had been made, but another inspection was required because more needed to be done.

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