Cornwall fire service 'requires improvement' in key areas

Fire service bosses said they were committed to "areas where further improvements are needed"

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) has been told it "requires improvement" in key areas by government inspectors.

The inspection said the areas of effectiveness, efficiency and people required work, giving them the second lowest rating available.

However, the service did get ratings of good for responding to major and multi-agency incidents.

CFRS bosses said the service was continuing to make improvements and that progress had already been made.

The ratings come after inspectors issued a letter of concern following an inspection earlier this year.

High-risk referrals

The wider report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the service's "overall effectiveness requires improvement", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report also said the service needed to improve preventing fires and other risks, and said it should "make sure it allocates enough resources to meet its prevention strategy".

It highlighted that reduced staffing and the Covid-19 pandemic had led to a backlog in prevention work, with 237 high-risk referrals waiting to be completed.

Inspectors also said the CFRS did need to improve its responses, highlighting it was not meeting its own targets.

The service's standard is 11 minutes for full-time firefighters and 16 for on-call fire engines, aiming to do this for 70% of calls.

The inspection did find the service had improved safeguarding and collaborated well with other organisations

However, in 2020-21 it only met that on 63.4% of occasions for full-time and 65.1% for on-call.

The inspection did find the service had improved its safeguarding and also collaborated well with other organisations to improve community safety.

It also found fire engine availability was good and incident commanders were well trained.

Inspector Wendy Williams said she was "satisfied with some aspects" of the service's performance "but there are areas it still needs to improve".

Chief fire officer Kathryn Billing said: "Although there is still work to be done, I am really proud of the progress we have made, particularly during these unprecedented times."

She said the service recognised "that there are areas where further improvements are needed, and we are committed to addressing those issues".

Ratings available to inspectors include: outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.