Staffordshire fire service taking longer to get to jobs, says watchdog

Too few staff are hampering how many fire engines are available in Staffordshire, a report found

Crews are taking longer to get to fires in Staffordshire because the service does not have enough engines available, a watchdog found.

Response times have got worse since a previous inspection, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said.

The service needs to recruit extra staff to have more fire engines available, the report concluded.

The county's chief fire officer said he was confident they could improve.

Wendy Williams, inspector of HMICFRS, said: "Performance in some areas of the service has deteriorated since our 2019 inspection."

Her report says Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service requires improvement in several areas including responding to fires and how it manages its workforce.

In the 12 months to 31 March 2021, the service's average response time of 10 minutes and 28 seconds was "slower than the average for significantly rural services", inspectors found.

Across the same period, they also had an average of 80% of fire engines available compared to 86.4% for England.

The service has a large number of job vacancies which is affecting how many fire engines are available, the report concluded.

It has relied too much on overtime but inspectors say there are plans to fill the vacancies.

The county's fire commissioner, Ben Adams, said his plan for the service would make it more diverse

Staffordshire's service also needs to improve how it promotes values and cultures, the report said.

Inspectors heard several examples of bullying or inappropriate behaviour in front of managers without any action being taken.

They also heard inappropriate or outdated language being used during their inspection and added some staff said they were scared to speak out.

Chief fire officer Rob Barber said the service would address the issues in the report and "we have already made significant progress in these areas".

The county's fire commissioner, Ben Adams, added his plan for the service for the next three years would improve the fire service's diversity.