Surrey Fire and Rescue Service 'requires improvement', says watchdog

The service says it still has two and a half years of planned improvements still to make

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service has been rated as "requires improvement" overall by a watchdog.

The service was found needing to make changes in six of eleven assessment areas, including how it responds to major incidents.

However, six areas had got better since the service's last inspection in 2018.

Surrey's chief fire officer said the report "acknowledged improvements" but added they still had more to deliver.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found areas including major incident response, fairness and diversity needed to get better.

It also advised that the service firefighters use to obtain risk information needed to be updated.

HMICFRS said progress had been made since the last inspection in 2018

'Progress made'

HMICFRS said it was "heartening to see the progress made" by the service in preventing fires, protecting the public, recruiting the right skilled workers and the service's values and culture.

Chief fire officer Steve Owen-Hughes said: "We always welcome these reports, because they help us to ensure we are on track to deliver our public purpose - to keep people safe.

"They also help us recognise some areas that need more focus and we have already started working on these."

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