Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
The Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the West Midlands region of England. The service covers an area of 1,514 square miles (3,920 km2), and a population of around 780,000 people.[3]
 | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Counties | Herefordshire Worcestershire |
| Agency overview | |
| Established | 1 April 1974 |
| Annual calls | 7,901 (2020–21)[1] |
| Employees |
|
| Annual budget | £35.8 million (2020–21)[1] |
| Chief Fire Officer | Jonathon Pryce[2] |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Stations | 25 |
| Engines | 41 |
| Platforms | 2 |
| USAR | 5 modules |
| Rescue boats | 3 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The service was created in 1974 when The County Of Hereford Fire Brigade and The Worcester City & County Fire Brigade were merged to create The County Of Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade. The two counties split up again in 1998 but the fire service remained, and is now run by a joint fire authority.[1]
Operations
editThe service's Chief Fire Officer is Jonathon Pryce, replacing Nathan Travis, who retired in March 2021.[2]
In October 2019, HWFRS entered into a formal alliance with neighbouring Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.[4] The alliance covers procurement, following previous cooperation on computer systems, fire control and risk management. In June 2020, the two services announced that they were considering a single fire control centre.[5]
HWFRS has 332 wholetime operational staff, 369 retained (part-time) staff, 21 Fire Control staff, as well as about 98 non-uniformed support staff. The busiest areas of Hereford and Worcester fire and rescue is Worcester and Wyre Forest both averaging roughly 1,500 callouts a year, the least busiest areas being Peterchurch and Fownhope averaging 10–20 callouts a year. Evesham, Peterchurch & Wyre Forest stations are also home to the fire services realistic training facilities. Retained firefighters from Herefordshire train at Peterchurch Fire Station and The main training centre is at Droitwich fire station, and more complex training is undertaken at the Fire Service College in Moreton In Marsh. The smallest station in the area is Broadway, which is a small garage sitting off a narrow lane. The largest station is Wyre Forest. It is also home to four pumps and six more vehicles, including a Command Unit and Drone team
Neighbouring fire services include: Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Mid and West Wales, South Wales and the West Midlands.
Performance
editEvery fire and rescue service in England and Wales is periodically subjected to a statutory inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The inspections investigate how well the service performs in each of three areas. On a scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate, Herefordshire Fire and Rescue Service was rated as follows:
| Area | Rating 2018/19[6] | Rating 2021/22[7] | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | Good | Requires improvement | How effective is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| Efficiency | Requires improvement | Requires improvement | How efficient is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| People | Requires improvement | Requires improvement | How well does the fire and rescue service look after its people? |
Fire stations
editHWFRS splits its fire stations into three districts – North and South, both of which are located in Worcestershire, and West in Herefordshire.[8]
Each fire station is crewed using one of three duty systems, or a combination:[8]
- Wholetime – five fire stations are crewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by full-time firefighters,[9] working on a variety of shift patterns of two nine-hour day shifts and two 15-hour night shifts followed by four days off.
- Retained – the majority of fire stations use retained firefighters, who are on call and live or work within five minutes of the station.[10]
- Day-crewed – three day-crewed stations are crewed for 12 hours a day by full-time firefighters working on a shift pattern of four 12-hour shifts (07:00–19:00) then four days off. The fire station is crewed by the retained firefighters at night
As of 2021[update], there were 228 wholetime and 379 retained firefighters across the 25 fire stations.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "Fire Authority Annual Report 2020-2021" (PDF). Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ a b Wilson, John (29 March 2021). "Herefordshire's new fire chief named". Hereford Times. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service". HMICFRS. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service". BBC News. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service". BBC News. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Hereford and Worcester 2018/19". Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). 20 December 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Hereford and Worcester 2021/22". Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Fire Stations". Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ "Wholetime firefighters". Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "On-call firefighters". Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
External links
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