County fire chiefs to face questioning after inspectors’ criticism

GLOUCESTERSHIRE Fire and Rescue Service chiefs will be quizzed tomorrow over failures to look after its staff and how they keep the public safe.

Inspectors raised serious concerns in July over a “bad culture” among the fire service and judged it is inadequate at looking after its own staff.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also found the county’s fire service requires improvement at effectively keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks. Inspectors also raised serious concerns about the way it promotes its values and culture, and how it is improving the understanding of the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.

In view of the findings, HMICFRS inspector Wendy Williams has been in regular contact with the chief fire officer Mark Preece. Mr Preece said in a recent interview that he is committed to improving the fire service but it may take some time to change people’s perception of it.

“The biggest challenge is around how we improve the culture because that takes a lot more effort to bring that change about. It’s not just about people behaving differently, it’s about people feeling differently when they come to work,” he said at the time.

Mr Preece is also confident the service can improve in how it keeps people safe and has already made improvements on attendance times. He says responding to emergencies is “paramount”.

“In whatever emergency, we will be there in a timely fashion,” he said. “That has never wavered. We have got professional and competent staff who are really committed to their communities and want to take the service forward.”

An update will be provided at Gloucestershire County Council’s fire and rescue scrutiny committee tomorrow when councillors can quiz fire chiefs about progress.