Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has been told they haven’t ‘made enough improvement’
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service must do more “to keep people safe and secure” despite improvements, an inspection report has said.
Inspector Lee Freeman said they were satisfied with some areas, such as “how the service provides its protection activities and identifies risks”, but there are “areas in which the service needs to improve”.
Ten areas of performance were looked at – down from 11 in previous years – with each graded on a scale from outstanding to inadequate. CFRS was graded good in two areas – understanding fire and risk and public safety through fire regulation, adequate in five and requires improvement in three.
Mr Freeman said the service had improved on six of the eight areas they identified at the last inspection in 2023, but “despite this progress, it hasn’t made enough improvement”.
Though the service was found to meet response time targets, with the first fire engine on scene faster on average than other comparable services, they were told to improve the availability of on-call fire engines. Mr Freeman said the service had introduced “crews of three” where on-call staff respond to all incidents when only three firefighters are available.
The service said “a three-person crew could deal with a wide range of incident types” but “in the less common situation where someone was trapped inside a burning building, firefighters would only enter the building when at least four crew members were present”.
Mr Freeman said: “Firefighters reported experiencing moral pressure when they arrived at a house fire where someone may be trapped but they were unable to enter until a second fire engine arrived. To address this, the service should strengthen the training and guidance provided to on-call firefighters.”
The service was also found to have taken only “limited positive action to diversify its workforce” and “still needs to do more to increase staff diversity”. He said the service “continues to have strong financial management” but senior leaders must make sure “there are effective oversight arrangements in place”.
He said they showed “strong intent, effective practices and significant commitment” but “didn’t always maintain effective strategic oversight of important organisational functions”.
The service was told to improve their performance in responding to fires and emergencies, ensuring fairness and diversity and leading people effectively.
Mr Freeman said: “Overall, there is a clear commitment from staff and senior leaders to improve. The foundations for an effective fire and rescue service exist.”
Chief fire officer Matthew Warren thanked the inspectorate for their assessment and said “the majority of the areas highlighted for improvement are things we are already aware of and are working towards improving.”
He said: “We are a small fire and rescue service and we prioritise our areas of focus based on risk and resources, knowing we cannot do everything at once.
“Having an independent team come in and look at what we do, recognise what we do well and suggesting where they think we can improve, ensures we continue to deliver the best service we can to the communities we serve. I am confident our plans to improve the highlighted areas will see positive outcomes over the coming months.”

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