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The fire inspectorate has given Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service an incredible six outstanding grades in its latest report, commending its excellent performance with a strong emphasis on the service’s use of technology across the organisation.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspects fire and rescue services under 11 headings and in this batch of four reports released today, Lancashire builds on its previous record of being awarded outstanding grades, with Kent Fire and Rescue Service picking up three outstanding grades, more than in previous reports.
Chief Fire Officer Jon Charters took up post in January 2025 taking over from Justin Johnston who had run Lancashire FRS since 2019. The outstanding grades include one for its values and culture which was an area recognised with the top grade in its 2022 report.
“The service has maintained a positive and supportive culture and continues to have well-defined values, which staff understand.”
In staff surveys, the inspectors found that staff kmow what the values of the organisation are and said that the leadership team ‘are role models for the values.’
In a section on equality, diversity and inclusion, staff spoke highly to the inspectors of reasonable adjustments the service had put in place for neurodivergent staff. Although there is work to be done, notes the report, to bring all areas of the organisation up to the same standard when it comes to accessibility and welfare provision including bathrooms and changing areas.
Recognising its investment in technology, the inspectors praise Lancashire’s approach to sharing incident information quickly across teams. “The service supports a shared understanding of risk across the service, makes sure risk information is shared in a timely way to keep communities safe, and promotes a team approach to mitigating risk.” This is reinforced by the findings for Lancashire’s major incident response where the report cites Grenfell-related improvements around high-rise building fires.
“We observed the system that was in place to manage the transfer of information between the emergency control room and firefighters at the scene of an incident when a tall building was involved in a fire.”
The service’s approach to fire protection is highlighted, with a reduction in unwanted fire signals leading to cashable savings of nearly £500k.
As the country bakes in the August heat, Lancashire’s role as the national lead for wildfires is recognised. It describes a partnership with academia and commercial drone suppliers.
“The service is working with Sheffield and Bristol universities and has secured funding for a research project using Windracers. These are self-flying drones equipped with thermal imaging that can patrol areas prone to wildfires, detect fires early on and deliver fire retardant directly to a fire to prevent it from escalating. Use of swarm technology means they can self-co-ordinate.”
Workforce planning is another place where Lancashire is using technology to good effect and the inspectors describe how on-call availability has improved with the use of new software and digital skills maps are helping with forward planning to fill gaps in staff knowledge not just in tech but other areas in the future.
“This is a proud moment for everyone at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. These results are a testament to the dedication and innovation of our staff across all roles. The inspection highlights that when we plan well, act on risk and support each other, we keep people safer. We’re proud of the progress we are making, and we’ll use the feedback to go further – continuing to learn, adapt and deliver the best possible service when people need us most.
“This recognition reinforces the service position as a trusted, forward-thinking organisation that makes Lancashire safer.”
Jon Charters, Chief Fire Officer.
The full list of outstanding grades includes:
- understanding fire and risk
- public safety through regulation
- responding to major incidents
- best use of resources
- promoting values and culture
- Right people, right skills.
The full report is available from HMICFRS – An inspection of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
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