What the latest fire service inspections reveal about preparedness – and where the gaps still lie

HMICFRS grades for Hampshire, County Durham, and Lancashire fire and rescue services

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has released its latest inspection reports for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.

The reports for the 2023–2025 inspection cycle grade each service across 11 performance areas, using categories ranging from ‘inadequate’ to ‘outstanding’.

Each inspection highlights examples of good practice, identifies areas where services have made progress since earlier visits, and sets out issues that require further attention.

While all three services showed strong performance in at least one core area – including fire prevention, protection work, and understanding risk – inspectors also found challenges in resource planning, recruitment, equality and diversity, and operational processes.

HMICFRS said the inspections reflect both improvements and persistent gaps in performance across the fire and rescue sector.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service

Strong prevention work and volunteer use

HMICFRS said Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service is “good at providing effective activity through its prevention team to keep people safe from fire and other risks”.

Inspectors praised the way the service uses volunteers to support prevention work, identifying this as “an area of promising practice”.

The report notes that prevention activity is well organised and makes use of both staff and volunteers to target those at greatest risk.

Progress on some earlier concerns

Since its last inspection, the service has improved business continuity plans, particularly in high-risk areas.

It has also developed processes to manage individual performance through performance development reviews.

The inspectorate noted: “The service has put in place a more effective system for staff to use learning and debriefs to improve operational response and incident command.”

These steps were seen as positive progress against earlier recommendations.

Ongoing challenges in response cover and planning

However, the service was told it “doesn’t have an adequate plan or processes to co-ordinate its recruitment and succession planning work including its future needs”.

This means there is no guarantee that staffing levels and skillsets are aligned to the safety plan, either now or in the future.

Inspectors also found that on-call firefighter availability remains an issue, and the service “isn’t consistently maintaining the availability of its fire engines”.

There were also concerns about the mobilisation system, which, when problems occur, “could cause unnecessary delays in the dispatch of resources to emergency incidents and result in the public receiving a slower response”.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Roy Wilsher said: “It is disappointing to see that the service hasn’t made the progress we expected.

“For example, it still needs to make sure senior managers are visible and demonstrate service values through their behaviours.”

He added: “I recognise that recruiting on-call firefighters can be difficult and the service is planning some significant changes to meet the financial challenges it faces.

“I will keep in close contact with the service to monitor these changes and its progress in addressing our concerns and associated recommendations.”

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service

Outstanding performance in public protection

HMICFRS graded County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service as ‘outstanding’ in protecting the public through fire regulation.

The service ensures “firefighters, supervisory managers and specialist protection staff receive fire safety qualification training”, which supports capacity and resilience.

Inspectors described this as “an area of promising practice” and highlighted the service’s ability to deliver a high volume of home fire safety visits prioritised for those at greatest risk.

Targeted prevention and technology innovation

The service has reviewed and updated its risk-based inspection programme, with a greater focus on higher-risk premises.

Its prevention activity is clearly prioritised towards people most at risk, using a risk-based approach to guide decisions.

The report notes that the service is “using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help analyse its data and support well-informed decisions to improve productivity” and to “improve the accuracy of risk assessments, helping to prioritise workloads so they align with the needs of the community”.

Inclusion and workforce diversity

While the service was rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in most areas, one area for improvement was in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.

HMICFRS said the service “needs to do more to increase staff diversity and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds into middle and senior-level positions”.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services Michelle Skeer said: “I congratulate County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service on its performance in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.”

She added: “The service is now outstanding at protecting the public through fire regulation and effectively uses a risk-based approach to clearly prioritise its prevention activity.”

However, she said: “It should improve how it promotes equality, diversity and inclusion, and how it works with under-represented groups in the community.”

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service

Six outstanding grades awarded

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service achieved ‘outstanding’ in six areas and ‘good’ in five, including top marks for understanding risk, protecting the public, and responding to major and multi-agency incidents.

The service “builds a comprehensive risk profile using information from a wide range of sources, including consultation with local communities” and uses IT to share incident information quickly.

An automated post-incident system supports a shared understanding of risk across the service.

Linked protection strategy and community engagement

The service’s protection strategy is “clearly linked to the risks identified in its community risk management plan” and enables effective information sharing between staff.

Inspectors praised its proactive work with businesses to promote compliance with fire safety legislation and noted efficiency gains from reduced attendance to unwanted fire signals.

HMICFRS also said the service “is well prepared for major and multi-agency incidents”, collaborating with the local resilience forum and investing in equipment to respond to wildfire and flooding risks.

Strong organisational culture and leadership

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service “continues to be outstanding at promoting its values and culture”, with leaders who “demonstrate the service’s values” and staff who feel “appreciated and included”.

However, inspectors said the service “needs to do more to make sure that its equality impact assessment process is robust, and the assessment findings are acted on appropriately”.

Michelle Skeer said: “The service uses a wide range of data to understand risk at a local level, and it has a robust plan and resources in place to inspect its highest-risk buildings.”

She added: “I am confident the service will address the area for improvement we have identified around its equality impact assessment process.”

Relevance for fire and safety professionals

The latest HMICFRS reports offer detailed insight into how three different UK fire and rescue services are performing across core operational, prevention, and protection functions.

For professionals, these findings highlight where specific services are excelling, such as Lancashire’s data-led risk assessment processes, and where systemic challenges remain, including Hampshire’s staffing and mobilisation issues and County Durham’s diversity gaps.

The grades and recommendations in these reports can help benchmark local service performance, inform policy planning, and guide collaborative initiatives across the sector.

They also illustrate the inspectorate’s ongoing focus on prevention, protection, and community risk management – themes that will continue to shape service priorities in the coming years.

By examining both best practice and areas needing improvement, fire safety practitioners, operational leads, and policymakers can better target resources, adapt training, and apply lessons learned to enhance resilience and public safety outcomes.

HMICFRS grades for Hampshire, County Durham, and Lancashire fire and rescue services: Summary

HMICFRS has released new performance reports for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.

Hampshire was commended for its prevention work and volunteer engagement but told to improve recruitment planning, on-call cover, and mobilisation reliability.

County Durham earned an ‘outstanding’ grade for public protection through fire regulation and was praised for its AI-driven risk assessment approach but urged to progress equality and diversity efforts.

Lancashire achieved six ‘outstanding’ grades, excelling in understanding risk, multi-agency readiness, and organisational culture, though it was advised to strengthen its equality impact assessment process.

The findings showcase strong public protection measures across all three services, alongside clear opportunities for improvement.

They also reflect sector-wide themes, including the importance of data use, inclusive workforce planning, and operational readiness for both everyday incidents and large-scale emergencies.