On-call firefighter cover in Nottinghamshire drops below target

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) has missed its annual target this year, with on-call firefighter availability averaging 83.8 per cent across the county – slightly below the 85 per cent target.

On-call firefighters, also known as ‘retained’, are part-time firefighters who typically work and live close to a station and can answer emergencies quickly on an on-call basis.

They are seen as a vital part of emergency cover, particularly in more rural areas.

The figures were discussed at the Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Fire and Rescue Authority meeting on Friday, June 13.

Coun Nick Raine (Lab) raised the issue of on-call firefighters in Southwell, saying they have experienced “problems” with recruiting and retaining them in certain places.

Damien West, assistant chief fire officer for Nottinghamshire, said: “On-call [recruitment] is a continual area of focus.

“We are one of the highest performing in the country, but we’re still not where we want to be so it shows the aspiration on what we want to do.

“Its proven nationally that people don’t understand there is an on-call fire service – they assume every fire engine that turns up isn’t on call.

“It’s about spreading the word on it [on-call firefighter recruitment].”

Fire officials she they are planning nee tactics that will help bring up the numbers.

The service is introducing three new on-call firefighter contracts in April this year in the hope of increasing staff availability when situations require it.

NFRS is also continuing efforts in recruitment and retention, saying it expects to boost on-call firefighter availability to target levels next year.

On-call firefighters are crucial to public safety, the service says, as the service supports full-time crews which would otherwise struggle to reach incidents quickly enough.

Recruits need to live and work within a five-minute distance from the service’s station to respond to emergency calls in the area.

On-call firefighters can get called out from either their places of work or homes to attend incidents.

Friday’s meeting also heard nearly 900 buildings across Nottinghamshire went without fire inspections in the past year.

The service (NFRS) had a target to inspect 2,000 buildings last year – but only completed 1,110 fire safety audits.

Fire safety audits ensure buildings comply with safety regulations and reduce the risk of fire-related incidents.

The missed target was because of staffing problems, with a rise in long-term staff absences due to illness.

Fire safety inspectors were also required complete updated national training qualifications – which reduced the number of qualified staff available to carry out the inspections.