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| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| County | Kent |
| Agency overview | |
| Employees | 2,000 |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 57[1] |
| Engines | 75[1] |
| Website | |
www | |
Kent Fire and Rescue Service is thestatutoryfire and rescue service for the administrativecounty ofKent and the unitary authority area ofMedway, covering a geographical area south-east ofLondon, to the coast and including major shipping routes via theThames andMedway rivers. The total coastline covered is 225 km (140 miles); it has 57fire stations, and four districtfire safety offices. The FRS provides emergency cover to a population of 1.88 million.[1]
The county’s Fire and Rescue Service borders theLondon Fire Brigade to the north-west of the county,Surrey to the west,East Sussex to the south-west, andEssex to the north.
Every fire and rescue service inEngland and Wales is periodically subjected to a statutory inspection byHis Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The inspections investigate how well the service performs in each of three areas. On a scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate, Kent Fire and Rescue Service was rated as follows:
| Area | Rating 2018/19[2] | Rating 2021/22[3] | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | Good | Good | How effective is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| Efficiency | Good | Outstanding | How efficient is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| People | Good | Good | How well does the fire and rescue service look after its people? |
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The first fire brigade appeared inKent in 1802, when the Kent Fire Office formed aninsurance brigade inDeptford (which was at the time part of Kent). In the same year, and completely separately frominsurance companies,Hythe became the first town inKent to set up its own fire brigade, followed byAshford in 1826.
By the 20th century, it was quite fashionable for local authorities to have their own fire brigades.Maidstone had seen the formation of its borough fire brigade in 1901, when the Royal Insurance Company provided a newShand Mason horse-drawn steam fire engine, named The Queen. This company had taken over the Kent Fire Office in the same year, simultaneously disbanding their own brigade. Things often became very competitive between individual town and village brigades, in many instances, each one trying to outdo its neighbour. In 1910,Bromley became the first town in Kent to house motorisedfire engines, with two newMerryweather vehicles being stationed there.
Until 1938, the provision of a fire brigade was a discretionary power, and naturally there were a few local authorities that regarded it as an unnecessary expense. However, due to the threat of war,Parliament enacted theFire Brigades Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 72) and made it a duty and so created over 1,600 individual fire authorities across the nation. It was these local brigades and theAuxiliary Fire Service – also formed in 1938 – that valiantly coped with the consequences of theBattle of Britain and much ofThe Blitz. In August 1941, local brigades and theAFS were absorbed into one organisation called TheNational Fire Service. It was in 1941 that the current Headquarters houseThe GodlandsArchived 6 June 2010 at theWayback Machine was requisitioned for war-time use by theNational Fire Service and it has remained with thefire service ever since.
World War II brought dark days indeed forKentfire-fighters.Fire-fighting has been and will probably always be a dangerous occupation, and theRoll of Honour 1899-1990,[4] details the deaths of Kent fire-fighters while on duty. Of the 122 'Kent' names listed, 15 were pre-1939, 16 were post-1939 and 91 died during World War II. Nationally, well over 1,000 fire-fighters died during World War II, with stories offire stations and the water supplies needed for fire-fighting being targeted by Germanbombers, to maximise the damage caused byincendiary bombs. The last death on duty of a Kent fire-fighter was in 1990.
Thefire service was returned to local authority control on 1 April 1948 under theFire Services Act 1947, with responsibility inEngland andWales being given to the 146 counties and county boroughs of the day. The County of Kent and the City and County Borough ofCanterbury combined to form Kent Fire Brigade, taking over 79 fire stations from the National Fire Service.
Subsequent local government reorganisations have had their effect upon the brigade, most significantly in 1965 when eight fire stations in the northwest of the county were transferred to the newly createdGreater London area. Further reorganisation in 1974 sawCanterbury lose its county borough status and the fire brigade became the exclusive responsibility ofKent County Council. In 1998, the structure of local government changed again andKent combined with the newMedway Towns unitary authority for fire brigade provision.
On 1 October 2003, Kent Fire Brigade was renamed Kent Fire and Rescue Service to better reflect the requirements demanded of it for many years. These changes were reflected nationally by the enactment of theFire and Rescue Services Act 2004 which came into effect on 1 October 2004.
In the spring of 2011, Kent Fire and Rescue underwent changes to its structure, these included restructuring from three divisions to fivearea groups: North Kent, East Kent, West Kent, South Kent and Mid Kent. Each group consists of a number of clusters, which are made up of a number of certain stations where resources are locally managed. The Letter prefix for each division was dropped in the station call sign, for instance Swanley, under the old system was named as Station S31 the S standing for South Division, now it is just Station 31.
On 1 January 2017 Kent Fire & Rescue Service ceased Watches and changed to Flexible rostering with every station. This meant all members of staff had to work a 'Contractual number of shifts over the course of eachcalendar year'.[5]
Kent Fire & Rescue Service's fire stations are crewed using a number of different duty systems:
The service works in partnership with theSouth East Coast Ambulance Service to provide emergency medical cover to select areas of Kent. Dymchurch, Eastchurch, Eastry, Hoo and Paddock Wood have been identified as having a greater need for ambulance cover. The aim of afire service co-responder team is to preserve life until the arrival of either a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) or an Ambulance.