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 The Service's badge features aStafford knot | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| County | Staffordshire |
| Agency overview | |
| Established | 1974 (1974) |
| Chief Fire Officer | Rob BarberKFSM |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 33 |
| Engines | 39 |
| Trucks | 2 |
| Rescues | 1 |
| Rescue boats | 2 |
| Website | |
www | |
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is thestatutoryfire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of Staffordshire andunitary authority ofStoke-on-Trent.[1] The county has a population of 1,126,200 (mid-2017 estimate) and covers a total area of 2,260 km2 (870 square miles).[2] Staffordshire shares the majority of its border withDerbyshire,Cheshire,West Midlands (County) andShropshire; although, in much shorter stretches, the county also butts up againstWorcestershire,Warwickshire andLeicestershire.
As of 1 August 2018[update], the fire service functions under the control of theStaffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner[3] acting as the Fire & Rescue Authority.
The county provides considerable risks to its residents and firefighters. These include the industrial city ofStoke-on-Trent and the large industrial towns ofBurton-upon-Trent,Stafford,Newcastle-under-Lyme,Tamworth andCannock.
TheM6 motorway runs through the county, as does theM6 Toll road. The main 'A‘ roads theA5,A50,A34 andA38 also cross the county. These well-used routes are regularly the scene of numerous road traffic accidents, vehicle fires and chemical incidents.
There are also many significant rural risks inStaffordshire: The medieval hunting grounds ofCannock Chase is designated as anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and is made up of heathland, chaseland and forest that stretches betweenStafford,Cannock,Rugeley andChase Terrace. In the north of the county theStaffordshire Moorlands is an area of remote wilderness whereThe Pennines spill over theDerbyshire andCheshire borders, and has an area of around 576 km2 (222 square miles). These areas pose a considerable risk of wildfires, and regularly keep firefighters extremely busy during hot dry spells. Also, the moorlands offer their own logistical difficulties during harsh winters, particularly to the residents of the towns and villages dotted throughout the hills - towns likeLeek andBiddulph, and the villages ofIpstones andLongnor amongst others. The Staffordshire Moorlands is home toFlash, the highest village in The United Kingdom, which stands at 463 m (1,519 feet) above sea level.
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The service is run under the command of theChief Fire Officer and an executive board, and provides emergency response from 33 strategically located fire stations, divided into three delivery groups:
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has its headquarters and training school at Pirehill near the town ofStone in mid-Staffordshire. Their fire control centre used to be at Pirehill, but was closed after its amalgamation with fire control of theWest Midlands Fire Service in March 2014. Both brigades operate under a joint control centre situated inBirmingham. The county's maintenance workshops are located at the Joint Emergency Transport Facility in Trentham Lakes industrial park, a joint workshop with Staffordshire Police.
Of the 33 strategically locatedfire stations, onlyStafford,Tamworth Belgrave and Sandyford operate on a completely 24/7 wholetime duty system.
Longton,Hanley,Newcastle-under-Lyme,Cannock andBurton-upon-Trent operate as wholetime plusretained stations (WDS/RDS), which means, along with a 24-hour station-based complement of firefighters, they have retained on-call "back-up" personnel that, when required, crew the secondfire engine housed at the fire station, as well as some of the specialist appliances that may be stationed there. All wholetime firefighters work the four "watch" system. This produces an eight-day rota, with crews operating on a "two-days-on, two-nights-on, four-days-off" system.
Leek andLichfield fire stations operate as day-crewed and retained: firefighters respond from the fire station as wholetime firefighters between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm with a retained on-call crew available if needed to crew other appliances based at the station. After 6:00 pm the stations become retained on-call only, and the fire appliances are crewed by the same firefighters but not from the station itself.
All other Staffordshire fire stations operate the "on-call" retained duty system. All retained firefighters respond from home or work, and are notified by a pager, and, therefore, have to live or work within five minutes driving time of their station to meet strictHome Office response times.
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).[1] The inspections investigate how well the service performs in each of three areas. On a scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service was rated as follows:
| Area | Rating 2018/19[4] | Rating 2021/22[5] | 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 | Requires improvement | How efficient is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| People | Good | Requires improvement | How well does the fire and rescue service look after its people? |
