Humberside Fire Brigade was formed in 1974 as a result of theFire Services Act 1947 stating that all areas must have an official fire service; the brigade would later change its name to Humberside Fire and Rescue Service to reflect its expanded role in emergency cover after the county boundary changes on 1974.[3][4][5] When Humberside County Council was abolished in 1995, a parliamentary combination order came into effect, establishing Humberside Fire Authority (the current ruling body of Humberside Fire Brigade) with control of all brigade personnel, equipment and premises.[6] This is a combined fire authority, which is financed by the constituent councils ofEast Riding of Yorkshire Council,Kingston upon Hull City Council,North Lincolnshire Council andNorth East Lincolnshire Council.
In January 1987, Christine Bradley ofHowden became Humberside Fire Brigade's first female firefighter.[7] Twenty years later in 2007, HFRS featured on aBBC One documentary entitledWomen on Fire, following two female firefighters during a 16-day intensive training course to allow them to become retained firefighters for the service.[8]
In 2016, in line with other fire and police force mergers, a proposal was put forward that Humberside Fire and Rescue merge with theNorth Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.[9] However, the proposal was not backed by the leaders of county councils and emergency commissioners in the Humberside operating area, and so the merger proposal was shelved.[10]
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, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service was rated as follows:
HFRS operates 31fire stations. These stations are strategically located to provide suitable coverage for the region. Nine of these stations are wholetime, three stations are wholetime andretained, and 19 stations are retained only. The 31 stations are divided into four Community Protection Units (CPUs), with each one covering a different area.[13]
Theheadquarters of HFRS are located on the western outskirts ofHull on Summergroves Way near the boundary withHessle. This building houses the majority of the service's administration and support services including Stores, IT, Health & Safety, Training etc. The fire station at Immingham West doubles up as a training facility and has aClass 332 railway carriage for crews to practise on railway rescues.[14][15]
On 1 January 2013, plans were submitted to Hull City Council expressing Humberside Fire and Rescue Service's intention to replace Clough Road fire station with a new £3.9million facility on the existing site. Planning permission was granted by Hull City Council in April 2013, and the new station became operational in July 2015.[16] Two new fire stations in central Hull andBrough were opened in 2017,[17][18] and in 2018, the £9 million Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre (ICC), part of which contains a new fire station for the East Hull area, was opened.[19] Plans were approved in 2022 to extendHornsea fire station by adding a new appliance bay, accommodating one of two new Rapid Intervention Vehicles acquired fromGatwick Airport in 2022,[20][21][22] and HFRS announced in August 2024 that itsHowden station was to be rebuilt, scheduled for completion in 2025.[23]
Only one fire station has been closed by HFRS since its formation in 1974: this wasSledmere fire station, a single-appliance retained station closed in 2008 as part of cost-saving measures.[24][25]
As of 2023, HFRS operates a fleet of 46 fire engines, including nine that are placed in strategic reserve.[citation needed] The frontline fleet of appliances is based on theScania PRT-range as well as theScania 4-series chassis; in 2018, HFRS became the first fire service in the United Kingdom to take delivery of Scania 'New Generation' PRT-range appliances, with a pair of P320s fitted with EmergencyOne bodies entering service as Rescue Support Units in Kingston upon Hull and Scunthorpe.[26][27]
In 2005, Humberside Fire and Rescue ordered two Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (CARP) fire appliances, manufactured byTVAC on theMercedes-Benz Econic chassis. TheSouth Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service also made an order for four similar appliances, with all six orders totalling £3 million. Shortly after their 2007 delivery, however, various mechanical defects emerged with both Humberside and South Yorkshire's CARP appliances, including them being too heavy for UK roads. This caused the appliances to be regularly taken off the road, with members of theFire Brigades Union later refusing to operate them. Humberside's second order for a CARP appliance was subsequently cancelled, with TVAC going out of business shortly after reports of defects began to emerge.[28][29]
Humbrol factory, Hull – 2 November 1988; started by the ignition ofacetone spilled from a forklift, a large fire and explosions at the Humbrol paint factory in east Hull claimed the life of one employee and injured five others, requiring 125 Humberside firefighters and 25 appliances to extinguish the fire.[30][31][32]
Royal Station Hotel, Hull – 7 October 1990; up to 180 Humberside firefighters were on scene at a large fire at the Royal Station Hotel, caused by an electrical fault. Eleven of the 140 guests staying in the hotel were taken to hospital, and the building, which adjoinsHull Paragon Interchange, was completely destroyed.[30]
Bartoline, Beverley – 23 May 2003; Up to 150 HFRS firefighters and 28 appliances were deployed to a large fire and explosions from paint and oil storage tanks at the Bartoline factory on Swinemoor Industrial Estate inBeverley. The fire, which destroyed the factory and threatened to spread to adjoining buildings, was brought under control with no injuries reported.[33]
Bridgewood UK plastics factory,Hessle – 24–25 November 2021; A large fire and explosions, believed to have been started accidentally, destroyed the Bridgewood UK plastics factory on the Priory Park industrial estate adjacent to the town of Hessle. Over 150 HFRS firefighters and 14 appliances were deployed to tackle the fire, which destroyed 300 tonnes of plastic and also destroyed a nearby electrical substation. All employees of the factory were accounted for, and the fire was largely extinguished over 24 hours later.[35][36][37]
^"About Us". Humberside Fire & Rescue Service. Archived fromthe original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved11 January 2013.
^Gledhill, Raymond (1 April 1974). "White Rose ties hold fast despite amputations and shake-up of boundaries".The Times. No. 59093. p. 31.ISSN0140-0460.
^"Fire Authority".humbersidefire.gov.uk/. Retrieved10 September 2022.
^"Behind the headlines: Twenty-three years ago, Janine Welford was pulled from an inferno at Hull's Humbrol factory".Hull Daily Mail. 4 November 2011. p. 8.ProQuest902183672.
^"New memorial to 1988 Humbrol fire".Hull Daily Mail. 3 November 2011. p. 3.ProQuest901944454.
