Fire Service Consultation

The people of Warwickshire are being asked for their views on the future direction of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and their plans to make the county an even safer place to live, work and visit.

Chief Fire Officer Ben Brook today launched a public consultation on the draft Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) Prevention, Protection and Response Strategy, asking people to take part and help influence the way the Service will work over the next five years.

WFRS has 17 fire stations across the 764 square miles of Warwickshire and employs around 450 staff. Its work in 2020/21 included attending around 3,500 incidents, taking steps to protect over 1,000 buildings and carrying out 1,500 hospital-to-home collections for the county's most vulnerable residents.

The consultation comes against a backdrop of considerable social change and with a need to adapt to new and merging risks. Emergency response is now a smaller proportion of the work done by WFRS, who instead have an increased emphasis on prevention, protection and community support.

Responses to the consultation will be used to inform the final strategy that will set out the future direction of WFRS.

Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder Andy Crump said "We have plans to take bold and radical action to support our communities to be safe, to support and sustain economic growth and business prosperity, to keep transport networks moving and to enable the most vulnerable to live safely. But we do all of this for you - our residents, businesses and visitors - so we are really keen to get your feedback. Please do take some time to read our plans and tell us what you think."

Chief Fire Officer Ben Brook added "Our Strategy sets out how the Service will embrace opportunities for technological advances, reduce our impact on the environment and above all, be led by our ethics and values. As an employer, we are also making the wellbeing of our staff a key priority and ensure that we have a workforce that reflects the makeup of our communities. So I would like to hear what you think, whether it is positive or negative, so that we can together make Warwickshire a safer place to be."

The consultation runs from 4 July to 25 September and can be found at: http://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk