A FIRE and Rescue Service has successfully responded to concerns about the work that it had been doing in the area of fire prevention.

Now a follow up inspection that took place at the end of last year has resolved the issues and the chief fire officer says that they will be a better position to provide this service to the community and help to keep them safe.

Following the publication of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabularies and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection report of Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service in December 2021, the Service has prioritised work to address the Cause for Concern that was raised by the Inspectorate relating to prevention activities.

During the following 11 months, the Service worked hard to address the areas raised by the Inspectorate and was re-inspected in November 2022 for them to assess progress.

Now the Cause for Concern has been discharged.

The re-inspection identified a few areas that still need some focus but that the service had made good progress and those outstanding actions did not amount to a significant concern.

“The HMICFRS inspection in 2021 identified areas for improvement, some of which we were already aware of,” said chief fire officer Jon Pryce.

“Prevention was one such area which needed significant investment to ensure we deliver an effective and efficient service to our communities and I would like to thank all those staff members involved for their hard work and dedication to ensure we made the improvements required to discharge this Cause for Concern.

“Ultimately we will now be providing a better service to the public we serve.