A troubled fire service has been told to take urgent action after failures were uncovered by inspectors.<\/p>\n
Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) was issued with an “accelerated cause of concern”, handed out when a “fire service’s failures raise concerns about public safety”.<\/p>\n
The fire inspectorate said the service did not gather information about high-risk premises effectively – data which was “vital for helping protect firefighters and the public during an emergency”.<\/p>\n
NFRS’s new chief Keith Carruthers, who has been in post for a matter of weeks, said the service was developing an action plan.<\/p>\n
The assessment is another blow for the fire service after a troubled year in 2025 which saw the chief and deputy leave their posts and a damning report identified a “culture of fear” in the organisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n ‘Not confident’<\/p>\n In the latest inspection, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found the service did not effectively gather and record site-specific risk information (SSRI).<\/p>\n These are detailed, pre-collected data for high-risk premises which is used to inform firefighter tactics.<\/p>\n Examples were found of risk information that was not “effective, accurate or up to date”, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the service was found not to have given staff the “appropriate support” to collect risk information.<\/p>\n Of 478 sites requiring an SSRI, only 37 had been reviewed by its quality assurance panel, the inspectorate found.<\/p>\n HMICFRS’ interim chief inspector Michelle Skeer said: “I am not confident the service has identified all places of risk.”<\/p>\n In response, Carruthers said: “We are developing an action plan which will ensure all sites are reviewed appropriately and will respond to HMICFRS recommendations in line with their timeline.”<\/p>\n He said a full inspection expected later would “provide an opportunity for me as the newly appointed Chief Fire Officer to take stock and plan for the future of the service”.<\/p>\n Follow BBC North East on X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links