The development of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England is a key element of the government’s fire reform programme. These standards provide a benchmark for what is expected of services in providing for their communities, and what they need to do to achieve those expectations.
The Fire Standards Board was recently created to produce these standards. The board is an independently chaired body with members from the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Local Government Association, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the Home Office. The board is funded by the Home Office to oversee the identification, organisation, development, and maintenance of these professional standards for fire and rescue services in England.
The Fire Standards Board published eight standards in early 2021. These are on:
- Emergency response driving,
- Operational preparedness,
- Operational competence,
- Operational learning, and
- Code of Ethics
- Community Risk Management Planning
- Prevention
- Protection
The Fire Standards Board (FSB) are now consulting on Emergency Preparedness and Resilience Fire Standard – Please respond to the consultation - Full details about the consultation, including how to take part can be found on the Fire Standards Board website. Closing date of consultation is 21 February 2022.
The standards build on best practice that already exists in the sector, whilst providing flexibility in how services achieve those standards in line with local community needs. They are designed to encourage services to regularly evaluate their performance and strive to continually improve what they do and deliver excellence for the public.
Further standards are being developed and will be published in due course. For more information on these standards, please visit the Fire Standards Board website.