About Us
Service Information - An Introduction to HFRS
The Fire and Rescue Service area encompasses the 4 Unitary Authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston Upon Hull, North Lincolnshire & North East Lincolnshire, and covers 2,261 square miles including the Humber Estuary. The City of Hull and towns of Scunthorpe and Grimsby are the main centres of population. The geography of the County ranges from the Yorkshire Wolds in the North, the Vale of York in the West and the Lincolnshire Wolds in the South. The Service covers a population of almost 914,846 people.
The Past
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service was formed in 1974 following local government reorganisation from the amalgamation of the East Riding of Yorkshire County Fire Service, Grimsby Borough Fire and Rescue Service, Kingston Upon Hull City Fire Brigade and part of the Lincoln (Lindsey) Fire Brigade and a small part of the West Riding of Yorkshire County Fire and Rescue Service.
The Fire and Rescue Service area encompasses the 4 Unitary Authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston Upon Hull, North Lincolnshire & North East Lincolnshire, and covers 1,356 square miles including the Humber Estuary. The City of Hull and towns of Scunthorpe and Grimsby are the main centres of population. The geography of the County ranges from the Yorkshire Wolds in the North, the Vale of York in the West and the Lincolnshire Wolds in the South. The Service covers a population of almost 890,000 people.
The Present
To provide our services we employ 1034 operational personnel (674 Wholetime, 360 Retained Duty System) 30 Control Room staff and 220 support staff. These work from our 31 fire stations (12 Wholetime, 19 Retained Duty System) offices and workshops strategically located within our four Unitary Authority areas.
Following risk analysis, we identified that the previous organisational structure and risk management arrangements were not aligned with local authority boundaries. There was also a need to improve our engagement with local communities and partners to improve our community safety function. A major organisational review was undertaken which has resulted in the creation of four Community Protection Units (CPUs) whose boundaries are co-terminus with the Unitary Authorities. Their aim is to project risk reduction into the local communities more effectively. By design, a CPU is not an individual station or building, but an administrative area encompassing groups of stations.
The CPU concept has created an effective platform from which to launch risk reduction initiatives directly into the community, work more effectively with our partners, as well as providing an administrative structure and base for our fire engines. The CPU structure and flexibility of our resources are critical to the successful protection of our communities and working towards our vision.
The Future
The following are some of the development areas we are addressing:
- Establish and maintain a Learning Centre
- Fully integrate CPU Plans with Local Area Agreements
- Review the Services approach to reducing its carbon footprint
- Promotion of fire sprinkler systems
- Reduce the impact of Road Traffic Collisions through prevention and intervention
- Review provisions for spate emergencies (flooding, etc.)
- Improve the skills, knowledge and equipment for operational personnel
- Increase breadth of rescue training
- Implement and test Business Continuity arrangements
- Improve communications
- Further embed corporate risk and opportunity management
- Devise and implement a performance verification framework
- Devise and embed an effective work activity planning framework for operational personnel
- Embed equality and diversity within our workforce activities
HFRS Shift Patterns
Wholetime and Retained Duty System shift patterns are available to view in this area.
Wholetime Firefighters
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service operates a 42 hour week four shift system on its wholetime fire stations and in the brigade control room. The system operates on a 4 days on / 4 days off routine creating an 8 day cycle, thus ensuring that personnel progressively work on different days of the week.
There are four different 'coloured' watches that operate this four shift system, they are red, white, blue and green. The use of these systems ensures fire cover within any given region 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
| Wholetime | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0900 - 1800 | Red | Red | White | White | Blue | Blue | Green | Green |
| 1800 - 0900 | Green | Green | Red | Red | White | White | Blue | Blue |
Retained Firefighters
Most retained Firefighters have full-time occupations outside of the Fire and Rescue Service and with agreement from their employers, they can be released from their normal occupation to fight fires as and when required. As such they have have agreed to commit themselves when required. This commitment includes:
- A requirement to attend a weekly drill period.
- A requirement to attend weekend training courses as and when necessary.
- A commitment to respond to emergency calls.
Support Staff
In addition to its firefighters and officers the Service has many staff who perform valuable support functions for the brigade. Normal office hours apply to these staff. They usually work between 0900 and 1700 five days a week.
When You Dial 999...
You will be answered by a telephone exchange operator who will ask you which emergency service you require and the telephone number that you are dialing from. Stay on the line and you will then be connected to the Fire & Rescue Control Room in Hull, not your local fire station.
As you are being connected to the Service you will hear the telephone exchange operator passing your telephone number to the fire brigade control operator.
Questions
The Control Operator Will Ask You Some Questions.
- What is on fire?
- What is the address?
- What is the nearest main road?
- What town are you in? (It is at this stage that Fire Appliances will be mobilised)
- What telephone number are you dialing from?
- What is your own name and address?
Don't put the telephone down until we have taken all the details!
Why We Ask These Questions
- We need to know what is on fire or what other emergency you have to enable us to decide what our response will be. I.e. how many fire engines we will send.
- We need to know the address where the emergency is. This information is entered into our computer database to start a search of the address.
- The nearest main road assists us in narrowing the search which saves time.
- Because we cover the whole area of the old County of Humberside, which has been absorbed into Hull City, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire areas we need to know which town you are in. This will complete the search and locate the correct address.
- We need to know the telephone number that you are calling from, so that we can contact you again if we need any further information from you. This information is not given to anyone other than emergency service personnel.
- We need to know your name and address. This can be used as a guidance to where the fire has been seen from.
- If you are unfamiliar with the area and are unable to give a precise address you will be asked for any landmarks that you can see.
- It may seem as though you are being asked too many questions and your call is taking too long to deal with. Don't worry, the Fire & Rescue Service will already be on the way whilst you are still talking to the Operator.
What Happens Next
Emergency calls to Humberside Fire & Rescue Control Room are handled, from receipt of the call to mobilising the Fire Appliance, in less than 60 seconds.
If you have a fire - Do not attempt to extinguish it unless it is safe to do so. Leave the property, closing all the doors behind you and do not go back in to the property until you are told it is safe to do so by the firefighters who attend.
If you are trapped in a fire situation and are unable to leave your property safely, the fire control operator will stay on the line with you and give you fire survival guidance to help you until the fire engine arrives.
The Fire Fighters Charity
The Fire Services National Benevolent Fund was born as bombs rained down across the country during the dark days of the Second World War. Under dangerous, harrowing circumstances, the members of the Auxiliary and National Fire Services fought daily to save lives, businesses and homes. Unfortunately, many paid the ultimate price, leaving behind widows and orphans with no means of support. The Fund's first priority was to help them.
To make it more instantly recognisable, the 'Ben Fund' has recently changed its name to The Fire Fighters Charity. The Fire Fighters Charity has now purchased properties and land, and has invested in paid staff to support the large army of volunteers. It can now provide recuperative care, rehabilitation and therapy, as well as sheltered housing and financial assistance for injured serving and retired firefighters and their dependents. Every year, thousands of firefighters face the prospect of injury or worse as they try to help others. These injuries can often prevent them from working and can put their careers at risk if not treated properly.
The Fire Fighters Charity has two centres, which provide the right environment for members who need to convalesce following an injury or illness. In addition there is now a purpose built Rehabilitation and Therapy Centre.
The charity's services cost upwards of £7m per annum to maintain, and these services are financed almost exclusively by the fundraising efforts of the charity.
You can visit the Fire Fighters Charity website for more information (including information on making a donation) here.
The History of HFRS
Prior to 1938, there were between 1400 and 1500 small municipal fire brigades run by local councils throughout the country. Some were full time but there were many volunteer brigades in small towns and villages, of which most could trace their ancestry back to the era of privately owned Insurance Brigades, or Gentlemen's Brigades (Volunteers).
Although these fire fighting services existed, to a greater or lesser extent, in the rest of the country they were not compulsory until 1938 when Government legislation made the use of the British Fire Brigades statutory.
The National Fire Service
The outbreak of World War II in 1939, highlighted many short comings within these Brigades and consequently the Auxiliary Fire Service formed in 1941, and subsequently the National Fire Service were formed; bringing with them a conforming uniformity.
Following the war the N.F.S was placed in the hands of local County Authorities, by the introduction of the regulating Fire Services Act of 1947. This act of parliament became effective on the 1st of April 1948 and resulted in 148 county council and county borough run Fire Brigades. This act has since been updated as recently as 2004.
During the preceding fifty years the fire service has seen many changes, in working practices, equipment and parliamentary regulation. Due to the ever increasing and diverse role of present day Fire Brigades, many are changing their titles to include the words 'Fire & Rescue' to highlight the adapting role that they now undertake.
Reorganisation
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. This is a combined fire authority, which is financed by the constituent councils of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston Upon Hull City Council, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire Council.
Today
Humberside Fire Brigade has changed its name to Humberside Fire & Rescue Service. This is to reflect the role we now play in many aspects of fire safety as we do much more than just putting out fires.
The Humberside Fire & Rescue Service area encompasses 1,356 square miles, including the Humber Estuary, the Yorkshire Wolds in the North, the Vale of York in the West and the Lincolnshire Wolds in the South. The main centres of population are the City of Hull and the towns of Grimsby and Scunthorpe, with a population of almost 900,000 people. Additionally, over a million people travel by North Sea Ferries to and from Europe via Kingston-upon-Hull each year and Humberside International Airport handles a further 500,000 people.
There are varied risks within the Humberside Fire & Rescue Service area ranging from high tech Petrochemical Industries, an International airport, large areas of farmlands, hospitals, and many residential areas. The Humber ports of Immingham, Grimsby, Goole and Hull handle more trade with Europe than any other British port.
Typically, Humberside Fire & Rescue Service responds to over 20,000 incidents every year which involve over 24,000 vehicle movements, additionally, fire safety officers carry out 20,000 inspections of premises every year as well as giving fire safety advice to all block of the community via the newspapers, local radio and television.
The Community Advice Display Unit visits over 80 locations every year to take the fire safety message direct to the people we protect, in addition to which, all nine year olds receive fire safety education as part of their formal curriculum. With iniatives like this we aim to make Humberside a safer place long into the future.
Partnerships
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service regularly work alongside partner services, organisations, local authorities, community and third sector groups. This partnership working is vital to prevent duplication of work, ensure a holistic approach is being adopted in overcoming community issues and to ensure that the right people are included in achieving common goals to benefit the community we serve.
To see the schematic showing the Partnership Department within the Operational Response and Community Protection department at Humberside Fire and Rescue Service click here.
To see a list of partnership projects currently carried out by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service click here.
Local Strategic Partnerships (LSP's)
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service are also members of the four Local Strategic Partnerships with Kingston upon Hull City Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council to see the Local Area Agreements for these partnerships follow the links below:
Partnership Contact
- Partnership Officer : Katrina Horth
- Email: khorth@humbersidefire.gov.uk
- Telephone: 01482 567472
A Quality Service
There are many ways that Humberside Fire & Rescue Service checks its performance to ensure that we are keeping Humberside as safe as possible.
You can find a lot of documents related to our Quality Assurance in the documents area of the site.
Our Requirements
These are the National Fire Service requirements which we are obliged to meet. These are designed to ensure a quality service from your Fire and Rescue.
Under the auspices of the Fire Services Act 2004, Section 1, the Fire Authority requires that:
- It shall be the duty of every Fire Authority in Great Britain to make provision for firefighting purposes and in particular every Fire Authority shall secure:
- The services for their area of such a Fire and Rescue Service and such equipment as may be necessary to meet efficiently all normal requirements. Efficient training of the members of the Fire and Rescue Service.
- Efficient arrangements for dealing with calls for the assistance of the Fire and Rescue Service in case of fire and for summoning members of the the Fire and Rescue Service.
- Efficient arrangements for obtaining by inspection or otherwise, information required for firefighting purposes with respect to the character of the building and other property in the area of the Fire Authority, the available water supplies and the means of access thereto, and other material circumstances.
- Efficient arrangements for ensuring that reasonable steps are taken to prevent, or mitigate damage to property resulting from measures taken in dealing with fires in the area of the Fire Authority.
- Efficient arrangements for the giving, when requested, of advice in respect of buildings and other property in the area of the Fire Authority as to fire prevention, restricting the spread of fires and means of escape in case of fires.
Equality
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service aims to serve all members of the community fairly and equally.
See below for Equality & Diversity documents:
Our Policy
Our aim and commitment is to ensure that no person whether an applicant for employment, employee or member of the community receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, race, colour, nationality, marital status, having dependents, sexual orientation, trade union activity, disability or any other factors.
All employees have the right to be treated with dignity and consideration at work. This extends to the right to work in a safe and healthy environment free from harassment, bullying, discrimination or intimidation either direct or indirectly by other employees. The Service is committed to the implementation of this Policy and will actively pursue practices designed to promote fairness and to eliminate discrimination, bullying and harassment.
The overall responsibility for the Policy lies with the Chief Fire Officer/Authority, however all staff are expected to comply with the Policy and to act in accordance with its objectives so as to remove any barriers to equality and fairness. Any act of discrimination by employees or any failure to comply with the terms of the Policy may result in disciplinary action.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) gives people the right to request information from public authorities. It is intended to promote a culture of openness and accountability amongst public sector bodies, and therefore facilitate better public understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend public money.
We understand the importance of transparency in all of our dealings and have adopted policies in relation to Freedom of Information and also Records Management, which forms an important element in understanding the information we hold.
Essentially the Act moves the emphasis from a 'need to know' to 'a right to know'. We have already started this process by providing an electronic publication scheme, which lists the type of information we routinely publish. This underlines our commitment to openness and allows the public to browse documents.
Requests For Information
From 1st January 2005, anyone from anywhere can request information that is 'recorded' by the Authority. This is retrospective and includes all historical information.
The request for information must:
- Be in writing (either electronic or paper-form);
- State the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence; and,
- Describe the information requested.
- You can visit our contact page to make a request for information.
You can visit our contact page to make a request for information.
Response to Requests
From the date of receipt the Authority is set a 20 working day limit, during which time the Authority must inform the applicant in writing:
- Whether it holds information of the description specified in the request, and
- If that is the case, to have the information communicated to them.
The caveat is that for exempt information there is not a duty to confirm or deny that the information is held and there is no need for disclosing of the information. Clearly in some cases it would be illegal to do so, e.g. Data Protection.
Exempt Information
Although the scheme refers to a wide range of information held by the Fire Authority irrespective of format (i.e. electronic, video, audio, paper copy), not all information may be accessed by the public. Access may be prohibited because, for example, the information relates to an individual and is therefore protected by the Data Protection Act 1998; or is subject to other categories of information which are treated as Exempt under FoIA. These exemptions tend to be more directed towards central government, focusing on national security, international relations and defence.
Absolute Exemptions relate to:
- S.21 Reasonably accessible (by other means)
- S.23 Security matters
- S.32 Court Records
- S.34 Parliamentary Privilege
- S.36 Effective Conduct of Public Affairs
- S.40 Data Protection Act 1998
- S.41 Information Provided in Confidence
- S.44 Prohibition on Disclosure
The Public Interest Test may be applied to the 17 other categories of qualified exemptions. It means that Exempt information may be released if the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in not disclosing the information.
- S.22 Information Intended for future publication
- S.24 National Security
- S.26 Defence
- S.27 International Relations
- S.28 Relations within the UK
- S.29 The Economy
- S.30 Investigation & proceedings conducted by Public Authorities
- S.31 Law Enforcement
- S.33 Audit Functions
- S.35 Formulation of Government Policy
- S.36 Prejudice to Effective Conduction of Public Affairs
- S.37 Communication with Her Majesty
- S.38 Health and Safety
- S.39 Environmental Information
- S.40 Personal Information
- S.42 Legal Professional Privilege
- S.43 Commercial Interests
Fire Authority Contact Details
This scheme is maintained by a designated Information Officer to whom any queries regarding the Scheme or the application of FoIA should be addressed.
- Freedom of Information Officer
- Humberside Fire and Rescue Service HQ
- Summergroves Way
- Hull
- HU4 7BB
- Tel: 01482 565333
- Fax: 01482 508635
- Email: foi@humbersidefire.gov.uk
Fire Authority Contact Details
Any complaints regarding this scheme should in the first instance be addressed to:
- Assistant Chief Officer (Ops Support)
- Humberside Fire and Rescue Service HQ
- Summergroves Way
- Hull
- HU4 7BB
- Email: complaints@humbersidefire.gov.uk
- Failing which, complaints should be addressed to:
- Information Commisioner
- Wycliffe House
- Water Lane
- Wilmslow
- Cheshire
- SK9 5AF
- Tel: 01625 545700
- Fax: 01625 52451
- Email: informationrights%40dca.gsi.gov.uk