Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Publishes Annual Report and Statement of Assurance 2023-24

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) has published its Annual Report and Statement of Assurance for 2023-24, offering a detailed overview of the Service’s efforts to protect and serve the residents of Essex over the past year. 

This year’s report highlights ECFRS’s continued focus on safety, along with key developments in prevention, response and service improvements across the county. 

Chief Fire Officer Rick Hylton said: 

"Our annual report is our opportunity to show how we keep Essex safe, manage our resources responsibly and continue to improve the service we provide to our communities." 

"Everyone at ECFRS is united by a common goal: to be among the best fire and rescue services in the country. By consistently raising our standards and focusing on what matters, we’re delivering a service that the people of Essex can depend on. Our Statement of Accounts highlights how we are driving change, reducing risk, investing in prevention and protection, and ensuring a first-class emergency response, with our people at the centre of everything we do." 

Some of the key achievements during the year include: 

• Winning Fire and Rescue Service of the Year at the Public Sector Transformation Awards. 
• Conducting over 10,000 Home Fire Safety checks, 3,000 more than the previous year. In February 2024, ECFRS recorded its highest-ever number of checks in a single month, completing 1,047 visits - contributing to a 28% reduction in injuries from accidental dwelling fires. 
• Establishing a High-Rise Task Force to enhance safety for residents and implement recommendations from the Grenfell Tower inquiry. 
• Becoming the only Fire and Rescue Service to earn silver accreditation from Inclusive Employers. 
• Reopening the newly refurbished Shoeburyness Fire Station, expanding its capacity to serve the local area. 

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has continued to make progress over the past year with further improvement in its prevention, protection and response services. The latest His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection, published in March 2024, graded the Service as ‘good’ at preventing fires and other risks.  

"The service has also improved how it targets prevention activity and was seen to collaborate well with others to reduce the number of fires and other risks. We have made significant progress and we want to do more. Prevention is at the heart of the Fire and Rescue Plan 2024-28, we want to increase further the number of home safety visits carried out by fire crews and do more joint Safe and Well visits with other agencies.” 

You can read the full report here: essex-fire.gov.uk/annualreport2023