Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 13/03/2012 08:31

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service has been praised in an independent review for its commitment to equality and diversity.

In assessing CFRS as ‘achieving’ against the five key themes of the Fire and Rescue Service Equality Framework, the peer review took into account a number of areas including organisational culture and staff behaviour, protecting vulnerable groups and community engagement.

During a two-day visit to CFRS in February, the review panel carried out interviews with staff, elected Members and partner organisations.

Their findings were positive for CFRS: “Equality and diversity is embedded in the core values of the fire and rescue service (FRS) and there is a clear ambition for these values to drive the organisational culture and staff behaviour.

“Effective analysis of risk enables the service to identify vulnerable groups and tailor services to meet their specific needs…CFRS has a thorough understanding of who are the most at risk groups and their geographic location, using a mix of national and local data as well as local knowledge.

“These interventions not only make vulnerable groups safer in their homes, but have wider benefits.”

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service is now one of 16 fire and rescue services in the UK to be at the ‘achieving’ level. Four are ranked as ‘excellent’ – a level Cornwall is aiming for next.

Paul Walker, Deputy Chief Fire Officer of CFRS, said: “Every member of staff should feel proud. Our first review against the equality framework two years ago put us at the ‘developing’ level and since then we have worked hard to embed equality and diversity throughout the whole organisation.

“I am delighted that we have progressed to the ‘achieving’ level and our aim now is to reach ‘excellent’ in our next review in two year’s time.

“Equality and diversity are not ‘nice to haves’ – they are part of our core values, ensuring that our staff feel comfortable and valued, and enable us to identify, work with and protect our vulnerable groups.”

Related item: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=7248