Warwickshire leads the way by using furloughed firefighters

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service has been praised by a government inspector for its work during the coronavirus pandemic.

And it has been revealed they led the way in determining whether furloughed workers could continue their work as part-time firefighters.

Findings from the inspection, which took place during September and October, were presented to this week's resources and fire and rescue overview and scrutiny meeting of Warwickshire County Council.

Assistant chief fire officer Ben Brook explained: "There was no grading so we can't compare ourselves with other fire and rescue services but it is clear throughout the inspection report that we were recognised for our excellent service to the communities of Warwickshire during Covid-19.

"We provided services that were over and above the national agreement. An example was the expansion of our hospital to home initiative which freed up hospital beds. Her Majesty's Inspectorate were impressed with how WFRS maintained its statutory functions and supported the community during the pandemic.

"We should be rightly proud but we recognise that we were part of the response in partnership with the wider Warwickshire County Council teams, Warwickshire Police, Public Health England and the NHS."

Mr Brook added that four areas of future focus were flagged up and the service was already working on these including how it can adopt the new and innovative ways of working introduced during the pandemic to secure lasting improvements.

The report also explained where the county had led the way. It said: "WFRS identified a potential issue of whether on-call firefighters would qualify for furloughed payments for their primary employment given their on-call contract and related payments.

"The service raised the issue promptly with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) which worked with the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to clarify the position that on-call firefighters were able to still do their role. This advice helped other fire and rescue services."

Members of the committee noted the report and congratulated fire chiefs for their work during the pandemic.