Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) has been highly commended for its response to major and multi-agency incidents.

The recognition comes from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) who conducted a detailed inspection of the Service in the Autumn of 2025 and judged it as ‘Outstanding’ at responding to major and multi-agency incidents’.

The inspection report found that the service conducts comprehensive risk assessments to anticipate, prepare for and respond to a wide range of emergency scenarios, which was identified as ‘promising practice’ by inspectors. Foreseeable risks are anticipated, and planning and training for major and multi-agency incidents is effective as is collaboration with other Fire and Emergency services.

In addition to the ‘outstanding’ judgement, MFRS gained a further eight ‘good’ judgements across the ten sub-themes – with no areas ‘requiring improvement’.

This is the fourth time HMICFRS has inspected MFRS; the first taking place in December 2018. The results of this latest inspection have maintained the high standards set by the Service in the preceding years, with the Service innovating to make it quicker to respond, more effective and more resilient.

For this fourth inspection, inspectors spent several weeks exploring areas covering operational and support functions and interviewing staff.

Changes to the HMICFRS methods of assessment for all Fire and Rescue Services have resulted in the 11 areas previously assessed and graded being reduced to ten for this round of inspections. This means that it is not always possible to directly compare results from previous inspections with this one.  

In her report, lead HMI Inspector Michelle Skeer OBE QPM congratulated the Service on its strong performance in keeping people safe from fire and other risks. She added that the service continues to provide a high standard of prevention, protection, and response activities. Inspectors were also pleased to find that the service had made positive progress since the May 2023 inspection in terms of culture and workforce planning processes supporting better staff engagement and operational resilience.

Leadership in the service is strong, with senior leaders working well with staff at all levels, communicating strategic aims effectively and acting as positive role models, promoting an inclusive, respectful, and supportive culture. The service is improving processes to identify and develop staff with high potential and there is a commitment to leadership development and continuous learning contributing to a positive working environment. Inspectors found that recruitment, promotion, and progression processes are fair and transparent and there is a foundation of trust and belonging in the service.

Inspectors highlighted the strength of the Service’s emergency response and strong protection work for businesses and high-risk premises and identified numerous areas of positive practice across the service, including innovation in the use of A.I. in providing realistic training for Fire Control call handlers, ensuring they have the right skills.

The service has made positive progress across all areas identified in the previous inspection in 2023 as ‘areas for improvement’, demonstrating a commitment to constant improvement and progression from an already very high standard.  

The findings showed that the service’s prevention teams work well both together and with other organisations on initiatives such as arson reduction, violence reduction and water and road safety, with a risk-based approach prioritising its prevention activity towards people most at risk from fire and other emergencies. In terms of protecting the public through fire regulation, the strategy is clearly aligned with identified risks and well communicated to staff, with a risk-based programme focusing on the highest risk premises to reduce hazards, and enough resources to conduct high standard audits and enforcement effectively. The Service has responded well to new fire safety legislation and engages effectively with businesses.

Inspectors found that locally set response standards are consistently met, with strong performance monitoring and high fire engine availability ensuring resources are ready to respond to emergencies. The Service’s own response standards of attendance to life risk incidents within 10 minutes on 90% of occasions is clearly achieved - in 2024/25 this figure was 96.1%. Accurate and accessible risk information ensures safe and effective incident response, with incident commanders well trained and frequently assessed in managing a wide range of emergencies. The Service was commended for its effective command arrangements, with Fire Control staff integrated into command, training, exercise, debrief and assurance activity.

Resources are managed effectively and in line with identified risks to provide an efficient and affordable service with improved workforce planning and flexible duty systems in place. The service has a good understanding of future financial challenges with robust and realistic planning assumptions and manages performance to improve productivity and achieve strategic priorities. It consistently achieves planned savings and monitors the value for money of initiatives.   

Chief Fire Officer Nick Searle expressed his pride that the Service, and all of those working within in it to keep people in Merseyside and beyond safe, have been recognised for their commitment and professionalism by the inspectors:

“We welcome the findings of the HMICFRS inspection and will use those findings to help inform our actions moving forward to continue to improve and keep communities across Merseyside safe.

“My thanks go out to our dedicated operational and support staff who supported the inspection through providing information and interviews. The results of that process will now contribute to building on our already strong position to ensure the continuing safety of the people of Merseyside.

”I am immensely proud to be part of such an incredible group of people who are committed to protecting everyone in Merseyside from harm and being a positive force in our community at the best and worst of times. The people of Merseyside can rest assured that we will always be there for them.”

The full inspection report and those of the other fire and rescue services inspected so far are available on the HMICFRS website:  Publications - His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk)

For free fire safety advice or to request a home fire safety check, call 0800 731 5958.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service also provides free smoke alarms for Merseyside residents aged 65 or over or those referred by partner agencies.