Operational preparedness is at the core of an effective fire and rescue service. The ability to respond swiftly, decisively, and safely to incidents—whether fires, rescues, hazardous material situations, or large-scale emergencies—depends on the continuous development and refinement of our operational capabilities.

To ensure the highest standards of service delivery, we focus on several key areas:

• Operational and Incident Command Training – Equipping firefighters and officers with the knowledge, skills, and decision-making abilities required to manage incidents effectively.
• Station Performance Audits – Assessing the readiness and effectiveness of operational crews, ensuring that best practices are followed, and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Incident Monitoring – Evaluating operational incidents to measure performance, adherence to procedures, and areas for development. This allows for real-time feedback and learning opportunities to enhance our overall response effectiveness.
• Service and Multi-Agency Exercises – Collaborating with emergency service partners to test joint response capabilities, improve coordination, and strengthen interoperability in complex, high-risk scenarios.
• Equipment and Technology – Investing in modern firefighting equipment, such as drone technology, and advanced communication networks enhance situational awareness and improve response efficiency. Regular testing, maintenance, and training ensure that crews can confidently operate this equipment when it matters most.

Our Achievements

• We have created the new Maintenance of Competence Programme (MOCP) to enable the continual skills training of all operational staff.
• We have successfully recruited and trained new On-call and Wholetime Firefghters. We have reviewed and created a new Wholetime course that is aligned with National Occupational Standards (NOS).
• We have created a new incident command re-validation course to ensure our commanders meet the skills for justice (SFJ) qualification.
• The improved technology within our Incident Command suite ensures that we create the most realistic environment for our simulated command scenarios.
• New development programmes have been designed and delivered for all station- based and control staff.
• We have developed and delivered bespoke training to all operational staff on the new MSA Breathing Apparatus sets and associated equipment.
• Implementation of new policies and procedures to align the organisation to the outcomes of the Grenfell tower inquiry improving firefighter and community safety

Areas of Focus

Over the period of this CRMP we will focus on:

• Widening our performance monitoring and audit to Operational Training and Fire Control to ensure the highest standard of performance.
• Ensuring we meet the requirements of our training needs analysis for the service. We will provide the courses for all staff to maintain competence within their roles
•  Improving our digital learning experience, to ensure all staff have access to learning resources compliant with national standards. We will look to collaborate as a region to share resources.
• Supporting the development of a new training recording system to enable closer management of training data and compliance.
• Creating a new training and development framework and training course prospectus