Long-serving Northumberland firefighters were 'hugging and crying' after positive inspection report, councillor says

In November, NFRS was rated as ‘good’ or ‘adequate’ in all categories by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. The inspector noted this was a “significant improvement” on the last inspection in 2021.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of Northumberland County Council’s cabinet, Cllr Gordon Stewart explained how much the report had meant to the county’s firefighters.

The Prudhoe South councillor is the council’s cabinet member for communities, with responsibility for the fire service.

He said: “I will tell you that the seasoned firefighters I was with were hugging and crying because they were so proud of the report. That is the feeling there.

"The inspection is taken very seriously. They went to every station and talk to as many members of staff as possible.

“I was made aware of a firefighter who had a long-term illness and who has since sadly died.

"She was so ingrained in the fire service, wanted daily updates, so the fire chief and his deputy were visiting her on a daily basis.

“That is the feeling in our fire service. It was a fantastic report and we should all be very proud of it.”

A report presented to the council said that Northumberland had demonstrated the “most significant improvement by far” of the nine fire services inspected so far in the third round of inspections.

Surveys carried out by the inspectorate found that 94% of staff felt they were “treated with respect by the people they work with.”