Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has been ordered to carry out urgent fire prevention activities by its watchdog – with fire safety checks in at-risk homes at the top of its list.

HMICFRS (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services) published an 'accelerated cause for concern' report against the fire service yesterday (Thursday, October 24).

Such reports are only issued when a serious, critical shortcoming is identified during an inspection. As the concern is so serious, the inspectorate has decided to report it now, rather than wait until the full inspection report is published.

Inspector Lee Freeman, of the HMICFRS, said: "We have serious concerns about an aspect of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service's performance, which is putting public safety at risk.

"We have issued an accelerated cause of concern on prevention activity as it is particularly concerning that this isn't a sufficiently high priority for the service.

"The service must create a robust system to define levels of risk and prioritise home fire safety checks to those most at risk in a timely manner. We have made five recommendations for the service to address this accelerated cause of concern, and we will closely monitor their progress."

HMICFRS has recommended that Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service should make sure:

• it develops and implements a prevention strategy that prioritises people most at risk of fire and that any work it carries out to reduce risk is proportionate;
• it creates a robust system to effectively and consistently define the levels of risk in the community;
• it creates and maintains clear timeframes relative to risk;
• it provides training to staff and raises their awareness so they fully understand their role in prevention; and
• its prevention department has enough resources to carry out all its prevention activity and it reviews whether wholetime and on-call firefighters can offer more capacity to prevention.

Hertfordshire's Chief Fire Officer Alex Woodman has issued a statement following the publication of the letter. He said: "We take the concerns raised by the Inspectorate very seriously and the issues raised will be resolved thoroughly, quickly and transparently.

"More than 1.2 million people living, working, and visiting Hertfordshire rely on us to keep them safe, and to save lives. It is an extremely important role, and we know that fire prevention is a key part of protecting our communities from harm.

"Last year Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service received nearly 26,000 calls for help, and our crews responded to over 11,000 emergencies and incidents. Additionally, crews and colleagues visited thousands of homes to offer advice and support to those who may be more vulnerable to fire in their homes as part of our Home Fire Safety Visits.

"I'm proud of our service and the dedication of those who work here – we have already been taking big steps to reduce risks and prevent incidents in Hertfordshire. I recognise we need to better and we will work closely with HMCIFRS to ensure the recommendations are actioned and we'll share updates on progress with the public on our website."