Concerns have been expressed about the professionalism in fire and rescue services across the UK after a report on their ‘values and culture’ revealed homophobic abuse and racist language, among other things, being used in many of the brigades. Over 50% of the cases of gross misconduct from the previous year were related to discrimination around things like sexual orientation, gender, race, or religion. Following this discovery, local services have been quick to publicly announce their commitment to improving.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) says they are continuing to improve their own policies following the damning national report. Chief fire officer, Chris Kirby said: “we will be reviewing this new report in detail and looking to implement improvements to our own service where appropriate.” He criticised the conduct detailed within the report, saying: “there is absolutely no place for the negative behaviour and attitudes described in the report in any modern workplace.”
This is the third time in six months he has responded to a report like this, as he also issued a public reply to the discoveries made in London Fire Brigade’s independent culture review in November of last year.
He provided a response to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service’s (HMICFRS) January assessment as SYFR received a mostly positive review, earning ‘Good’ ratings on seven out of 11 categories. The assessment specifically commended the service’s commitment to its employees, saying:
“We did see some good examples of effective monitoring of hours. South Yorkshire FRS has a system that prevents dual contract staff from booking themselves on duty unless they have a sufficient rest period in between shifts.”
‘Cause for concern’
The most recent report, which involved inspections of all 44 fire services across England, was published following ‘professional culture’ being flagged as a cause for concern in the January assessment.
Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s chief inspector of fire & rescue services, said he was disappointed and frustrated as only a third of the inspectorate’s national recommendations had been completed, and only 12 of the services had improved since previous inspections.
The report was particularly concerned with bullying and discrimination, lack of fairness and diversity, and the reporting and handling of concerns. There were allegations of bullying in every inspected service with examples of racist, homophobic and misogynistic behaviour – often excused as ‘banter’ – throughout a quarter of fire and rescue services in England.
Tip of the iceberg
HMICFRS issued 35 different recommendations for services to implement, and both the London Fire Brigade and Gloucester Fire and Rescue are under ‘enhanced monitoring’.
Inspector of fire & rescue services, Roy Wilsher said:
“Our findings shine a light on deeply troubling bullying and harassment in fire and rescue services across the country – and I fear this could be just the tip of the iceberg.
“Trust and respect is too often replaced with derogatory, bullying behaviour.”
His claims are backed up by the report’s findings, as one account mentioned a senior officer using a racial slur to refer to a black colleague and saying he was just “having a laugh” when confronted about the language.
There were also incidents of sexism, including a conversation discussing how women are only recruited because of their gender, not their merit, and two male firefighters joking with a female firefighter about raping her. Other staff also reported being humiliated during training sessions if they made mistakes, and being belittled and shouted at by senior members if they challenged decisions.
Worryingly, the report says misconduct was not only being directed at members of staff, but also the public, with male firefighters reportedly searching through women’s drawers “looking for underwear and sex toys”.
One female firefighter claimed: “It’s now reached a point with me that I tell my female friends not to let male firefighters in the house. I would advise any single woman not to let them in to check smoke alarms”.
Wilsher said: “we have little assurance that all FRS staff, many of whom are working directly with some of society’s most vulnerable people, are safe and suitable to carry out these roles.”
Ineffective whistleblowing process
He mentioned the ineffective whistleblowing process, saying: “Some staff told us that they didn’t trust the processes for raising concerns and described a culture where they have been, or fear they will be, targeted because of reporting.”
One firefighter mentioned feeling like senior managers were against lower-ranking employees and felt that the service may not reach an appropriate outcome for complaints.
Another firefighter was threatened after his report regarding a senior officer’s racism was dismissed, he was told it was “‘career suicide’ to challenge the status quo”. Reports also showed issues in conduct of higher-ranking members of the service, as some managers failed to challenge inappropriate behaviours after directly witnessing them. Additionally, a senior officer at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service escaped sanction after allegations of sexual harassment and gross misconduct were upheld against him, as he was allowed to retire rather than being dismissed as stated in their disciplinary procedure.
Vast room for improvement
The report’s recommendations mainly focus on diversity, leadership, handling of complaints, and background checks, as there is currently no vetting requirement for the fire service.
Some brigades have been praised for their positive practice, with one designating a ‘speak up champion’ to put employee’s concerns forward to senior staff.
Another has established specific talks where sensitive issues can be safely discussed.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has not said exactly what measures it will be taking to improve, but they assure that the report’s findings will be used to better their culture and their services.
The full report from HMICFRS can be viewed here.
