A logo with a red and blue designGallery - NW Fire Control

 

 


                       

 

North West Fire Control Quarter 4 2025-2026
Core Code Of Ethics - NFCC,Table of Contents
Photograph of a red and yellow fire truck parked in front of a modern fire control centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Several badges of different types Description automatically generated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Highlights……………………………………………………………………….. 3 Number of Emergency Calls……………………………………………….4 Number of Incoming Administrative Calls……………………………. 5 Number of Outgoing Administrative Calls…………………………… 6 Number of Incoming Group Request to Speak……………………….7 Average Time to Answer Emergency Calls……………………………. 8 Call Challenge………………………………………………………………… 9 Percentage of Shifts Covered……………………………………………..10 Skill Levels - CROs…………………………………………………………… 11 Skill Levels - Supervisors………………………………………………….. 12 Absence…………………………………………………………………………. 13 Mobilising Investigations…………………………………………………… 14 Exercises and Debriefs …………………………………………………….. 15

 

 

 

 

 

Highlights 

 

 

 

Variance from Previous Quarter

Variance compared to same quarter previous year

Target

Emergency Calls

 

N/A

Incoming Administrative Calls

 

 

 

N/A

Outgoing Administrative Calls

 

 

 

N/A

Call Answer Time in 10 seconds

 

95% in 10 seconds

Average Call Answer Time

 

5 seconds

Call Challenge – Mobilisation not Required

 

=

No Target

Percentage of Shifts Covered

 

80%

Skill Level – Control Room Operators (CROs)

 

No Target

Skill Level – Supervisors

 

No Target

Absence

 

Less than 8.5 Shifts

Mobilising Investigations – NWFC Root Cause

 

=

0

 

 

Number of Emergency Calls
Due to issues encountered during the LifeX 3.9 upgrade, telephony report data was not successfully transferred from the legacy server to the new environment. As a result, the December 2025 Emergency Call figure has been estimated using incident totals alongside the average call percentage recorded in previous months. Ongoing server-related issues continued throughout Quarter 4, therefore, a combination of Divos and LifeX reporting data has been utilised to reduce the impact of the missing data. In Quarter 4, average mobilisation times for fire incidents was 85 seconds. This represents a 3 second increase compared with the same quarter last year, but performance remains within 5 seconds of the 90 second KPI. Across all incident types, the average mobilisation times in Quarter 4 was 99 seconds. This is consistent with Quarter 3 performance, although it is 5 seconds slower than the same quarter in the previous year.
 

 

 

Analysis of the available LifeX data indicates that the average call duration in Quarter 4 is 125 seconds, representing a decrease of 2 seconds compared to Quarter 3, yet an increase of 7 seconds relative to the same quarter in 2024–2025.

 

Number of Incoming Administrative Calls 


During the Life X 3.9 upgrade, an issue occurred during the migration of telephony report data from the legacy server to the new server environment, resulting in no reporting data being available for December 2025. Following the upgrade, a separate configuration issue within the new system affected the availability of telephony reporting data between 27 January 2026 and 27 February 2026. As a result, these periods contain gaps and anomalies within the overall reporting dataset.
 

Using the data available, the average call duration for Quarter 4 2025–2026 was 71.3 seconds, representing a decrease of 3 seconds compared with Quarter 3 2025–2026 and a 4-second reduction compared with the corresponding quarter in 2024–2025.

Number of Outgoing Administrative Calls 


During the Life X 3.9 upgrade, an issue occurred during the migration of telephony report data from the legacy server to the new server environment, resulting in no reporting data being available for December 2025. Following the upgrade, a separate configuration issue within the new system affected the availability of telephony reporting data between 27 January 2026 and 27 February 2026. As a result, these periods contain gaps and anomalies within the overall reporting dataset.

 

 

 

Analysis of Quarter 4 performance indicates that incoming GRTS averaged 69 seconds, representing a 3 second reduction compared with the previous quarter. NWFC will continue to monitor performance trends and associated data. Group Request to Speak are incoming radio message transmissions from FRS appliances to Fire Control. Supporting crews at incidents is one of NWFC’s core functions. During the Life X 3.9 upgrade, an issue occurred during the migration of telephony report data from the legacy server to the new server environment, resulting in no reporting data being available for December 2025. Following the upgrade, a separate configuration issue within the new system affected the availability of telephony reporting data between 27 January 2026 and 27 February 2026. As a result, these periods contain gaps and anomalies within the overall reporting dataset. Number of Incoming Group Request to Speak

Based on the available call data, average call answer times have shown a strong and consistent improvement trajectory. In Quarter 4 2025–2026, the average dropped to 5.2 seconds, down from 6.8 seconds in Quarter 3 2025–2026, reflecting a notable quarter on quarter efficiency gain. This builds on an already significant year on year improvement from 8.0 seconds in Quarter 4 2024–2025, showing sustained improvements in responsiveness and the continued effectiveness of operational improvements in reducing customer call waiting times.Average time to Answer Emergency Calls

Call Challenge – Calls Not Requiring a Mobilisation - FRS Scripts 


Based on Recent Cost per Pump in NFCC guidelines on FRS charging for mutual assistance. A 30 Minute deployment for one pump cost £55.41. Quarter 4 had 3978 non-mobilisations, which equates to £220,421 in cost if one pump had been mobilised to these incidents. Call Challenges are used by NWFC to ask set questions set by FRSs and decide if an immediate response is required. Around 98% involve Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) or Gaining Entry for NWAS. Based on the average number of minutes spent travelling to AFAs and Gaining Entry, attending incidents and travelling back to station, data taken over an 8-day period highlighted this time equates to a 30-minute period. Number of Calls Not Mobilised to Per Quarter

Further data analysed from January to March 2026, indicates a total of 11,042 incidents (42%) are not mobilised to (including above mandatory FRS required scripted calls). This does not include repeat calls. Utilising the same cost model above, 11,042 incidents equate to £611,837 for Quarter 4. Call handling times for non-mobilisations are often more protracted. It is acknowledged these do not create physical savings for partners, however without the call challenge, activities such as training, exercising, community events and inspections would be impacted or need to be resourced by other means. Number of Non-Mobilisations through All Call Challenges by NWFC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage of Shifts Covered 


NWFC aims to ensure that all shifts have adequate staff on duty. Unlike staffing deficiencies at fire stations, NWFC is not able detach Control Room Operators from other stations/services when staffing falls below minimum numbers due to absence. The capacity review has highlighted three different levels of staffing numbers. • Critical • Essential • Optimum At no time did staffing fall below critical or essential levels. Staffing is always supported by the availability of the Duty OM and during day shifts by members of Ops Support department. Sickness has impacted the staffing numbers, but it has also been affected by vacancies within the rota. The FRSs have provided additional investment into the control room in the form of a CRO pay restructure to improve retention.  

 

Skill Levels of Control Room Operators 


Control Room Operator (CRO) proficiency levels remain strong, with 81% of CROs currently assessed as ‘Proficient’ or above across the control room. This reflects a solid baseline of operational competence and capability within the teams. While this figure is expected to temporarily reduce in the next quarter due to the introduction of four new recruits commencing in May 2026, this is a positive indicator of ongoing workforce expansion and investment in future capacity. The organisation continues to actively monitor experience levels within the control room to ensure safe and effective operations are maintained. The restructuring of CRO pay during 2024-2025, as part of a broader strategy to enhance retention and strengthen long-term workforce stability, is demonstrating clear positive impact. Recruitment continues to be a key priority, with further CRO hiring initiatives actively progressed under the oversight of the Workforce Planning and Development Committee to support sustained operational resilience.


 

Skill Levels of Supervisors 

 


The competency levels of supervisors remain consistently high and continue to sit above the upper control limit. A reduction in competency levels is anticipated during the early part of 2026–2027 as a result of supporting secondment opportunities across other departments. NWFC will continue to closely monitor this through its succession planning arrangements, with expressions of interest currently in place to support progression pathways from Control Room Operator to Team Leader, and from Team Leader to Operations Manager.

 

 

Absence: Number of Shift Lost per Person

Quarter 4 absence figures show a quarterly average of 3.59 shifts absent per operator. Consistent with trends seen throughout the year, mental health remains one of the leading causes of absence, accounting for 39% of all absences recorded in the 2025-2026. This highlights the ongoing importance of targeted wellbeing initiatives, early intervention, and supportive management practices to help improve attendance and support workforce resilience. National Fire Control sickness data for Quarter 4 2025–2026 is not currently available.

 

 

 

 

 

FRS

System Working as Designed

System Not Working as Designed

No Fault

NWFC ways of Working

FRS Ways of Working

Pending Further Investigation

Grand Total

% NWFC cause per total calls

BC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-

BE

0

0

2

1

0

0

3

-

BG

0

1

4

2

0

1

8

-

BL

0

1

4

1

0

0

6

-

OTB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-

Grand Total

0

2

10

4

0

1

17

0.01%

FRS

Number of Investigations raised

BC

0

BE

3

BG

8

BL

6

OTB

0

Grand Total

17

Quarter 4 – Mobilising Enquiries

Mobilising Enquiries Raised by Fire & Rescue Service
NWFC received approximately 28,500 emergency calls during Quarter 4, resulting in 17 enquiries made regarding mobilisations. 4 of these enquiries determined that NWFC attributed to the cause, equating to 1 enquiry per 7125 emergency calls at a percentage of 0.01%.
During Quarter 4, a total of 17 enquiries were made, each resulting in an investigation. The results of the investigation have been categorised as: ¯ System working as designed: The enquire made by the FRS has been investigated and the mobilising system has worked as designed. ¯ System not working as designed: The system has not acted in a way in which NWFC or the FRS would expect. These investigations are raised with system engineers. ¯ No Fault: The FRS has made a general enquiry about a procedure. ¯ NWFC ways of Working: When an investigation determines that NWFC’s ways of working are the root cause. ¯ FRS ways of working: When an investigation determines that the FRS’s ways of working are the root cause. Conclusion of Investigations

Exercises
Formal Debriefs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


During Quarter 4 2025–2026, NWFC completed 6 debriefs, including 2 commercial building fires, 1 COMAH site incident, 1 aircraft incident and 2 exercises involving an aircraft scenario and a severe weather tabletop exercise.During Quarter 4 2025–2026, NWFC conducted a total of 30 exercises, of which 24 were facilitated and 6 were participation based, including fallback exercises, a Manchester Airport multi-agency exercise and interoperability exercises.