Agenda item

The Chair welcomed Kellie Matthews, Senior Operations Manager, North West Fire Control (NWFC) thanked the Members that visited NWFC in October. The Members were given valuable information, had a demonstration of operations at the centre, and staff appreciated them taking time to visit.

 

Members were provided with a presentation detailing the performance of NWFC during quarter 2 (July – September 2025). Members noted that the full report to accompany the presentation would be circulated outside of the meeting.

 

Calls for LFRS equated to 25% of the total calls for all 4 services (LFRS, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service).

 

Q2 Performance Report Highlights

·         Average mobilisation time to fire related incidents 85 seconds

·         Significant improvement in emergency call answer time (2.2 seconds)

·         Absence at lowest level in 3 years

·         Increase in Control Room competency levels

·         Workforce investment improving retention with zero leavers reported in Q2

·         Increase year on year in participating and facilitating exercises

 

 

Number of Emergency Calls

 

NWFC received 34,471 emergency calls in quarter 2 compared to 32,373 for the same quarter of 2024/25 which represented a year-on-year increase. There had been an increase to the average call duration to 132 seconds with an average mobilisation time to fire related incidents of 85 seconds. There had also been a decrease in emergency call volumes from Q1 to Q2 2025.

 

 

Incoming Admin Calls

 

NWFC had received a decrease in the number of incoming admin calls compared to Q1. Continuous monitoring had taken place throughout 2025/2026 to monitor the greater time commitment on dealing with incoming admin calls and the impact on Control Room Operator Availability.

 

Admin calls included crews and officers contacting NWFC for either guidance, or to offer advice such as notification of missing equipment, defective resources, liaising with NWFC regarding exercises or resources availability.

 

 

Outgoing Admin Calls

 

There had been a decrease in calls from Q1 to Q2 reflective of the decrease in emergency calls but there had been an increase in the volume of calls year on year. There would be a spike in the number of calls as the number of incidents spiked. The call duration remained consistent.

 

 

Incoming Requests to Speak

 

Incoming requests to speak were when crews had been mobilised to an incident and were communicating with Control Room Operators to share information regarding an incident or to request additional resources. NWFC had received 38,281 transmissions with an average duration for each Request to Speak of 69 seconds. This was equivalent to 733 Control Room Officer hours workload in Q2 and 1/3 of the Control Room, Work activity for Q2. Fire and Rescue Services confirmed that there had been an increase in information passed via radio which had been reflective of operational requirements. NWFC would continue to monitor this. These figures did not include outgoing requests to speak.

 

 

Average Time to Answer Emergency Calls

 

The average time to answer emergency calls was 6.7 seconds which was the best performance since Q1 2024/25, despite a year-on-year increase in emergency calls. The current target was 5 seconds which NWFC was aiming to achieve. Within the last year, a number of new staff members had been recruited and were in training to gain competency levels which would improve call answer times.

 

 

Call Challenge Non-Mobilisation

 

These were any calls where Control Room Operators (CRO) asked additional questions provided by Fire and Rescue Services in order to determine if a response was required.

 

In quarter 2, 48% of incidents (11799) resulted in no mobilisation following ECM call challenge which avoided unnecessary appliance deployment and helped protect frontline availability for other emergencies. It also allowed increased capacity for operational fire crews to complete additional work. Examples of these incident types were Automatic Fire Alarms (AFA), animal rescues, and the North West Ambulance (NWAS) gaining entry. AFA and NWAS Gaining Entry related to 98% of the incidents. There was no direct financial saving, however, the operational value was equivalent to £653k+. Where needed, calls could be signposted to other, relevant agencies.

 

 

Shifts Covered

 

No shifts had fallen below critical or essential staffing thresholds during the quarter. This was consistent with previous year on year figures that highlighted trends over summer periods where annual leave blocked overlap and less staff availability for resilience. In terms of competency, 70% of CROs were rated “proficient level”. Performance Management with mentoring staff was currently underway as a priority to support development through competency stages.

 

 

Skill Level of Supervisors

 

The competency levels of supervisors remained high and stable. There was a decrease which was apportioned to the appointment of the Head of Operations and secondments of two development opportunities from Control to Operations Managers in the Organisational Improvement Team. Succession planning discussions were in place throughout the appraisal process to support staffing projections to maintain skills sets.

 

 

Absence

 

Staff absences were at the lowest year on year average over the last 3 years at 2.67 shifts lost per person which was an improvement from Q2 of the previous year. Mental health remained at 42% of the overall absence. Business Support identified the increase and were looking into it with continued staff wellbeing support being a high priority. Support in place for staff included Health Assured, Occupational Health, online support, counselling support, TRiM, and the support of the Fire and Rescue Services. A Wellbeing Team had recently been established who supported teams in Great Manchester following the recent Synagogue incident and another incident where firefighters were injured.

 

 

Mobilising Enquiries

 

There were only 3 NWFC attributed causes on Q1. There were 22 enquiries which was an average of 1 incident per 11,490 calls which was 0.01% and high reliability. Continuous learning was embedded through investigations and debriefs. All training was aligned to national operational guidance.

 

 

Exercises and Debriefs

 

There was an increase in participation and facilitated exercise from previous Q1. There had been an increase in participation and facilitated exercises year on year and there was continued support with debriefs. There had been simulated incidents and high-rise evacuations exercises which would be managed as if they were live incidents utilising crews and resources. Those exercises were really beneficial to support learning and the gaining of experience of operators. It also helped to develop ways of working which were fed back to Governance groups at NWFC and the FRSs.

 

In response to a question from the Chair regarding the length of time NWFC had worked with LFRS and the annual cost to LFRS of providing the service, K Matthews confirmed that LFRS had worked with NWFC for 12 years and she would find out the cost to LFRS and circulate the response. The cost was apportioned to each FRS based on operational activity. The DCFO advised that LFRS made up approx. 25%, Manchester approx. 50%, Cheshire approx. 15%, and Cumbria approx. 10%.

 

The Chair asked if the information in the presentation could be broken down from the North West to Lancashire. K Matthews replied that there would be difficulties with the call volumes as the majority were from mobile phones or agencies outside of the region and the data was based on incoming calls, however, incident data could be provided. She was happy to take forward any suggestions and provide an appendix to the report. Additionally, for future meetings, information could be provided which linked into items on the agenda. NWFC also informed LFRS of any valuable information from the other FRSs that could have an impact or affect resources.

 

The DCFO clarified that the background to NWFC came from the termination of an expensive government-led regional control project. An incentive was offered to Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) in the region to collaborate. The government was subsidising the NWFC building in Warrington until 2032. Each of the four FRSs had achieved efficiencies through collaboration, which was acknowledged by HMICFRS as a model of good practice.

 

K Matthews highlighted that NWFC recently hosted HMICFRS as part of Cheshire’s inspection and were scheduled for Manchester in September. The Inspectors had commended how the operators worked and how efficiently they adapted to the demands of incidents which was unique to the North West. NWFC was pleased with the positive feedback.

 

The Chair thanked K Matthews for her informative presentation.

 

Resolved:-  That the content of the presentation be noted.