Agenda item

K Matthews, Head of Operations at North West Fire Control, was welcomed to the meeting by the Chair and provided Members with a summary of North West Fire Control’s performance during Quarter 4 of 2025-26.

Number of Emergency Calls

In Quarter 4, the average mobilisation times to fire related incidents was 85 seconds. This represented a 3 second increase compared with the same quarter last year, but performance remained within 5 seconds of the 90 second KPI.There was a decrease from Quarter 3 in average call duration from to 125 seconds. 

Incoming Administrative Calls

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.

Outgoing Administrative Calls

Due to a loss in telephony reporting data between January to February 2026, the period contained gaps and anomalies within the data set.

Incoming Group Request to Speak (GRTS)

Group Request to Speak were incoming radio message transmissions from Fire and rescue service (FRS) appliances to Fire Control. Supporting crews at incidents was noted as one of NWFC’s core functions. Analysis of Quarter 4 performance indicated that incoming GRTS averaged 69 seconds which represented a 3 second reduction compared with the previous quarter. NWFC continued to monitor performance trends and associated data.

Average Time to Answer Emergency Calls

Based on the available call data, average call answer times showed a strong and consistent improvement trajectory. In Quarter 4, the average dropped to 5.2 seconds, down from 6.8 seconds in Quarter 3. This built on significant year on year improvement from 8.0 seconds in Quarter 4 for the previous year and showed sustained improvements in responsiveness and the continued effectiveness of operational improvements in reducing customer call waiting times.

Calls Not Requiring a Mobilisation

Call Challenges were used by NWFC to ask set questions to decide if an immediate response was required. 98% involved 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 equated to a 30-minute period. Quarter 4 had 3978 non-mobilisations, which equates to £220,421 in cost if one pump had been mobilised to these incidents.

Further data analysed from January to March 2026, indicated a total of 11,042 incidents (42%) were not mobilised to (including above mandatory FRS required scripted calls). This did not include repeat calls. If the same cost model as above was utilised, 11,042 incidents equated to £611,837 for Quarter 4. Call handling times for non-mobilisations were noted as often being more protracted. It was acknowledged these did not create physical savings for partners, however without the call challenge, activities such as training, exercising, community events and inspections would be impacted or would need to be resourced by other means.

Percentage of Shifts Covered

The figure for Quarter 4 was noted as being 79%. It was reported that no shift fell below critical or essential staffing thresholds or was without relevant supervision. Sickness had impacted staffing numbers, as had vacancies within the rota.

Skill Levels of Control Room Operators (CROs)

Proficiency levels remained strong, with 81% of staff assessed as ‘Proficient or above’ across the control room. This reflected a solid baseline of operational competence and capability within the teams. While this figure was expected to temporarily reduce in the next quarter due to the introduction of four new recruits in May 2026, this was a positive indicator of ongoing workforce expansion and investment in future capacity. The organisation continued to actively monitor experience levels within the control room to ensure safe and effective operations were maintained.  The restructure of CRO pay during 2024-2025, as part of a broader strategy to enhance retention and strengthen long-term workforce stability, had demonstrated a clear and positive impact. Recruitment continued 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 Level of Supervisors

Competency remained high and stable. Temporary secondments had resulted in opportunities for other staff to act up in roles and succession planning was in place.

Absence – number of shifts lost per person

The number of shifts lost per person was 3.59. Consistent with trends seen throughout the year, mental health remained one of the leading causes of absence and accounted for 39% of all absences recorded in 2025-2026. This highlighted the ongoing importance of targeted wellbeing initiatives, early intervention, and supportive management practices. National Fire Control sickness data for Quarter 4 2025–2026 was not available.

Mobilising enquiries raised by Fire and Rescue Service

NWFC received approximately 28,500 emergency calls during Quarter 4, which resulted in 17 enquiries made regarding mobilisations. Four of these enquiries determined that NWFC attributed to the cause, equating to 1 enquiry per 7125 emergency calls at a percentage of 0.01%.

Exercises and Formal debriefs

During Quarter 4, NWFC conducted a total of 30 exercises, of which 24 were facilitated and 6 were participation based. There were 6 debriefs held.

Overall Summary

• Performance was stable and improving
• Call handling was significantly improved
• Workforce capability was improving and strong.

Key risks

• System data issues had affected the data for this report – an internal debrief would discuss how this could be mitigated going forwards.

• Absence trends needed to be monitored, return to work meetings held and staff supported to return to the workforce.
• Recruitment – a campaign was planned for September 2026 and January 2027.

County Councillor J Tetlow asked whether there was confidence that the data presented was accurate, given some data had been lost due to a system failure. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) replied that the data loss was for a week in December and a three week period in January and February 2026. In relation to the call data provided, it was a relatively low loss and information had been generated from other sources such as the recording of 999 calls and mobilisation data.

County Councillor G Mirfin asked for details of the nature of the outage that took place. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) explained that it was due to a telephony and radio system upgrade and a resulting configuration issue. A fall back system (landline phones with no recording function) had been utilised but it was not possible to retrieve data from that system.

Councillor B Langford commented on the number of shifts lost due to personal mental health issues and asked whether staff had access to an employee engagement programme for support. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) confirmed this was in place as well as access to other support mechanisms and counselling provision. It was noted that control room staff were exposed to some traumatic calls and incidents and the service was conscious of the importance of providing appropriate wellbeing support for colleagues. 

Councillor B Langford asked whether the various mental health support that staff accessed was felt to be successful. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) responded that the Business Support Team reviewed this and noted that there was success in getting staff back into work, sometimes with modified duties. 

Councillor B Langford enquired about staff recruitment and staff turnover, what were the challenges, were exit interviews routinely held and were there any staffing resources that could be utilised from other services. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) responded that there had been recent improvements in staff recruitment and retention. It was shared that staff from NWAS and the Police had attended for interviews though call handling was noted as being different to that across other services. Salaries were competitive with other services following a review. Exit interviews were held and recent responses indicated that the role did not suit the individuals due to the nature of shift work. The Service was aware that the role was challenging but training, support and development opportunities for those who wished to progress were in place.

Councillor B Langford asked if there were experience days offered for colleagues from other Blue Light services. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) responded that there were exercises such as familiarisation days offered to other agencies, as well as inter agency control room networking opportunities. Collaborative work across the emergency services had increased.

County Councillor J Tetlow asked whether there was a drive to increase numbers of male recruits in the control room and enquired whether a hybrid working pattern was possible or was there a benefit from being based in the control room centre. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) responded that the control room role was not just about the call handling itself but also included incident management which benefitted from being part of a wider team based in the control room. In terms of male recruitment, a broader pool of applicants had emerged but recruitment was based on the experience and skills of individual candidates for the role. 

The Chair asked whether the data provided for the North West region could be broken down into Lancashire data and asked if there was an option to obtain information on the total amount of shifts lost and total number of individuals involved. The Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) indicated that she would look into obtaining the shift data. In terms of the call data however, this could not be separated into Lancashire calls but LFRS would already have access to data regarding the number of incidents.  

The Chair thanked the Head of Operations (North West Fire Control) for the report.

Resolved: - That the Committee noted and endorsed the Quarter 4 performance report for North West Fire Control for 2025-26.