On-call landscape (revised and updated)
The perennial problem
On-call, non-career, and volunteer firefighters are a valuable, finite, precious-yet-predominant, ever diminishing asset. Within an uncertain and unfavourable backdrop for recruitment and retention across the world, Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) need to make the most of this precious resource if they are to abate trends over the last few decades which have seen far fewer new recruits, far higher rates of resignations, and as a result far fewer fire engines, especially on-call fire engines, being available.
The challenges across the On-call landscape are not new. Seeking to sustain the availability of On-call fire engines is so multifaceted that it has represented a seemingly intractable dilemma for the fire and rescue service for decades. Almost 18 years ago the government stated categorically that owing to Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) increasing reliance on On-Call Firefighters (OCFFs) across the country, 'There is immediate pressure on Fire Services because of the shortfall in retained personnel. Swift action must be taken to address the shortfall’ (Report on Fire Service, ODPM, 2005, p.19). Likewise, albeit more recently, Sir Tom Winsor in the latest State of Fire report lamented that the ‘the on-call model needs attention to make sure it is more sustainable and works well’ especially considering ‘The Importance of On-Call Firefighters’ (HMICFRS, 2020).
On-call in numbers - 2022
The graphic above illustrates FRS workforce headcount data from the ONS, allied to the most recent FRS station/appliance data from ONS. It shows that in 2020 of 1393 fire stations nationally, 737 (53%) were on-call stations (RDS) and 230 (17%) were mixed (on-call and WDS) whilst 426 (31%) were Wholetime. Moreover, the number of Wholetime stations have reduced significantly (by 64%) in the preceding 10 years from 664, highlighting a historical trend towards an increased use of on-call stations and OCFFs.
The predominance of, and reliance upon the RDS for fire and rescue provisions across the England becomes even more evident when the Metropolitan FRSs stations/appliance figures are subtracted. In this case, only 187 of 1393 fire stations across England’s 42 FRSs (which provide on-call cover) as part of their provisions are Wholetime only. This is only 13%. This data shows clearly that in most areas across England the public are most likely being served by OCFFs, and perceptions of the Service (a measure used by HMICFRS), its role in society and its value are being created locally by on-call fire stations and their OCFFs.
The question is, why are services struggling to recruit to a role held in such high esteem, and so prized by the public? Why are more people than ever leaving a job which can be so rewarding, meaningful, and conducive to using courage to contribute to local community in such a valuable way? As the National Fire Chiefs Council recognised - and so sought to quantify - the service provided by these public servants represents tremendous Economic & Social Value.
On-call in numbers - 2023/24
OCFF numbers down 27% in the last 10 years.
Down from 11,652 in 2022, there are now only 8,097 OCFFs
Meanwhile, availability has dropped nationally from 81% to 72%.
Firefighters figure down, incident numbers up - Go figure…
Over the past decade, the number of firefighters has decreased by over 20% while the number of incidents and fires attended have increased by 19% and 16%, respectively.
The call-for-more OCFFs
Adrian Thomas’s independent review of the FRS in 2015 which preceded these more recent HMICFRS reports, suggested that it was a spend to save approach which was required to make the model sustainable. In his view, and in his Review he proposed it was long overdue, especially as his review proceeded the seminal Sir Ken Knight review which suggested the FRS could face the future by using more OCFFs and a spend to save approach.
Despite acknowledging barriers to recruitment, a lack of resources from which to recruit, and an abject failure to augment recruitment across the sector, Knight proposed that 'when available, on-call firefighters [...] are the most flexible, cost-effective way for a FRS to respond to incidents; meet the requirement of its Integrated Risk Management Plan and cost circa 10% of the cost of full-time staff and provisions'[1] concluding that ‘All fire and rescue authorities must consider whether ‘on-call’ firefighters could increasingly be used to meet their risk – it is an invaluable cost-effective service’ (ibid, p.7).
The Sir Ken Knight review also considered and calculated in detail 'what would happen if each of the governance models moved to a higher percentage of ‘on-call’ staff – namely that of the upper quartile in each type.’ (This would mean all “County” services would move to 65 per cent RDS 35% WDS split.) The scale of savings was such that nationally ‘fire and rescue authorities increasing the use of on-call staff by just 10 per cent could be up to £123 million per year nationally. Nonetheless, some have since suggested that these savings, calculated by the Sir Ken Knight review, were overstated (West and Murphy, 2016).
Sir Ken Knight also highlighted the reality that across Europe, and increasingly in the UK it is On-call firefighters who cover the majority of the landmass, occupy the majority of the fire stations, and make the most sense from an operational response time, and economic perspective in rural areas. Sir Ken stated that:
‘Many authorities in England might find this hard to imagine. However, international models show that our configuration is not the norm across Europe; many countries have almost entirely volunteer-staffed fire and rescue services, and others that use on-call or part-time staff have higher proportions of them. What this illustration and analysis has to be, therefore, is a challenge to authorities to consider how on-call can work for them.’'
Yet, as straightforward as such suggestions may first appear to make the availability of on-call fire engines more sustainable – such as simply recruiting the requisite OCFFs – the problem has evidently endured for many services, partly as the causes that lay behind this perennial problem are myriad and complex. They extend far beyond mere matters of recruitment and retention, from strategic workforce planning of essential firefighter skills such as emergency response driving and incident command, to pay and contracts, crewing models, and most importantly cultural factors which are complicated by the multiple cultures which exist within each fire and rescue service.
This is why our research and our projects so often cover more than just recruitment and retention. As upcoming articles discuss, data and research both show that the primary reasons - across England at least - why on-call fire engines are unavailable is often not owing to simply to a lack of OCFFs, it is a lack of those with the highly valuable skills of Emergency Response Drivers, and Incident Command capabilities which stop fire engines from going out the doors. This is why optimal use of skills planning - invariably using SaaS - is a crucial component of cultivating improvements in On-call availability.
RECRUITING AND RETAINING “RETAINERS” AGAINST THE TIDE
These multifaceted factors also reflect fluctuating socioeconomic trends such as changes to employment, to pay, and to places of work, borne in part from financial crisis; they reflect societal changes including ‘increased individualism’ which adversely affects opportunities for recruitment, and social upheavals precipitated by unprecedented pandemics, which adversely affect retention. The perennial problem also reflects political factors, such as variable levels and sources of funding, profound changes to political structures borne from Brexit, including a further reduction in those with LGV licenses, and changes to emergency services governance, nationally, and locally.
Changes internationally and nationally in society, particularly in the western world in the last few decades, including increased working hours, and increased number of ways to spend “free” time suggests that in addition to longstanding barriers to entry into the FRS, each Service now increasingly faces competition for its prospective OCFF recruits. Volunteering in particular is evolving even more since the advent of COVID-19 and the Great Realization it precipitated (if you do nothing else after reading this, why not check out this short, informative yet inspirational poem which went viral during COVID).
Likewise, from the World Economic Forum’s prediction that 20% of the world’s population will resign this year as part of The Great Resignation and those such as Forbes suggestions why this may be so, which they coined The Great Re-prioritisation to the Bank of England’s proposition that soaring house prices in rural locations at least partly reflect the Race for Space, suggest that the road ahead for the on-call landscape looks gloomy.
On-call landscape
What looms over the horizon? Whatever it may be, fire service research, a smarter use of data, and re-enkindle’s innovations can help the sector surmount its challenges.
impact through innovation and collaboration
The challenges faced now and in the future by FRSs are those faced by other services across the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, and in the international fire and rescue sector, particularly the United States and Australia. Despite continued efforts to meet mandates to improve availability, the intractable yet not insurmountable issues – which underlie on-call availability and which reflect these wider social, economic, and cultural changes – persist across the sector. As the recent fire reform: reforming our fire and rescue service white paper points out, it is the use of research, cutting edge data technology, and expertise external to the FRS yet with knowledge of it which is required to tackle issues such as dwindling on-call recruitment, partly by increasing retention, reducing resignations and thereby preventing availability from dropping further. Yet, there is little additional capacity for the requisite research and development needed to help services tackle these demands. This limited capacity, limits the collaboration and innovation needed to surmount its on-call obstacles and cultural challenges, as facing the future in the way big business does is that which can help services surmount the on-call landscape’s obstacles.
R & D Investment = Success
Data suggests the most successful organisations re-invest in excess of 70% of profits into R & D. Whilst a lot of great research is done in the sector on operational imperatives such as wildfires, contaminants, and FBT, there is far less research into organisationally challenges such as recruitment, retention, and On-call culture.
Likewise, the recent White Paper in 2022 signalled that there is a ‘current landscape, with a variety of organisations pursuing research activities […] not co-ordinated to an optimal degree […] using many individuals in services who conduct research alongside other pressing roles’ (Reforming our fire and rescue service, 2022). Not only does this supposition imply the FRS sector needs support to address many of the challenges ahead – which can best be approached through the prism of data and a new paradigm for research in the sector – it also implies that across the sector, ordinary people working for the FRS are doing extraordinary work, not just operationally, but organisationally; giving extraordinary commitment, goodwill, and continually going the extra mile by marrying their operational responsibilities with managing other projects.
Research and Smarter uses of data
The need for more high-quality research, and a smarter use of data to contribute to solutions for the sector has also very recently been explicitly acknowledged by the NFCC which has inaugurated a NFCC Chair of Academic Collaboration and Evaluation and Research Group (ACER) alongside its Digital and Data Programme. Data is central to its strategy to fulfil one of its key commitments to ‘Encourage and assist fire and rescue services to maximise the added value of digital solutions, innovative use of information technology and effective sharing and utilisation of data in ways which will make the sector more effective and efficient at what we do’ (NFCC, 2022).
By employing a ‘smarter use of data’ as advocated most recently in the latest white paper re-enkindle has developed a sector leading, evidence-based, and data-driven approach advocated by all the preceding FRS reviews. From using the latest digital and data practices, and technology to reach prospective audiences of recruits now staying at home more than ever, to using research and expertise from psychology and sociology to consider cultures in the FRS which as future posts will discuss can be multiple in the context of the FRS, and specific when it comes to the local cultures at the on-call’s core.
Synthesising Service data with reported data and empirical evidence from across the sector in conjunction with a robust evidence and data base as part of a methodology to inform good practice, re-enkindle has already supported services to take measured, SMART, and purposeful approaches to on-call fire engine sustainability which have been recognised, and shortlisted for ‘Innovation of the Year’ at the Excellence in Fire & Emergency Service Awards 2022.
If you want to hear more in upcoming posts on culture, multiple cultures, on-call culture, and how goodwill generates good availability then hit the buttons below to follow us.
Or, if you are a senior leader, please let us know what you think, send us an email, and maybe take a look at our other page where we have shared resources as we hope to spark new ideas, foster discussions in departments and Fire and Rescue Services we are yet to reach, and ultimately, drive even more innovations, collaborations, and solutions.
Thanks for reading!
[1] Sir Ken Knight (2013) Facing the Future: Findings from the review of efficiencies and operations in fire and rescue authorities in England<https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200092/FINAL_Facing_the_Future__3_md.pdf> p.7 & fig. 16.