Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has today (Friday, 30
May) launched its Fire Plan for 2025 to 2029, with a clear
mission of protecting communities, working together and saving
lives.
The new plan aims to put GMFRS front and centre of the overall
Greater Manchester Strategy, and Greater Manchester's ambition to
be a thriving city-region where everyone can live a good
life.
The service will contribute to the city-region's
prevention-focused Live Well agenda, with actions that go beyond
the traditional role of a fire and rescue service.
GMFRS will take a leading role in the region's Housing First
initiative, working alongside partners to identify rental
properties whose conditions could be harmful to their tenants'
health. Plans are being developed to support health colleagues by
helping to respond to medical emergencies.
The service will also continue its work to help tackle
anti-social behaviour and serious violence, supporting the
rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners who have or are at
risk of convictions for fire setting, including young people. We
are also working with British Red Cross to open up community fire
stations as ‘safe spaces' for residents who feel vulnerable or
threatened.
Together with emergency service partners, the service is also
committed to ending road deaths and life-changing injuries on the
city-region's roads by 2040 as part of the Vision Zero Strategy.
GMFRS also leads on the Water Safety Partnership to highlight the
dangers of swimming in open water and reduce deaths in our
waterways.
These innovations come alongside measures to further improve how
the service responds to fires and other emergencies and keeps
people and businesses safe.
Greater Manchester residents have been integral to the
development of the Fire Plan. Through the service's biggest ever
engagement exercise, more than 4,000 people contributed to
shaping its priorities.
The plan is based on four pillars which will take GMFRS towards
its vision of being a modern, flexible and resilient fire and
rescue service.
The first is to ‘Prevent and Protect', reducing risks and
ensuring homes and workplaces are safe.
Secondly, ‘Respond' to provide an outstanding emergency response
and to make sure it always has the right resources in the right
place at the right time for any kind of incident.
The third pillar is ‘People and Culture' to ensure GMFRS is an
inclusive and welcoming workplace, in a service that truly
reflects its communities.
Lastly, ‘Excellence and Value' to ensure the service is
constantly improving and using its resources most effectively for
the people that it serves.
Andy , Mayor of Greater Manchester,
said:
“I can say with confidence that we now have one of the best fire
and rescue services - not just in this country, but
anywhere.
“That owes a lot to what Dave and GMFRS staff put forward and
delivered in the previous Fire Plan. Now, this ambitious new Fire
Plan will go above and beyond what people might expect from a
traditional fire service.
“It puts GMFRS at the heart of the Greater Manchester Strategy.
With this plan, residents can be confident that their service
performs excellently in responding to emergencies, saving lives
and keeping people and businesses safe, while also supporting
thriving communities where everyone can live a good life.
“The strong position the service finds itself in today is
testament to the hard work and dedication of staff across GMFRS.
I am certain the service will continue to go from strength to
strength to deliver for the people of Greater Manchester.”
Dave Russel, GMFRS Chief Fire Officer, said:
“This new Fire Plan delivers a clear mission from a position of
strength: Protecting Communities, Working Together, Saving
Lives.
“I have said many times before how proud I am to lead this
service. As I reflect on our achievements so far, and where we're
aiming for, I feel this more than ever. This new Fire Plan comes
at the perfect time for writing a new, exciting chapter of
excellence for our service.”
HMICFRS's (His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire
& Rescue Services) 2024 report of its inspection of GMFRS
showed it to be the most improved fire and rescue service and one
of the best performing in the country.
The 2025-2029 Fire Plan has been written by Chief Fire Officer
(CFO) Dave Russel, Mayor of Greater Manchester , and Deputy Mayor of Greater
Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, .
, Deputy Mayor of Greater
Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, said:
“I am very proud of this new Fire Plan and the work Dave and
everyone in GMFRS have done in the last four years. Thanks to the
talent and commitment of our staff, the service's achievements
give us the strongest possible foundation for future
success,
“This is the first Fire Plan I have helped produce since I became
Deputy Mayor in 2023. In this time, colleagues have dedicated
themselves to keeping our communities safe and transforming how
we work, and I am confident that will continue with this Fire
Plan.”
To read the full plan visit Fire Plan 2025-29 -
Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service.
