The Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory local authority fire and rescue service covering the Isles of Scilly off the coast of the South West of England. It is the smallest fire and rescue service in the United Kingdom and the only one to be staffed entirely by retained firefighters.[1]
 | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| County | Isles of Scilly |
| Agency overview | |
| Employees | 43 (2019) |
| Chief Fire Officer | Mark Hewitt |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Stations | 5 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The service shares management, and cooperates closely with the airport rescue and fire fighting service (St Mary's Airport RFFS) on St Mary's, which is the only other fire service on the Isles of Scilly.[2]
Fire stations and appliances
Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Service
| Station Name | Duty System | Appliances[3] |
|---|---|---|
| St. Mary's | Retained | 2008 MAN 4x4 2010 4x4 Toyota Hilux [with Foam/Water Carrier Trailer] |
| St Agnes | Retained | 1986 Tractor & water bowser trailer |
| Bryher | Retained | 1986 Tractor & water bowser trailer |
| Tresco | Retained | 2016 Mercedes Sprinter 6x6 |
| St Martin's | Retained | 1986 Tractor & water bowser trailer |
St Mary's Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service
| Station Name | Duty System | Appliances[2] |
|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Airport | Day manned | Carmichael Mercedes 1124 foam tender Angloco MAN foam tender |
Personnel
The fire service has 42 on-call firefighters in the ranks of firefighter, crew manager, watch manager, and station manager. The single station manager post (previously shared with the airport fire service) is, as of 2019[update], vacant and under review.[4]
The service is led by a chief fire executive. Until 2017, this was a uniformed role, with the rank of Chief Fire Officer, but the position is now a non-uniformed appointment, held by the deputy chief executive of the Council of the Scilly Isles. This council officer is also responsible for the airport fire service.[4]
The fire service also has non-operational support staff.
Inspections
The fire service has a responsibility for domestic and commercial inspections of premises for fire safety. It carries out these inspections on the smaller islands, but contracts them on the main island (St Mary's), where domestic inspections are carried out by the full-time firefighters of the airport fire service, and commercial premises inspections are carried out by Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service.[4]
Performance
Every fire and rescue service in England and Wales is periodically subjected to a statutory inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The inspections investigate how well the service performs in each of three areas. On a scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate, Isles of Scilly Fire and Rescue Service was rated as follows:
| Area | Rating 2018/19[5] | Rating 2021/22[6] | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness | Good | Good | How effective is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| Efficiency | Good | Requires improvement | How efficient is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks? |
| People | Requires improvement | Good | How well does the fire and rescue service look after its people? |
