County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) has been rated as one of the best performing in the country in a new report.
In a report published this week (August 14, 2025) by His Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the Service has been recognised as ‘Outstanding’ in their ability to protect the public through fire regulation.
Meanwhile, they have been rated as ‘Good’ across nine other key areas including for their culture, ability to manage and develop future leaders and their approach to money management, both now and in the future.
Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps says the Service are proud but not complacent of their results.
He said: “Firstly, I must say a thank you to all our staff working across every department at every level, for their hard work, commitment and compassion.
“I’m proud that this report, conducted by independent assessors, has confirmed what I already know, that we’re an innovative Service with staff who are dedicated to our communities.”
“This inspection result is positive, but we are not complacent, and we will never stop striving to give our communities the very best.”
He added: “HMICFRS play a vital role in ensuring fire services aren’t just doing their job, but they’re doing it well, fairly, and safely.
“And these results allow us to celebrate all that we’re doing well but, most importantly, reflect on what we can do better.
“Work is already underway to improve areas of our Service such as ‘ensuring fairness and promoting diversity’, where we received an ‘Adequate’ grading.
“As a smaller service working with limited resources, our strength lies in our innovation and determination.
“Our mission has never changed: to ensure the safest people, safest places. I’m incredibly proud of everyone who contributed to these results, and I look forward to building on this success as we continue working side by side to protect our communities.”
Durham County Councillor Paul Sexton, Chair of the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Combined Fire Authority (CFA) said: “As the new Chair of the CFA, I am pleased that the inspectorate has highlighted the wide range of excellent work that is carried out by staff across the board at the CDDFRS.
“The Service has been graded as ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ across 10 of the 11 key inspection areas and this is an achievement that staff should be proud of.
“Work is already underway to make changes to some of the areas where the inspectorate have identified improvements could be made.
"The Authority will continue to monitor progress on these actions, ensuring the best possible service for the communities of County Durham and Darlington.”
The Service were assessed across 11 key areas:
Protecting the public through fire regulation – OUTSTANDING
Promoting the right values and culture – GOOD
Getting the right people with the right skills - GOOD
Managing performance and developing leaders - GOOD
Understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies – GOOD
Preventing fires and other risks - GOOD
Responding to fires and other emergencies – GOOD
Responding to major and multi-agency incidents - GOOD
Making best use of resources – GOOD
Making the fire and rescue service affordable now and in the future – GOOD
Ensuring fairness and promoting diversity – ADEQUATE
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carried out their routine inspection of CDDFRS in February and March 2025.
Since the previous inspection, HMICFRS introduced a revised grading framework, which now includes a fifth benchmark: Adequate.
