Council and democracy

Service delivery : how we operate

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service looks after Hertfordshire. It is headed by The Chief Fire Officer, Mr Roy Wilsher, while the the Deputy Chief Fire Officer is Mr Mark Yates.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has two major functions - keeping people safe through community fire safety initiatives, and saving lives through our operations.

Community Fire Safety - the prevention arm of the Service

Nationally, all fire services have recognised the importance of an increased community fire safety effort to help reduce the number of deaths, injuries and property losses from fire.

Here in Hertfordshire, substantial investment in recent years has ensured that the Community Fire Safety Team have developed a number of fire safety initiatives that are delivered both by education officers and operational crews.

Co-ordination of this strategy is overseen by the Community Fire Safety Division - whose expertise is spread across the county. Your safety is their business, and much of this website is dedicated to their multi-faceted work. Guidance and advice on how you can make a home or business safer from fire is available by contacting your local Station or calling 01438 737399 or 01923 417399

Operations - the responsive arm of the Service

This high-profile side of our work is conducted by the crews of our frontline fire appliances, including our Rescue Support Unit, Hydraulic Platforms,an Aeriel Ladder Platform, a Hazardous Material Unit (HAZMAT) based at Hemel Hempstead and other specialist vehicles - including all-terrain Vehicles - attending and tackling a diversity of emergency situations.

We have about 580 wholetime personnel, of which aproximatly 400 are operational Firefighters working from the sixteen fire stations staffed around the clock. A further 30 work at our Command and Control Centre, dealing with in excess of 125,000 calls per year 28,000 of which will be 999 calls. With over 250 retained firefighters operating from part-time fire stations and 125 Support Staff, we at Hertfordshire Fire And Rescue Service are justifiably proud of our ability to respond to all the varied calls for assistance we revieve each year.