A FIRE service has received two “requires improvement” ratings and one “good” rating after its first inspection under a new regime.

An ambitious target for home safety checks and a need for more specific management training were highlighted as needing work.

However, East Sussex Fire and Rescue, which serves Brighton and Hove, was rated good for the way that it manages its money and other resources and works in partnership with other organisations.

It also received praise for the speed of its emergency response from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

East Sussex failed to meet a target of 12,000 home safety visits, having carried out 11,019 in the past year.

It did, however, visit a higher proportion of the population than the national average.

Fire crews carry out the visits in people’s homes, with priority given to the elderly and vulnerable. The service also has specialist teams working with businesses and industry.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mark O’Brien said: “We put in an awful lot of work with partners and other agencies to make sure we are getting through to the right people and I am confident we are broadly reaching those most vulnerable.

“We feel here we have not necessarily explained the evidence to the inspector how well we do that.”

He confirmed 12,000 was a “stretch target” and the service is working with the inspectorate to make sure it will achieve a better rating next time and a more realistic target.

Mr O’Brien added: “The simple reason we didn’t meet the target was purely down to staffing of our specialist team.”

Improving training for home safety visits and grievance management was listed in the inspector’s report when it came to looking after people.

There were also gaps in its health and safety with a lack of noise assessments for when all equipment and fire engines are running.

Better monitoring of overtime was also listed in the people section of the inspector’s report, which had a requires improvement rating.

Mr O’Brien said work is well under way on the areas requiring improvement and he is confident heading into the next round of assessment in 2021.

He said: “I am positive in that if the inspector had identified any significant areas of concern, or areas of inadequacy, if that had been the case we would have been re-inspected already.”

Areas of success included a good rating for efficiency as the service makes a good use of its resources and provides good value for money.