A FIRE service has been told it “requires improvement” after a report uncovered bullying, harassment and discrimination, staff feeling undervalued and a lack of preparedness for a terrorist incident.

Although a report by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services (HMIFRS) said the service had “improved markedly since its previous inspection”, it said there were “still areas that need attention”.

It said the service needs to prioritise continuing efforts to tackle bullying, harassment and discrimination, including making sure all staff understand and act on the service’s values.

It said that the culture of the organisation “doesn’t always align with its values”.

Some staff said they felt they were treated differently, with on-call workers feeling ostracised in some locations and non-operational staff not always feeling valued, the report found.

The report uncovered cases of bullying, harassment and discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex and sexual orientation and said: “While these behaviours weren’t displayed throughout the service, we found too many instances where the service’s values weren’t being upheld."

Of the respondents who said they had felt discriminated against, only seven per cent had reported it, with one per cent feeling that action had been taken.

The report called for all staff to be trained to identify and challenge behaviours not consistent with the service’s values as well as encouraging applications from diverse backgrounds into middle and senior-level positions to improve a lack of diversity.

The report highlighted the fact many firefighters spoken to “didn’t realise they might have a part to play in responding to a marauding terrorist attack, because they thought only the specialist team would be involved”. It called for all staff to be prepared to respond safely and effectively to such an incident and ensure learning from exercises is used to improve plans.

Matt Parr from HMIFRS said: “I am pleased to see that West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has improved since its 2018 inspection.

“It has used increased funding to expand its prevention and protection teams. We had previously been concerned about these teams but now we are satisfied with their performance.

“The service is improving how it responds to calls, with better command of incidents, and fire engines arriving within the expected timeframe. It also has good workforce planning processes and is better at having the right people with the right skills in place.

“There are still areas where the service needs to improve, however, these include making sure firefighters carry out enough prevention activity, doing more to reduce unwanted fire signals and continuing to make sure staff behaviour aligns with organisational values.

“We will continue to monitor the service closely to follow its progress.”

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, chief fire officer for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said: "We are pleased to see that Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has recognised the significant progress we have made since their last report in 2019.

“The inspectors found that the county council's investment into the service since the previous inspection has been key to delivering on the improvement plan, and has resulted in a service that is lean, efficient, and resourced to risk.

"We have no 'inadequate' ratings and three of the four causes for concern previously highlighted by the HMICFRS have now been discharged.

"We recognise that there is still work to be done, particularly in the 'People' pillar where one cause of concern remains, and we are already addressing this as a matter of priority through the implementation of our Community Risk Management Plan and People Service Plan.

"Keeping those who live, work and visit West Sussex safe will always be our number one priority. We will continue to build upon the foundations that we have put in place to ensure that we are an exceptional fire service."