THE Fire Minister has threatened to intervene if the cultural problems at the fire service are not resolved.

On Wednesday a damning report was presented at a meeting of the Essex Fire Authority following a three month examination of all parts of the service.

Read more about the report HERE.

Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, said: “I have written to the authority expressing my deep concern and expect to see a clear and robust action plan put in place to address them.

“We will be monitoring this situation very closely and reserve the right to intervene directly should we not be satisfied that improvements are happening quickly in the weeks ahead.”

The six-month review began in March and looked back at 27 years of problems.

About 213 documents were reviewed, 47 interviews conducted with nine workshops and 1,033 emails sent from the 1,500 staff in response.

Ms Lucas was originally asked to carry out an inquiry, but refused and agreed to a review instead.

This was supported by the Fire Brigades’ Union until June when it withdrew support, although many members continued to support it.

Conclusions included:

  • “The management in charge are very poor”
  • “The overwhelming evidence is there is bad behaviour throughout this organisation.”
  • “There is an overwhelming lack of trust in the senior leadership of this organisation.”
  • “These are some of the worst results I have even seen.”
  • “There is evidence of bad behaviour by senior managers.”
  • “There are managers in this organisation who are seriously frustrated about their inability to make changes.”
  • “There are some fantastic people within Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.”