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About Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service
Derbyshire is situated within the heart of England and is a county of diversity and contrast, between attractive rural countryside and busy conurbations.
Latest figures show Derbyshire's population is now 956,560 which is distributed over some 1,000 square miles. However nearly three quarters of the population is concentrated in the eastern part of the County on only a quarter of the total land area.
Derbyshire has 15 towns with a population of over 10,000, most of which are in the eastern area, including the city of Derby (230,500) and Chesterfield (101,100).
Fire Cover for the county is provided by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service which is governed by Derbyshire Fire Authority. This Authority consists of 20 Councillors, 15 from Derbyshire County Council and five from Derby City Council. The Fire Authority is a separate entity and is responsible for setting the level of revenue funding and the costs incurred in running a 'front line service'. It operates within a legal framework which is influenced by Central Government.
Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service has nine wholetime, three day staffed and 19 retained fire stations.
The wholetime Stations are staffed, using shift systems, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year from a compliment of 456 uniformed personnel, including headquarters and other offices. The retained stations are staffed on a part-time basis from people in the local community who work or live near to their fire station and are able to respond quickly to a notified emergency. They currently number 351. The 33 uniformed control room personnel handle all the emergency calls and mobilise the appropriate response.
Public safety is paramount for Derbyshire and this is reflected in the fleet of constantly updated modern firefighting appliances. There are currently 44 fire appliances covering the county along with 13 other 'special appliances' such as aerial ladder platforms (capable of rescue from heights of up to 32m), emergency tenders (primarily for road traffic accidents) and a special environmental unit
Of course, all this equipment requires specialist skills and our Training Centre personnel at Littleover, Derby programme courses to make sure the relevant competencies and skills are maintained.
The New Millennium was the herald of a new era from the Fire Service nationally, and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service has always been proud of its willingness to embrace new concepts and move forward with the changing needs of the community. Our Community Safety division has expanded year on year since its introduction and has worked tirelessly to educate the public that prevention really is better than cure.
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