At Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, our strategy sets out how we deliver high-quality, responsive services that meet the needs of our communities today and into the future.
Our vision is simple: Creating the Safest Community. Everything we do is designed to innovate, improve, and overcome challenges – all while aligning with national standards and local priorities.
What Guides Us
- Vision: Creating the Safest Community
- Mission: To save life, reduce risk, provide humanitarian services and protect the environment
Our strategy works alongside our Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) to focus on the most significant risks and target resources effectively across prevention, protection, and emergency response
Recognising Our Impact
We’re proud to be recognised nationally for the work we do. Recent awards include:
UK Fire and Rescue Service of the Year 2025 (iESE Public Sector Transformation Awards)
Collaboration Award for Hebburn Tri Station (UK Government Property Awards)
Project of the Year for Hebburn Tri Station (Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards)
Healthier Firefighters Award – Excellence in Contaminants and Decontamination (Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards)
Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers in the UK
Apprenticeship Champion Award from the NFCC
These awards reflect our commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and partnership.
Our Aspirations
We’re building on our success with a focus on:
People first: fostering an inclusive, values-led culture
Investing in equipment & technology: keeping firefighters and communities safe
Leading innovation: staying ahead in a fast-changing world
Strong partnerships: delivering better outcomes for everyone
Strengthening prevention, protection & response: maintaining fast response times
Using data & benchmarking: to continually learn and improve.
Our Area & Presence
Tyne and Wear covers five local authority areas: Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland – serving 1.1 million people across nearly 500,000 households.
We operate across 17 community fire stations, along with our:
- Service Headquarters
- Training Centre
- Technical Services Centre
With over 800 dedicated staff and volunteers, we’re positioned to provide a fast, effective response — whenever and wherever needed.
What We Do, By the Numbers
On average, every year we:
Attend over 16,000 incidents
Attend more than 6,000 fires
Attend over 300 road traffic collisions
Our Control team answer more than 30,000 calls
Hold the fastest response time in the country – averaging less than 6 minutes
Who We Are
Our Service is led by the Chief Fire Officer, who is responsible for day-to-day leadership and statutory duties, supported by the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) who oversee our strategic direction and priorities.
Oversight is provided by the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority (TWFRA) – made up of elected members from local councils and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria.
We are transparent, accountable, and community-focused – with clear governance, regular audits, and annual public assurance reports.
Our Vision, Mission and Values
Everything we do is guided by our vision of Creating the Safest Community and our mission: To save life, reduce risk, provide humanitarian services and protect the environment.
We’re committed to working with care, integrity and professionalism – putting communities at the heart of every decision.
Our Values
We live by four core values that shape how we work:
- Safety
- Integrity
- Inclusivity
- Learning
These values drive our behaviours – like being accountable, open, compassionate, curious, and committed to continuous improvement.
Guided by the Fire and Rescue Service Code of Ethics, we put communities first, act with integrity, treat everyone with respect, lead by example, and champion equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Commitment to our Culture
Our people are our greatest asset. That’s why we’re committed to creating a positive, inclusive and supportive working environment.
In 2023, we launched a full cultural review to better understand how we work and where we can improve. As a result, we developed a People and Culture Plan [LINK], with clear actions to support staff and shape a healthy, values-led culture across our Service.
Our Goals
We’re committed to continuously improving our Service for our communities, staff and stakeholders – by embracing innovation, responding to change, and focusing on what matters most.
Our strategy focuses on four key priorities:
Inclusivity and Culture: Building a supportive workplace where everyone thrives.
Community and Firefighter Safety: Delivering the highest standards in prevention and response.
Innovation and Environmental Sustainability: Embracing new technology and working toward carbon neutrality.
Making Best Use of Our Resources: Using data-driven decision-making for efficiency and impact.
Collaboration and Partner Working
Collaboration is central to how we plan, prevent, respond, and continually improve.
Working with others helps us better understand and manage risk, make the most of resources, and deliver more effective services to our communities.
We’re proud of the strong, long-standing partnerships we’ve built across the region and beyond – and we continue to develop new relationships that support innovation, resilience, and shared goals.
Neighbouring Fire and Rescue Services
We share resources and expertise to enhance resilience across the North East, ensuring a consistent and effective service.
Local Authorities and Resilience Forums
Joint initiatives with local authorities support public engagement and ensure a coordinated approach to emergency preparedness.
Blue Light Partners
Co-located sites and shared systems with North East Ambulance Service and Northumbria Police support more integrated and efficient service delivery.
Non-Blue Light Partners
We work with a wide range of partners including the Fire Fighters Charity and Salvation Army to provide wider support to our communities.
National Resilience
We are proud to host all seven national resilience assets, enabling us to support complex and large-scale emergencies across the UK.
National Recommendations
We use learning from national reports – such as the Manchester Arena and Grenfell Tower Inquiries, HMICFRS inspections, and the NFCC’s Fit for the Future – to shape our plans and continually improve our Service.
National Bodies
We work with the National Fire Chiefs Council and the Fire Standards Board to support national priorities, maintain high standards, and help shape the future of fire and rescue services.
Environmental Responsibility
Sustainability is at the heart of how we operate. We’re committed to reducing our environmental impact and building a greener, more resilient future:
- Reduced building carbon emissions by 32% since 2013
- Opened our first carbon-neutral facility
- Expanding electric vehicle fleet and solar panel use
- Ambition to become a carbon-neutral service by 2035
We continue to invest in technology, strengthen climate resilience, and embed sustainability across everything we do.
How We Deliver Our Strategy
Our Pathway links our vision and strategic goals, running through everything we do – guiding our planning, monitoring, and engagement across the Service.
Central to this is our Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), which identifies the risks facing our communities and guides how we best use our resources to assess and mitigate those risks.
We deliver the Strategy through four key goals, which inform and are informed by the CRMP.
These goals are supported by:
• Our Strategy Delivery Plan
• Our People and Culture Plan
• Our Medium-Term Financial Plan
• Our Environmental and Sustainability Plan
Rooted in our core values, this framework ensures that all areas of the organisation are aligned – working together to reduce risk and build the safest community possible.
Our Governance Structure
We have robust systems in place to ensure we meet our strategic goals, comply with legislation, and manage public finances responsibly. We do this through:
- Clear accountability – The Chief Fire Officer leads service delivery, supported by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer and overseen by the TWFRA.
- Community focus – We are transparent in our work and involve local communities in our planning and decision-making.
- Strong ethical standards – We follow national governance frameworks and uphold the seven principles of public life to ensure fairness, integrity, and professionalism.
- Regular scrutiny and review – Internal and external audits, annual reviews, and a dedicated governance board provide ongoing assurance and improvement.
- Public reporting – Our annual Statement of Assurance outlines how we manage finances and governance, ensuring transparency and accountability.
This framework ensures we remain accountable, inclusive, and focused on delivering the highest standards of service to our communities.
How We Manage Performance
We actively manage our performance to identify issues early, celebrate success, and share learning both within the Service and with our partners. This includes:
- Tracking progress against our strategic goals
- Monitoring key performance indicators, audits, and inspections
- Benchmarking against other fire and rescue services
- Prioritising learning, collaboration, and value for money
As part of the Metropolitan Fire Service Group, we share best practice nationally and drive improvement locally – ensuring we continue to deliver the highest standards.
Would you like to find out more about Our Strategy, Our Future?