Launch of Greater Manchester’s new Fire Plan heralds new era for GMFRS
- Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has launched its new four-year strategy
- Community working at heart of ambitious plans to support everyone in the region to live well
- Plan builds on the service’s recent improvements, which have already seen it rated one of the country’s best performing fire and rescue services
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service has today (Friday, 30 May) launched its Fire Plan for 2025 to 2029, with a clear mission of protecting communities, working together and saving lives.
The new plan aims to put GMFRS front and centre of the overall Greater Manchester Strategy, and Greater Manchester’s ambition to be a thriving city-region where everyone can live a good life.
The service will contribute to the city-region’s prevention-focused Live Well agenda, with actions that go beyond the traditional role of a fire and rescue service.
GMFRS will take a leading role in the region’s Housing First initiative, working alongside partners to identify rental properties whose conditions could be harmful to their tenants’ health. Plans are being developed to support health colleagues by helping to respond to medical emergencies.
The service will also continue its work to help tackle anti-social behaviour and serious violence, supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners who have or are at risk of convictions for fire setting, including young people. We are also working with British Red Cross to open up community fire stations as ‘safe spaces’ for residents who feel vulnerable or threatened.
Together with emergency service partners, the service is also committed to ending road deaths and life-changing injuries on the city-region's roads by 2040 as part of the Vision Zero Strategy. GMFRS also leads on the Water Safety Partnership to highlight the dangers of swimming in open water and reduce deaths in our waterways.
These innovations come alongside measures to further improve how the service responds to fires and other emergencies and keeps people and businesses safe.
Greater Manchester residents have been integral to the development of the Fire Plan. Through the service’s biggest ever engagement exercise, more than 4,000 people contributed to shaping its priorities.
The plan is based on four pillars which will take GMFRS towards its vision of being a modern, flexible and resilient fire and rescue service.
The first is to ‘Prevent and Protect’, reducing risks and ensuring homes and workplaces are safe.
Secondly, ‘Respond’ to provide an outstanding emergency response and to make sure it always has the right resources in the right place at the right time for any kind of incident.
The third pillar is ‘People and Culture’ to ensure GMFRS is an inclusive and welcoming workplace, in a service that truly reflects its communities.
Lastly, ‘Excellence and Value’ to ensure the service is constantly improving and using its resources most effectively for the people that it serves.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“I can say with confidence that we now have one of the best fire and rescue services - not just in this country, but anywhere.
“That owes a lot to what Dave and GMFRS staff put forward and delivered in the previous Fire Plan. Now, this ambitious new Fire Plan will go above and beyond what people might expect from a traditional fire service.
“It puts GMFRS at the heart of the Greater Manchester Strategy. With this plan, residents can be confident that their service performs excellently in responding to emergencies, saving lives and keeping people and businesses safe, while also supporting thriving communities where everyone can live a good life.
“The strong position the service finds itself in today is testament to the hard work and dedication of staff across GMFRS. I am certain the service will continue to go from strength to strength to deliver for the people of Greater Manchester.”
Dave Russel, GMFRS Chief Fire Officer, said:
“This new Fire Plan delivers a clear mission from a position of strength: Protecting Communities, Working Together, Saving Lives.
“I have said many times before how proud I am to lead this service. As I reflect on our achievements so far, and where we’re aiming for, I feel this more than ever. This new Fire Plan comes at the perfect time for writing a new, exciting chapter of excellence for our service.”
HMICFRS’s (His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) 2024 report of its inspection of GMFRS showed it to be the most improved fire and rescue service and one of the best performing in the country.
The 2025-2029 Fire Plan has been written by Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Dave Russel, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, and Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, Kate Green.
Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer and Stronger Communities, said:
“I am very proud of this new Fire Plan and the work Dave and everyone in GMFRS have done in the last four years. Thanks to the talent and commitment of our staff, the service’s achievements give us the strongest possible foundation for future success,
“This is the first Fire Plan I have helped produce since I became Deputy Mayor in 2023. In this time, colleagues have dedicated themselves to keeping our communities safe and transforming how we work, and I am confident that will continue with this Fire Plan.”
To read the full plan visit Fire Plan 2025-29 - Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service.
Article Published: 30/05/2025 10:35 AM