Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) has improved its overall response time during 2022/23, reducing the average time it takes to respond to emergencies by 22 seconds, when compared to a decade ago (2012/13), as shown in data recorded by the Home Office.
Royal Berkshire’s response standard aims for the first fire engine to arrive at an incident within 10 minutes of receiving a call, on 75% of occasions. In 2022/23 it achieved 73.6% and was the only Fire Service in England to improve its performance year on year.
This achievement comes despite a number of challenges, including a significant number of fires experienced through the extreme temperatures of last summer.
Councillor Jeff Brooks, Chair of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, said: “The data published by the Home Office regarding response times is positive news for the people of Berkshire.
“This is in part the result of a focus to ensure that our assets remain well positioned across the County and are available to respond rapidly when the public need us.
“We are not complacent, but this result is a testament to RBFRS staff for their continued dedication. Despite the challenging environment we face we will strive to continuously improve our approaches to ensure such high performance can be maintained”.