Background

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) plays a vital role in keeping our communities safe. As risks and demands on the Service continue to change, it is essential that we regularly review how we use our resources to ensure we are providing the best possible protection to the people of Gloucestershire.

This consultation sets out proposals to change how some of our fire engines are crewed. These proposals are based on detailed analysis of risk, incident data, and response times across the county. They are designed to ensure that our firefighters are in the right place, at the right time, to respond to emergencies and support our communities.

We know that these are significant proposals, particularly for our staff and the communities directly affected. We must make sure that the resources we have are used in the most effective way to meet current and future risks.

Our priority is, and always will be, the safety of the public and our firefighters. These proposals aim to improve overall response across Gloucestershire by better aligning our resources to where demand and risk are greatest.

We are committed to listening to the views of our communities, our staff, and our partners. This consultation is an opportunity for you to share your feedback, which will be carefully considered before any final decisions are made.

To give your feedback, please complete this questionnaire by 28 September 2026

Why is Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service consulting?

GFRS and Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) are committed to providing the best services to our communities. Our job is to keep people safe, and to improve our community prevention and protection activities across the county.

Risk, incident patterns, populations, and community needs change over time. To ensure we are delivering an effective and efficient service, we are constantly reviewing our response to these changes through our Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). When producing our CRMP, we reviewed our data and carried out independent modelling to evaluate the service we provide and ensure our resources are aligned to current and future risk, demand, and response performance.

Our CRMP 2026-30 sets out the following aims, which received support from internal and external stakeholders during public consultation.

We now want to consult with our communities, workforce, and other stakeholders about the following key proposal:

• Provide a day crew at Cinderford Fire Station by moving 14 existing posts from the night shift at Cheltenham West Fire Station.

This is your fire and rescue service, and we want to hear what you think.

Please read these web pages and the supporting brochure which explains the context and reasoning for the changes being considered and then fill out our short survey. Your feedback will help the GCC Cabinet decide on the proposed changes in December 2026.

Background to the proposed changes

In December 2024, GCC Cabinet approved the introduction of a new day-crewed model at Cinderford Fire Station, supported by an increase of 14 new wholetime posts as well as upgrades to Cinderford Fire Station (Appendix 1). The decision was informed by independent data modelling carried out by a specialist company, Operational Research in Health Ltd (ORH) in 2023 and public consultation undertaken in 2024, to improve alignment between fire cover and community risk.

Since this decision was taken, GFRS has experienced increasing financial challenges, reflecting the wider pressures facing public services. Consequently, the Service must maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of its resources to ensure it continues to provide the best possible service while achieving the necessary savings. More recent data modelling from 2025-26 (Appendix 2) maintains that Cinderford is still the area that will provide greatest potential for targeted prevention activities and reducing response times in more rural areas. However, due to the requirement to make financial savings we believe this can be done more efficiently by moving existing staff  without having to create 14 new posts.

Recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters is a national and local challenge. As a service that relies heavily on on-call firefighters, we must adapt to these changing circumstances and consider how we use our wholetime resources most effectively. By doing so, we can help ensure that communities across Gloucestershire receive a more consistent and equitable level of service, regardless of where they live, while making the best use of the resources available to us.

Appendix 1 - https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/documents/s106023/ForCabinet-GFRSCabinetReportFinaldraft21.11.24-Copy.pdf     (Cabinet – GFRS Cabinet Report Final draft 21.11.24)

Appendix 2 - https://glostext.gloucestershire.gov.uk/documents/s119191/For%20Cabinet%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20ORH%20Data%20Modelling%20Summary%20Report%202026.pdf (ORH Data Modelling Summary Report 2026)