The impact of climate change is now being realised and the changing patterns of weather in terms of frequency and severity are affecting fire and rescue related risks. This requires an appropriate approach is taken through our prevention and response activities in terms of skills, vehicles and equipment to meet the challenges this presents, regarding flooding, water rescue, and wildfires.

An on-call firefighter is defined as a person who serves their local fire and rescue station on a part-time basis, they are employed by GFRS and are on-call to respond to emergencies when needed. The recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters has become increasingly difficult. As a rural county with most fire stations crewed by on-call firefighters this presents a challenge to keep fire engines and crews available at the right times and in the right places. It is essential that the on-call offer is reviewed, alongside how and where we recruit, and opportunities are taken to improve how effectively we can provide adequate fire cover in a dynamic operating environment.

Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Gloucestershire is now formally underway following the UK Government's programme of devolution and structural reform. The outcome of the current local government reorganisation programme of work may have significant impacts on GFRS depending on the outcome, which will not be known until later in 2026. Should that outcome require significant change to the governance model this will mean GFRS will have to re-prioritise all and potentially pause some of our delivery plans to accommodate this.