At Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, we are committed to delivering an excellent, modern and agile service for the communities of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Our key plans set out how we reduce risk, protect people, and respond to emergencies effectively. From our long-term Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) to our Annual Delivery Plan, these strategies show how we prioritise safety, inclusivity, and continuous improvement.
Explore our latest plans to see how we’re working together to keep our communities safe.
Our 2025/26 Annual Plan is year one of the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2025–2030.
It sets out the key actions we’ll take this year to deliver the priorities in our CRMP. It includes clear objectives across prevention, protection, response, workforce, digital innovation, and resource management.
This plan supports teams, partners, and our community by showing what we’re doing, why it matters, and how we’re working to provide an excellent, modern and agile fire and rescue service.
Welcome to our new Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), jointly presented by the Chairman and Chief Fire Officer.
Previously known as the Public Safety Plan (PSP), this document reflects on the progress we have made over the past five years and looks ahead to the future. It not only identifies upcoming risks and challenges but also reflects what you, the community, have told us is important.
Help shape the future on our fire service.
We’re consulting on proposed changes to how we crew and use some On-Call fire engines and stations, and we want your views.
Why replace an On-Call fire engine with a specialist vehicle?
Some areas are better suited to vehicles that match local risk. For example, Rural Firefighting Vehicles can reach off-road or remote areas more effectively, while Welfare Units support firefighters during long incidents. These vehicles require fewer crew and can therefore be made reliably available more often.
Will the Service be removing Fire Engines?
The data we collected and analysed as part of our 2025 – 2030 CRMP shows that we do not need to keep all 30 of our current fire engines. Our assessment indicates that a fleet of 23 type B Fire Engines (traditional fire engines), supported by our specialist vehicles (such as Rural Firefighting Vehicle, Water carrier, Boat) would continue to provide effective and resilient cover across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.
This aligns with feedback from our CRMP public consultation and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection.
As a result, the proposal includes the removal or replacement of seven On-Call fire engines, which allow us to reinvest in strengthening the Service. However, no final decisions have been made. We are seeking your views before making any final recommendations.
Special appliance crewing and locations are also being reviewed as part of this work. These appliances, alongside the essential contribution of On-Call staff and stations play a key role in in maintaining our overall response and resilience.
Why is the Service focussing on On-Call in this way?
During the process of creating our 2025 -2030 Community Risk Management Programme (CRMP) staff and the public were consulted on ideas for improving the resilience and capacity of the Service.
The On-Call Improvement Programme is exploring this theme in line with the commitment:
Throughout the CRMP’s duration, we will assess the required number of On-Call pumps to align with our new response standard and address identified risks within the CRMP.
As a Service we recognise the contribution made by our On-Call staff working across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes and the value they bring to our Service. However, we also must remain aware of the challenges On-Call provision faces nationally, particularly involving recruitment.
This programme is designed to maximise the contribution of our On-Call, while identifying how we can improve our On-Call provision alongside the challenges acknowledged by all Services.
What will happen to the stations if they no longer have fire engines?
If, following public consultation, the Fire Authority agrees to cease operational response from either or both stations, Great Missenden and Stokenchurch, any decisions about selling the buildings or using them for a different purpose would be made by the Fire Authority Executive Committee. The Service would follow the full scrutiny process to determine the best way to utilise the buildings in support of the Service and the communities we serve.
Is Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS) doing this to save money?
No. The purpose of this programme is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of On-Call and to strengthen our overall operational response and resilience.
Any funding released through efficiencies in fire engine provision will be reinvested into the Service.
How will my feedback be used?
All responses will be analysed and summarised. The results will be shared with the Fire Authority alongside the evidence and impact assessments to help shape the final decision.
What will Operational Independence look like in practice, could you provide an example?
Any final proposal for a delegation of power from the Fire Authority to the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) would be clearly defined in any future recommendation.
A theoretical example of how this might work is if an On-Call station does not have sufficient staff to crew a traditional fire engine. In that situation, the CFO could temporarily move the fire engine elsewhere and replace it with a specialist vehicle that only requires two firefighters to crew. This ensures the station can still provide an operational response rather than having no cover at all.
During this temporary arrangement, the Service would continue to recruit at the station with the aim of restoring a full crew for a traditional fire engine in the future.
Why does the Chief Fire Officer need more operational independence?
Giving Chief Fire Officers more operational independence is not unique to Buckinghamshire, it is part of a national conversation about modernising the fire and rescue sector.
The government’s Fire Reform White Paper and His Majesty’s Inspectorate’s State of Fire reports have both highlighted that fire and rescue services should have clearer, quicker decision-making on operational matters. These national reports say that Chief Fire Officers should have more freedom to make evidence-based decisions about how staff, vehicles, and equipment are organised, while Fire Authorities continue to provide strong oversight, governance and accountability.
At the moment, some decisions in Buckinghamshire, such as where fire engines are based or how resources are best deployed, require approval from the Fire Authority. This can slow down changes that need to be made quickly in response to new risks, data or community needs.
The Fire Authority would still retain control of key decisions, such as budgets, strategy, and any station closures. Operational independence simply enables the Service to respond more efficiently and effectively to changing risks while maintaining strong democratic oversight.
Will I have to wait longer for a fire engine to respond to an incident in my area?
No. When we compare our proposal to a more realistic situation, where many On-Call fire engines are often not available, the modelling shows no reduction in response times.
The figure of “on average 8 seconds slower” only comes from comparing our proposal to a completely unrealistic situation where all 18 On-Call fire engines are fully crewed all of the time. We know this cannot happen with current staffing levels.
Right now, across the whole Service, we have about one On-Call fire engine during the day and two at night ready to respond. The seven On-Call fire engines included in our proposal were available less than 3% over the last year. This is why the “no On-Call available” model is is much closer to the situation we currently face, and against that model, the proposal does not increase response times.
Two stations, Great Missenden and Stokenchurch, have not had crews for more than five years, so the service in those areas will not change.
Overall, the model shows that, compared to how things work today, the proposal does not create longer waits, and in some areas could mean a fire engine arrives more quickly because the available engines are more reliably crewed.
Will this mean fewer firefighters?
No, we will not reduce the number of On-Call firefighters through these proposals. In fact, throughout the consultation period and beyond, we will be continuing to recruit On-Call firefighters.
If a decision is made to remove one or more On-Call fire engines, the Service will aim to redeploy all affected On-Call staff to other stations in a way that meets both individual needs and the needs of the Service.
What is the difference between On-Call and Wholetime firefighters?
Our crews work in two main ways:
Because of this ten-minute mobilisation time, the nearest Wholetime fire engine will often arrive first at an incident, even when an On-Call station is closer.