Introduction
The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England, May 2018 sets out the requirements for the fire and rescue authorities to:
- provide an annual statement of assurance on financial, governance and operational matters
- show how they have had due regard to:
- the expectations set out in their integrated risk management plan
- the requirements included in the framework
This document is intended to meet that obligation through reference to existing:
- plans
- reports
- public web pages
Background
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue (LFR) is a statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Lincolnshire. It is part of Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) which is also the Fire and Rescue Authority (FRA). The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 is the core legislation for fire and rescue services in England and Wales. It details the statutory responsibilities for all FRAs which includes making provision for the purpose of:
- extinguishing fires
- protecting life and property from fires
- rescuing people from road traffic collisions
- promoting fire safety
- responding to other emergencies
The Fire and Rescue National Framework document outlines the government’s priorities and objectives for FRAs in England. It describes the high-level expectations but does not prescribe operational matters. The priorities in the framework are for FRAs to:
- make appropriate provision for fire prevention and protection activities and response to fire and rescue related incidents
- identify and assess the full range of foreseeable fire and rescue related risks their areas face
- collaborate with emergency services and other local and national partners to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the service they provide
- be accountable to communities for the service they provide
- develop and maintain a workforce that is:
- professional
- resilient
- skilled
- flexible
- diverse
The county
Lincolnshire is the fourth largest county in England covering 5,921 square kilometres. The county is classified as one of the most rural in England by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Five of the seven local authority districts in Lincolnshire are classified as either ‘mainly’ or ‘largely’ rural. These are:
- East Lindsey
- North Kesteven
- South Kesteven
- South Holland
- West Lindsey
Boston is classified as ‘urban with significant rural’. Lincoln is ‘urban with city and town’. Further information on rural-urban classifications can be found on the DEFRA website.
The 2023 mid-year estimates place the county population at 782,808. This is an increase of 8% since 2013. Current projections suggest the population will increase by 9% by 2043. Despite this, population density remains low with 132 people per square kilometre compared with an average for England of 434 people per square kilometre.
Not only is the population increasing, it is also ageing. The proportion of people aged 65 and over is projected to increase from 25% in 2023, to 30% in 2043. The proportion of people aged 75 and over is predicted to increase from 12% to 17% over the same period. Further information about the county can be found at Lincolnshire Open Data.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue
LFR operates 38 fire stations. One of these is staffed by full-time firefighters around the clock. Seven are staffed by full-time firefighters during the day, who also provide on-call cover at night. One station operates a model where the full-time firefighters provide daytime cover only. All stations (including those that have full-time staff) are staffed by on-call firefighters working the on-call duty system. As of 31 March 2025, the service establishment was 713 staff (actual headcount may vary), comprising:
- 595 operational
- 21 control
- 97 support staff
Key operational equipment includes:
- 48 station-based fire engines
- 2 aerial appliances
- 14 special appliances, including:
- 7 technical response vehicles
- 4 flood response pumps
- water carrier
- welfare unit
- 4 swift water rescue boats
- national resilience capability including:
- marauding terrorist firearms attack specialist response team (MTFA SRT)
- 4 swift water rescue teams (type B SWRT)
- urban search and rescue (USAR)
- high volume pumping capability
- 26 co-responder vehicles
During 2024 to 2025, the service:
- received 14,777 calls
- attended 6,565 operational incidents including 294 medical response calls