College of Fire and Rescue

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 report overview, report of the public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, published in September 2024, states:

Although the National Fire Chiefs Council provides a forum for discussions and the formulation of policy, there is currently no central body that is equipped to provide education and training across the board to nationally approved standards. We welcome the government’s ambition to create an independent College of Fire and Rescue expressed in the white paper Reforming our Fire and Rescue Service14 and we therefore recommend that the government establish such a college immediately with sufficient resources to provide the following services nationally:

• a. practical training at all levels supplementary to that provided by individual fire and rescue services;
• b. education in the form of lectures and seminars on different aspects of the work of the fire and rescue services in order to share experience and promote good practice;
• c. research into matters that may affect the work of the fire and rescue services, including major fires;
• d. the development of equipment, policies and procedures suitable for ensuring the effectiveness of fire and rescue services nationally and the safety of firefighters and the public;
• e. setting and maintaining national standards of managerial competence for senior managers, including control room managers, and providing management

The constitution of the College of Fire and Rescue is a matter for the government in consultation with the National Fire Chiefs Council and other interested bodies, but it could be established as a not-for-profit company, independent of the government, with a board of directors drawn from a range of backgrounds, a significant proportion of whom are currently serving Chief Fire Officers or senior officers with significant firefighting experience. The board would be responsible for the overall management and operations of the college.

Although it is for the government to decide how the college should be constituted, we recommend that it should have a permanent staff of sufficient size to manage its operations and develop its functions in response to the demands of fire and rescue services nationally and the requirements of the board. The college will need access to permanent facilities, including facilities for practical training and education. We envisage that much of the training and education will be delivered and led by firefighters of suitable experience drawn as the occasion requires from fire and rescue services around the country.

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