Where applicable, we publish responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This one, , is detailed below.
Other FOI's
Ref: FOI/20037
RE: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST
I am writing to confirm that the West Midlands Fire Service has now completed its search for the information you requested further to your freedom of information request.
Please find below a summary of our findings.
Request
Please confirm the full rank structure within WMFS from frontline FF to CFO. Please also include the numbers for each role e.g. FF- 1200, WM – 15 etc.
Reply
The full rank structure with the numbers in each role is below
Firefighter | 838 |
Crew Commander | 234 |
Watch Commander | 261 |
Station Commander | 48 |
Group Commander | 13 |
Area Commander | 4 |
Brigade Manager | 4 |
Request
Please can you provide the responsibilities of each role from the above
Reply
This information is exempt under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as this information is reasonably accessible to the requestor. Information concerning the roles of Firefighters is publicly available on the internet a copy of the role maps for all ranks can be found at the following link:
Request
For each of the above roles, please confirm how many Pumps at an incident each role can manage. For example Watch Manager – 6
Reply
There is not a designated number of appliances per role an officer can manage in West Midlands fire Service. The number of pumping appliance an incident commander can manage all depends on the complexity of the incident. West Midlands Fire Service uses notification triggers within Fire Control to identify specific roles dependant on the incident.
Request
In relation to flexi fire officers AND area managers AND group managers please can you confirm how many there are? And how many is on duty at one time?
Reply
There are currently 53 flexi duty officers, with 9 being required on duty at any one time. This includes Area Managers and Group Managers
Request
Please confirm how many station commander/managers look after more than 1 station?
Reply
West Midlands Fire Service has currently 7 Station Commander that look after more than 1 station.
Request
Are station commanders/manager based at the station or HQ?
Reply
Station commander looking after a Station are station based, however there are also some Station Commanders in departments who are based at FSHQ.
Request
How many station commanders / managers choose not to opt in for the flexi fire officer role
Reply
Station Commanders do not usually opt in or out of the flexi duty as it is part of the role.
Request
What is the different between a station commander/manager and a flexi fire officer? Please also provide the difference in salary.
Reply
Station Commanders who also provide 24 hour cover to respond to incidents (flexi duty), will receive an additional 20%of the basic salary. The basic salary for a Station Commander is 44,297.
Request
When a fire fighter is on holiday, what happens to the staffing levels are they reduced?
Reply
Staffing levels are sufficient to allow annual leave to be taken.
Request
Please confirm the number of call outs for flexi duty officers AND area managers AND group managers for the month of March 2020 broken down by each rank daily. If you are unable to tell me daily for a specific reason please confirm this and provide the weekly figures.
Reply
Please see attached. However, please note the following:
- As the request specifies “call outs”, incidents where an officer was notified of an incident but did not mobilise have been excluded.
- Group and Area Commanders are included within the Flexible Duty System and therefore will mobilise to incidents as FDS officers. Such mobilisations are identified within the data.
- Revised Incident Types also include exercises, however these are identified within the data
Request
When are the next batch of new fire engines coming and which stations will these go to?
Reply
Delivery of the 5 Appliances currently on order will be sometime during the last quarter of 2020.
These are allocated to the following 5 Station locations:
Bilston
Perry Barr
Woodgate Valley
Oldbury
Foleshill
If you have any queries about this Freedom of Information request, please contact us. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
For service complaints, issues or comments regarding this request please contact The Public Relations Department, West Midlands Fire Service, 99 Vauxhall Road, Birmingham, B7 4HW
Further information concerning Freedom of Information requests can be found on the Information Commissioner website at either the following link: https://ico.org.uk/ or at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF.