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Our Purpose, Vision and Mission

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Our Purpose, Vision, and Mission

In 2018, the Senior Management Board (SMB) of HWFRS came together to set the direction for the organisation for the coming years. In order to help identify this direction we set out to review the answer to these questions about the Service:

  • Who are we?
    • Why are we here?
    • What do we want to do?
    • What do we do every day?
    • What do we believe in?

Our Purpose: Why we are here

Since 2011, the HWFRS ‘Core Purpose’ has been ‘to provide our communities with sustainable, high quality firefighting, rescue and preventative services’ and this has served us well.

In 2018, the Fire and Rescue Service National Framework was updated and contained the quote:

‘Fire and rescue services play a crucial role in making our communities safer, whether it be preventing and protecting people from fire and other risks, or responding swiftly and effectively to the incidents and emergencies that occur.’ Rt Hon Nick Hurd MP, Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service, (2018). Foreword: Fire and Rescue National Framework for England. London: Home Office.

SMB felt that this extract from the National Framework document provided a good basis to answer the statement: 'Why we are here':

'Keeping people safe from fire and other risks.  Responding efficiently and effectively to incidents and emergencies.'

Our Vision: What we want to do

The vision of an organisation is what we aim to achieve. It is aspirational and is what we want to achieve ‘someday’.

The Vision is intrinsic to Saving More Lives and was set as: 

'Saving More Lives: Building on our successes to continue to make a difference, improve lives, and help secure resilient communities.'

Our Mission: What we do every day

If the Vision is what we aim to achieve ‘someday’, then the Mission is what we will do every day to try and achieve the Vision. Based on the core Purpose, Values and Vision, the mission for HWFRS is:

'As one professional team we will work hard every day to deliver high quality, sustainable services to our communities.'

For more information, read how the Service Values underpin the Purpose, Vision, and Mission.


FPC: 4/10/19/JAA