DORSET & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has been commended by inspectors from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. (HMICFRS)

This is the first time HMICFRS has inspected fire and rescue services across England.

A summary of the report stated: "We are pleased with the performance of DWFRS in keeping people safe and secure.

"But it needs to improve in some areas to give a consistently good service."

HMICFRS inspectors found DWFRS was good at keeping people safe, preventing fires and other risks, protecting the public through fire regulation, responding to emergencies, and responding to national risks.

However, the report did suggest that DWFRS "required improvement to how it understands risk."

In terms of providing an efficient service the report rated the service as good, which is the second highest rating – below outstanding.

And the service was also rated good when it came to looking after its staff, promoting diversity and developing leaders.

"Overall, we commend DWFRS for its performance.

"This provides a good foundation for improvement in the year ahead," read the report.

DWFRS was one of 16 fire and rescue services inspected by HMICFRS.

While inspectors found most services, such as DWFRS, were good at responding to emergencies, they concluded there was too much variation on how well the public are protected nationally.

HM Inspector of Fire & Rescue Services Zoe Billingham said: "We are pleased that fire and rescue services show real strengths in training for and responding to emergencies – this work undoubtedly saves many lives.

"However it is concerning that there is too much variation in how fire and rescue services operate, resulting in a postcode lottery in the standards of service the public receives.

"In this inspection it was encouraging to find that more services have a strong culture and values, where staff are well looked after and are proud to work for their service.

"Some services are using new and innovative ways to increase the diversity of their workforce and accessing the widest talent pool possible, but we still found some severely outdated practices including a lack of changing facilities and kit for women firefighters. Sustained action is required for fire and rescue services to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome."