Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS) is committed to providing an excellent, modern and agile fire and rescue service for the communities of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. As part of this commitment, BFRS is proposing to reshape its On-Call provision, ensuring its resources are better matched to current and future risks, demands and public expectations. The proposal is informed by data analysis, sector engagement and feedback from staff and the public. It responds to longstanding challenges in recruiting and retaining On-Call firefighters, declining fire engine availability, and the need to improve value for money across the Service.
BFRS is proposing changes that will:
• Remove some fire engines that cannot be reliably crewed, replacing some with specialist vehicles that are better matched to local risks and community needs.
• Close two On-Call stations that have not been able to crew an engine for at least five years (Great Missenden and Stokenchurch).
• Base specialist vehicles at the stations that best match local risks and community needs, making it easier to crew them and improving how quickly they can respond.
• Give the Chief Fire Officer more flexibility to make quicker, evidence-based decisions about where resources are based.
To give your feedback, please complete this questionnaire by 28 January 2026. It should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and we welcome responses from everyone, including members of the public, organisations and BFRS employees.
The questionnaire is being administered on behalf of BFRS by Opinion Research Services (ORS), an independent specialist research practice. All the questions are optional, you are able to withdraw at any time, and any information you provide will be processed by ORS in accordance with the latest Data Protection regulations. BFRS is the data controller, and ORS is the data processor. Any personal information will be kept for no more than one year after any decisions have been finalised. ORS will produce an independent consultation report in which feedback from individual respondents will be anonymous, but views from organisations or someone acting in their official capacity may be attributed in full. For further information, please see www.ors.org.uk/privacy or www.bucksfire.gov.uk/privacy-policy/
If you have any queries about the consultation, you can email BFRS on OIP@bucksfire.gov.uk or Catherine Wall at ORS on catherine.wall@ors.org.uk. You can also contact the Market Research Society on 0800 975 9596 to confirm that ORS is a genuine research practice.
