Racist and misogynistic behaviour is a 'cause for concern' for Dorset's fire service, a new report has revealed.

Particular concerns were raised about the culture of Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in the report.

Examples of poor behaviour within the service cited included racist jokes shared on messaging platforms; a male firefighter objecting to working with female firefighters during a training exercise for not being 'strong enough' and 'inappropriate behaviour' from male staff towards women.

The report, Fire & Rescue Service 2023–25: Effectiveness, Efficiency and People, came from an inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in which the fire service was graded in 11 areas.

The service was deemed 'inadequate' in promoting values and culture and 'requires improvement' in three other areas, including preventing fire and risk, promoting fairness and diversity and managing performance and developing leaders. 

Currently, behaviours persist in some areas that aren’t in line with the service’s values, the report said, and inspectors also said that when staff report these issues, managers don’t always support them.

HMICFRS also found that the service hasn’t yet made enough progress in equality, diversity and inclusion, and that staff don’t have confidence in the grievance and discipline or the promotions process.

READ: Chief Fire Officer of Dorset & Wiltshire to retire

This news comes after the service's chief fire officer, Ben Ansell, announced he would retire in September after 30 years of service.

He was at the head of the service in 2023 when an independent review uncovered ‘serious and concerning’ issues in the workplace culture of the service.

An ‘underlying culture of misogyny and sexism’ was found by the review team, after speaking to around 200 current and former members of staff.

However, the recent inspection did say that 'some progress' has been made in some areas since its last inspection in 2022 with the service graded ‘good’ in five areas and ‘adequate’ in two other areas.

The inspectors said the service continues to identify risk well, and routinely collects and updates its information about the highest-risk people, places and threats it has identified.

However, it needs to make sure safe and well visits are better prioritised based on risk.

Inspectors also said that the service has a good command of incidents and works well with its fire control partners.

The inspectorate found that while the service has a plan to improve its organisational culture, this will take time to implement.

Roy Wilsher, His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services, said: “I am satisfied with some aspects of the performance of Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks, but there are areas in which the service still needs to improve.

"In particular, I have concerns relating to the culture of the organisation.

“In December 2023, following a review into the service’s workplace culture, senior leaders agreed an action plan to deal with the concerns it raised. But having brought our inspection forward we found some worrying issues that are consistent with the independent review.

"More needs to be done to implement the action plan and make sure staff act with integrity and demonstrate the service’s values.  

“The service has made some progress in other areas since our previous inspection. For example, it is better at understanding risk, and has addressed the area for improvement from our last inspection. It also continues to perform well in efficiency and has a clear plan in place to make further efficiency savings. But there is still more work to do.

“In view of these findings, particularly with regard to the service’s culture, I have been in contact with the chief fire officer.

"I recognise that changing the culture takes time. I will keep in close contact with the service to monitor its progress in addressing the cause of concern and associated recommendations.”