Always call 999 to report an actual fire or incident

To report a fire safety concern:

• about a friend, relative or neighbour or about a child with fire starting behaviour

–  please contact our Prevention team on  0800 032 1155

• about a business 

Before getting in touch, please read our guidance below on what to do if you see a fire risk or hazard, what you can report to us and also what we cannot help with.  

If you see a fire risk or hazard

If you see a potential fire risk in Hereford & Worcestershire you can report this to us. However, it may be possible to get it put right before getting us involved. These are some steps we suggest you take.

1. Speak to someone involved

You could speak to the person in charge of the premises or the building owner or their representative. If you have a concern at your workplace you could speak to your employer, your union or your employee representative.

If you’re concerned about a neighbour or family member’s home then you could speak to them and offer support. You may want to recommend they book a home safety visit. This is where we will come and check their home for fire risks and give them safety advice.

2. Check who to report an issue to

There are some fire safety issues that we’re not able to help with. Before getting in touch you should check who the right person is to report an issue to. This may be your Council or Local Authority or the Health and Safety Executive. 

3. Understand what businesses should be doing

You can check what businesses should be doing for fire safety by reading our guidance on fire safety law. The government has also put together fire safety guides which will help you.

4. Report your concern to us

If you have tried speaking to someone involved and have checked this is something we can investigate – please get in touch using the contact information below and report your concern to us.

What you can report to us

You can report concerns about premises in Hereford & Worcestershire. We treat all reports of fire risk confidentially and you do not need to give your name, just details of what is concerning you.

Typical examples of things people report to us include:

• blocked or locked fire exits or fire escape routes whilst the building is in use
• fire alarm not working or can’t be heard properly
• there appears to be a risk of fire occurring
• staff do not appear to know what to do in the event of a fire

Photographs can also be provided to provide us with intelligence of the situation.

What we can’t help with

• Please note the Fire Service does not carry out fire risk assessments, fire marshal or fire extinguisher training and cannot provide recommendations for these services.
• If someone offers these services and says that they are from a local Fire Service please contact the Police.  Our Officers always carry photographic Identification which may be easily be checked.
• We cannot help if you haven’t provided enough information to make an assessment on what the concern is and where it is occurring.
• We may be unable to look into your concern where it falls outside the scope of fire safety legislation such as nuisance bonfires, or domestic disputes, however we can provide advice to businesses to improve their fire safety compliance.

Get in touch with us

You can get in touch with one of our Fire Safety Inspecting Officers within our Protection Business Fire Safety team in the following ways:

Phone: 0808 196 9500
Email: Protection-TFS@hwfire.org.uk
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm

Alternatively by post:
Protection-TFS Department
Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
Hindlip Park
Worcester
WR3 8SP

If the issue you are reporting cannot wait until office hours to be dealt with, or could genuinely endanger life or property, please dial 999 and report it to us.