Fire Knowledge

About GMFRS

Manchester Cityscape
Manchester Cityscape

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is one of the largest Fire and Rescue Services in the UK with more than 1,637 members of staff and 41 fire stations.

We cover an area of approximately 500 square miles and a culturally diverse population of 2.8 million people.

With an international airport serving over 200 destinations, a major motorway network plus over 200 train and tram stations, Greater Manchester County presents some of the most operationally varied challenges you will find.

From modern inner-city developments to traditional mill towns, Greater Manchester is made up of ten very different districts – Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

Our vision is to make Greater Manchester a safer place by being a modern, community-focused and influential fire and rescue service.

We aim to provide the best emergency response we can to our communities – this is our primary function, but our role is much broader. We have focused on prevention and protection work over the last decade to try to stop incidents happening in the first place, improving community outcomes in a variety of ways, educating and developing young people and making fire station facilities available and more welcoming to the public.

We have embraced modern technology and procedures to do things quicker, safer, with less people and with less impact on the environment. We have also invested in future firefighting equipment and procedures, for example:

  • Ultra-High Pressure Lances on fire appliances
  • Thermal scanning cameras
  • Layered PPE
  • Air Units

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service - Mission, Vision and Values

Chief Fire Officer Dave Russel discusses what the Mission, Vision and Values mean for the Service and everyone that works here:

CFO Dave Russel

Our Mission is: Saving lives, protecting communities, working together

Our Vision is: A modern, flexible, resilient fire and rescue service

Our Values are:

  • Respect: Supporting, involving and listening to others, showing dignity, consideration and empathy
  • Excellence: Striving to develop, to ensure our contributions make our fire and rescue service the best it can be
  • Honesty: Committed to creating and maintaining an open and truthful environment, which is fair and consistent
  • Inclusive: Removing barriers to participation to promote a truly representative service, using diversity to benefit us all
  • Professionalism in our role: Demonstrating a positive attitude and commitment, to deliver a high-quality service and take pride in our role

Our vision is to make Greater Manchester a safer place by being a modern, community-focused and influential Fire and Rescue Service.

The fire service is part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. On a day-to-day basis the Executive Board are responsible for overseeing the running of the fire service.