BRAVE firefighters who saved a woman engulfed in flames were verbally reprimanded for leaving the door of their engine open as a leaked report has revealed.



The North Manchester crew was quizzed by a member of a brigade inspection squad who had turned up to observe the rescue.



Firefighters had been called to a blaze and when they arrived at the scene found a woman on fire in the garden.



The crew rushed from their engine and beat the fire out before giving the woman CPR.



But a report says that despite their life-saving actions, the crew were challenged by a member of the brigade's Performance Review Team (PRT) over the open door and leaving a blood donor sticker in the cab window.



The report, which was commissioned by the brigade and written by academic Peter Moran, says: "The crew were called to help a woman on fire in a front garden during which they had to beat out the fire on her and give her CPR.



"A member of the PRT in attendance inquired as to why the pump door had been left open and why there was a blood donor sticker in the window."



The report was carried out to try and discover why Greater Manchester firefighters feel undervalued and why they regard relations with higher management difficult.



Since June 2005 the PRT has carried out spot checks at stations and incidents to monitor performance and standards.



Negative

But the report found: "The PRT was raised at some point during every watch visit and it is no exaggeration to state that they are deeply resented by operational fire crews who regard their function as overwhelmingly negative.



"It is the firm belief of operational crews that the PRT are there to find fault with them - they never received positive feedback - the words `catch us out' and `pettiness' cropped up with regular monotony."



The PRT also made a dawn visit to Bury Fire station last year and reported three firefighters for sleeping on the floor instead of £400 reclining chairs.



In his report Mr Moran reveals other `trivial issues' for which firefighters have been reprimanded or threatened with a reprimand include:



*Chinstraps undone (on the way from an incident).



*Helmets hung the wrong way round.



*Shirt left on back of chair.



*Rubbish left in a station rubbish bin when new watch were due to start shift.



Mr Moran's report contains comments from a number of firefighters about the PRT.



One North Manchester firefighter said: "The PRT use scare tactics and bullying. They are there to enforce policies and beat us with a stick. They have to find something wrong or they get told off."



Offensive

Another said: "The whole concept of it is offensive. You're fighting a large fire and you've got some bloke stood next to you waiting for you to make a mistake. It's intimidating. We are hard working people - the PRT is part of the culture of catching out and inventing reasons to try and catch people out."



County Fire Officer Barry Dixon said: "Reviewing how we perform as a Fire and Rescue Service is essential if we are to further improve the first class service we provide.



"The Performance Review Team (PRT) has been instrumental in offering advice and support on all aspects of performance, identifying best practice and any areas of improvement.



"Their role of supporting Borough Commanders to establish an effective means of managing performance has, there is no doubt, made Greater Manchester a safer place to live, work and visit.



"Since June 2005, Dwelling Fires, Commercial Property Fires and Vehicle Fires have decreased by over 3000. In addition, injuries to members of the public have decreased by 34% and fires involving rubbish, skips and waste have been reduced by 2000 over the last year.



"The Manchester Evening News recently raised concerns over issues such as BA procedure and officer development, many of these points had been previously identified by the PRT and is part of an improvement plan.



"Since the introduction of PRT in June 2005 there has been a 25% reduction in accidents at incidents, a significant contribution in fire-fighter safety.



"Although some may not like being assessed doing their job it is a matter of life in the modern work place that we monitor to reduce accidents and improve performance."

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