This accessibility statement applies to www.wmfs.net.
This website is run by West Midlands Fire Service. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
- We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- PDFs and other documents older than September 2018 are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- not all videos hosted by third-party companies that we embed, such as X (formally Twitter) or YouTube have captions
- known issues on our ‘contact us’ (https://www.wmfs.net/contact-west-midlands-fire-service) page give the first drop-down field of the form on the page a priority in the tab order, and trap focus on the form when using the keyboard to navigate.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliance listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reason(s):
(a) non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The form on our ‘Contact us’ page (https://www.wmfs.net/contact-west-midlands-fire-service) has a higher tab order than it should, this causes keyboard navigation to skip all prior tab/focus content straight to the form. This is non-compliant because it does not meet WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order.
The form on our ‘Contact us’ page (https://www.wmfs.net/contact-west-midlands-fire-service) traps focus when navigated to by keyboard. This is non-compliant because it does not meet WCAG 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap.
We are working with an external third-party supplier to correct this issue. Currently, no specific timeframe is available, but we expect it to be resolved in the coming months.
Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Downloadable documents older than September 2018 in our ‘Documents’ section do not all comply with WCAG 2.1 guidelines for accessibility. Word documents and PDF documents do not all have text alternatives for non-text content – WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content. Because these documents pre-date the accessibility regulations, they are out of scope.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 18/10/2022. The statement is reviewed annually and the latest review date was 10/10/2024.
This accessibility statement was created following an evaluation of a range of sample pages evaluated using automated tools and manually.
The automated tools used were the latest version of Axe – https://www.deque.com/axe/ and WAVE Evaluation Tool – https://wave.webaim.org/
Tests were completed using different settings in the Google Chrome browser on Windows 10 on 17 and 32-inch screens and on Microsoft Edge browser on Windows 10 on 17 and 32-inch screens.
Feedback and contact information
Any feedback on compliance failures, requests for information in alternative formats or accessibility compliance on our website should be directed to West Midlands Fire Service Corporate Communication team by:
- Email contact@wmfs.net – include ‘FAO Corporate Communications’ in your email.
- call 03300 589 000
- or submit a report on our website at the following link: https://www.wmfs.net/report-website-issue/
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
West Midlands Fire Service is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.