Warwickshire fire service cuts could see stations downgraded across the Stratford district claim group
A DRAMATIC warning that several fire stations across south Warwickshire are facing the axe was issued this week as councillors consider plans to overhaul the county’s fire and rescue service.
There were already fears that the proposals would leave the whole of south Warwickshire overnight with only one fire appliance – based at Stratford – to cover a vast area. But a firefighters’ organisation called the Fire and Rescue Services Association (FRSA) has ratcheted up the tension by claiming that the options include downgrading the fire stations at Bidford, Henley, Shipston, Wellesbourne, Fenny Compton and Gaydon.
These are known as “on-call” fire stations manned by what used to be called “retained” firefighters – people who have other jobs but have been trained to professional standards to fight fires on a regular basis as and when needed.
In a statement the FRSA said: “These will be turned into so-called ‘surge stations’ which will be required four times in every five years, and the on-call firefighters required to work from other stations on a shift system or be made redundant.”
Warwickshire County Council denied any fire stations would close and added that councillors in the cabinet meeting today (Thursday) were being asked to choose options from a series of new models of working contained in a report entitled Resourcing to Risk. Those options include replacing the on-call system with surge teams – firefighters called in to help meet a surge in activity, for example during flooding, wildfires or periods of high demand.
The preferred option is due to go out to public consultation from December to March.
However, Tristan Ashby, the chief executive of the FRSA, said: “The county council’s cabinet is being asked to make major decisions regarding the future of Warwickshire on-call fire stations, based on the flimsiest evidence, none of which has been subject to independent scrutiny.
“We have severe doubts about the workability of what is being proposed. Local people will lose a valuable local asset with little or no gain to the area.
“Although these proposals will be subject to further consultation, our experience is that fire and rescue services just press ahead with changes regardless of public opinion, or the facts of the matter.
“We cannot stand by and see on-call stations closed and firefighters made redundant on the basis of these ill-thought-out proposals.”
The possibility that overnight cover could be seriously depleted has triggered alarm in the south of the county, especially since there seems to be a suggestion that the number of appliances throughout Warwickshire will reduce from 23 to 13 in the daytime and evening and from 23 to eight overnight.
Penny Barry, a resident of Bidford and a veteran campaigner of the successful battle to save the village fire station 14 years ago, told the Herald: “The resources of the south of the county are now feeding the north of the county, which is worrying when you consider that 1,000 extra houses have been built in Bidford in recent years.”
Despite the robust statement from the FRSA, the document being considered by county councillors today has aroused confusion as much as alarm and anxiety.
The language in which it is couched is far from hard-and-fast and a lot of people – including local councillors – are not entirely sure what is being proposed.
County councillor Jenny Fradgley (Lib Dem, Stratford West), told the Herald: “I’m quite confused about this.” She said she was anxious to “tease out” what was going on. “I don’t understand how you can leave this area [south Warwickshire] without proper cover,” she said.
And after the report’s publication on the county council’s website, another county councillor – Kate Rolfe (Lib Dem, Stratford South) – said: “I’m none the wiser.”
Cllr Penny Taylor, the chair of Bidford Parish Council, pointed out that Bidford fire station currently provided overnight cover. She admitted that she, too, was confused, and said: “We need to find out what’s happening.
“We’ve had mixed information. We would be very concerned if there was any change to Bidford fire station. We want Bidford fire station to stay as it is.”
Despite the dramatic statement from the FRSA, the long-established Fire Brigades Union (FBU), is keeping an open mind for the time being.
Andrew Scattergood, the FBU’s executive council member for the West Midlands, told the Herald that he’d been assured by Ben Brook, Warwickshire’s chief fire officer, that “nothing is set in stone at this stage”.
Mr Scattergood met Mr Brook on Monday (6th November) and said: “New thinking is coming out of Warwickshire that is not replicated throughout the country. Normally, if I am honest, reports like this are eyebrow-raising moments and it’s easy to criticise what they’re trying to do.”
But in this case the service was responding to 15 years of cuts, with fire officers trying to find new ways of providing fire and rescue cover.
Resourcing to Risk tells councillors that currently the highest fire appliance availability was during the lowest period of risk and demand, and the lowest availability during the highest periods.
There was no guaranteed fire appliance availability other than wholetime appliances which made managing fire cover difficult on a day-to-day, hour-hour basis.
“This is due to reliance on ‘on-call’ availability which fluctuates and is reducing. This impacts attendance times.”
The report points out that on-call appliances were crewed by firefighters living or working within five minutes of the fire station and who responded to incidents when alerted. Firefighting was their secondary employment.
“We have 12 on-call fire appliances based at on-call fire stations across the county,” says the report. “On-call availability continues to decline even after significant interventions.”
It says that on-call appliances on average are only available a third of the time. “The time that they are available is highest at night when activity levels have reduced,” it adds.
The issue of how to recruit more on-call firefighters is occupying a good many minds. But one such firefighter, who did not wish to be identified, told the Herald: “The recruitment retention system is flawed. We’re recruiting the wrong people. They can be academic, and can pass a test, but they don’t know how to go up a ladder.”
As spokesperson for the county council said: “The model that cabinet is being asked to consider does not include plans to close any of the current fire stations in Warwickshire.”
The spokesperson said the cabinet would consider supporting “the commencement of a staff, stakeholder public consultation” on one of the options outlined in the report.
“An update on this proposal will be provided to the public following the cabinet meeting,” said the spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the FRSA points out that despite the far-reaching implications of the proposals, one preferred option will save taxpayers only £14,000 (on an annual budget of £12,892,000).
