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26
Jun 2022
Harrogate fire station changes won't increase risk to life, says commissioner
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has rejected claims that proposed changes to Harrogate's night time fire service will increase the risk to lives.
Ms Metcalfe is consulting on a three-year plan for fire services in the county in the face of severe financial pressure.
One of the proposals is to reduce the number of fire engines operating overnight at Harrogate and Scarborough fire stations from two to one.
This has been criticised by firefighters and trade unions, who fear it could cost lives.
But in her first interview with the Stray Ferret since she was elected commissioner in November, Ms Metcalfe said she disagreed with this assessment:
Ms Metcalfe's Risk and Resource Model 2022 to 2025 Consultation, published in May, sets out how the fire service will deploy its resources over the next three years. It puts the emphasis on fire prevention, especially during the day when most fires occur.
Firefighters tackling a recent blaze in West Tanfield.
Harrogate and Scarborough currently both have an emergency fire engine and a tactical response fire engine operating 24 hours a day.
The model proposes both stations have two emergency response vehicles during the day but only one at night. They would lose their tactical response engines altogether.
Ms Metcalfe was accompanied at the interview by Dave Winspear, who is part of the senior management team at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Mr Winspear, who is based in Ripon, said the changes would enhance the current fire service model across the county, adding:
He added the tactical response engine, which will be lost, had "limited response capability" compared to emergency fire engines.
Harrogate fire station
Harrogate currently employs 40 firefighters across four watches and five could be affected by the changes. Mr Winspear said they would be offered the chance to be redeployed.
Government cuts £8m a year
The new model for fire services is being drawn up against a bleak financial backdrop.
The government recently axed North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's capital grant, worth about £8m a year.
It means the service could have to borrow up to £31 million over the next five years. Steve Howley, Fire Brigades Union North Yorkshire brigade secretary, has said the service would be left struggling to buy basics.
Ms Metcalfe described the decision to cut the capital grant as "very unfair" at the time it was announced and this week told us she was "working hard for additional funding" to ensure the service didn't end up in the position outlined by the union.
Zoe Metcalfe
Delays answering 101 and 999 calls
Ms Metcalfe, who was born in Ripon, went to school in Harrogate and now lives in Aldborough, also said she was working to reduce delays in answering 101 and 999 calls in the police control room.
Home Office figures last month showed that North Yorkshire police took on average 30 seconds to answer 999 calls — the third worst performance in the country. The calls should be answered within 10 seconds.
The commissioner's office has pledged £140,000 to address the issue. When will people noticed a difference?
The force control room should currently employ 146 full-time equivalent employees across communications and dispatch when it is fully staffed.
Read more:
- Fire Brigades Union 'seriously concerned' over cuts to Harrogate service
- Harrogate firefighter brands plans to rely on one fire engine 'farcical'
There are currently 141. With the commissioner’s additional investment, there will be a revised target of 161.
Ms Metcalfe said a third of calls to police involved mental health issues and it was important to understand the data better and work with other organisations to tackle the issues.
She said her background as a Conservative councillor on Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council meant she was familiar with many of the agencies involved in mental health.
Asked whether she, as a senior Conservative politician, shared Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones' lack of confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson, she said:
You can find out more about the proposed changes and take part in the consultation here.
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