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01
Dec
Union urges deputy mayor to reconsider Harrogate on-call firefighters decision
Unions have called on the deputy mayor to reconsider a decision to operate a second fire engine in Harrogate on-call overnight.
On Tuesday, the Stray Ferret reported that Jo Coles, the deputy mayor for policing in North Yorkshire, had instructed the county’s chief fire officer to change the staffing system at the station to ensure crews are able to respond via a pager at night.
The second engine at Harrogate, which is currently a tactical response vehicle, will be replaced with a standard B-type fire engine which will be capable of responding to all types of incidents.
The move gained a mixed response from the Fire Brigades Union, which welcomed the introduction of the B-type engine but had concern over the impact on response times.
Now, Gavin Marshall, FBU regional secretary for Yorkshire and Humberside, has urged Ms Coles to reconsider her decision and said it is essential Harrogate has “robust and timely fire cover”.
Mr Marshall added that an investigation should be carried out into the costs savings should be conducted and additional funding should be sought for a second full time fire appliance.
He said:
The Fire Brigades Union has expressed mixed emotions regarding the recent change in fire cover in Harrogate. While we acknowledge and welcome the increased fire cover provided by the B-type vehicle and its crew of four during the daytime, we have serious concerns about the potential impact on response times during the night.
The reduction in staffing and resources, particularly at night, could lead to increased delays in responding to emergency incidents, which is a matter of great concern for the local community. It is essential that fire services are appropriately staffed and resourced at all times to ensure the safety and protection of residents.
We urge the mayor and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to reconsider this change. A thorough investigation into the cost savings should be conducted, and additional funding should be sought from other areas of the service to ensure that Harrogate has access to a 2nd full-time B-type appliance. This would ensure that the local community continues to receive the high level of fire cover they need, particularly in the event of potential fire incidents.
Unions have long raised concern over the proposed changes, since they were first tabled in 2022.
Previous Conservative police, fire and crime commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, approved plans in 2022 to cut the number of overnight engines in Harrogate from two to one as part of her 2022 to 2025 Risk and Resource Model.
Zoe Metcalfe, former Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
As part of the plan, which was due to be implemented in April this year, one fire engine would respond to all callouts 24 hours a day but the second would not be staffed between 10pm and 9am.
At the time, Ms Metcalfe said more fires occur during daytime, and having two fire engines at Harrogate would provide better daytime protection at key times. Her plan put more emphasis on fire prevention.
Labour’s Ms Coles, who replaced Ms Metcalfe and took on her commissioning powers in July, announced changes to the plan via a decision notice this week.
She instructed Jonathan Dyson, the chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, to implement a day-crewed system in Harrogate — which is similar to Malton and Selby.
It means the second engine at the station, which will have a crew of four, will be able to respond to the same incidents as the first. But, it will only operate during the daytime although the crew will be able to respond to emergencies overnight via a pager.
In response to the union's concern over the decision, Ms Coles told the Stray Ferret:
Public safety is the number one priority for me in my role as deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime.
Two years ago, after public consultation, my predecessor in this role made a decision to change provision around the second fire engine in Harrogate which I know caused concern from the FBU.
Before reaching this revised decision I sought assurances from the chief fire officer that the original proposal’s rationale was still valid and that there had been no significant change to the fire risk and demand in the Harrogate area.
I also asked for the previous concerns raised by the FBU to be reflected so we could try and reach a consensus.
As a result, the day-crewed duty system will be adopted to enable the availability of the second fire engine via a pager at night.
This second fire engine will be one that can respond to all incident types, with a crew of four. These were both things the FBU had previously been concerned about.
A decision notice published by the deputy mayor's office said the chief fire officer has been asked to progress the implementation of the staffing model "as soon as possible after necessary engagement with the workforce and representative bodies".
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