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09
Dec 2022
Reduction in Harrogate fire engines to begin next year
The reduction in the number of fire engines crewed overnight in Harrogate looks set to be implemented next year.
Zoë Metcalfe, the Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, today published her blueprint on how fire resources will be deployed over the next three years.
Her Risk and Resource Model includes greater investment on fire prevention and rural on-call stations. But full-time urban fire stations in Harrogate and Scarborough will see the number of appliances staffed between 10pm and 9am reduced from two to one.
They will, however, get two emergency rescue fire engines at other times, when most fires occur, rather than the current one emergency vehicle and one less well equipped tactical response vehicle.
The nighttime reduction has been criticised by unions and councillors for putting lives at risk.
But today's report, which was published after a 12-week summer consultation, provides some consolation. It says:
'Low number of incidents'
The report reveals the county's fire and rescue service received £38.2 million funding 2022/23, of which £23.4 millions came from council taxpayers.
Two-thirds of fire stations are on-call stations where firefighters respond to a pager from home or from their work. Ripon, Knaresborough, Boroughbridge, Masham, Lofthouse and Summerbridge have on-call stations in the Harrogate district, although Ripon has a full-time crew during the day.
Fire station locations in North Yorkshire. Pic: North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner
The report says:
It also says "many of our fire engines attend a relatively low number of incidents". In the year to March, 31 2022, firefighters attended 7,594 incidents, of which 1,742 were fires, 2,485 incidents classed as 'special services' and 3,367 false alarms.
'Reduce the need for an emergency response'
The report says the "increased focus on prevention aims to address and reduce risk and the need for an emergency response".
The joint foreword by Ms Metcalfe and chief fire officer Jonathan Dyson says:
The report says the consultation revealed more support in favour of the proposals than against, but adds:
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