North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe has called issues with fire crew availability in the county “incredibly concerning”.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s fire engine availability was classed as being at a “critical” level for 10% of the time during May this year.

That status refers to the service having fewer than 32 staffed engines and other appliances available across North Yorkshire.

The fire service said that “ongoing challenges” were affecting firefighter availability in the county.

The statistics were presented during the monthly public accountability meeting chaired by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

After the high in May, the period of time spent at the critical level decreased to 4% in June.

Ms Metcalfe said that the situation reaffirmed the need for the fire service’s risk and resource model consultation.

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The consultation, which closed last month, proposed upgrading Harrogate’s 24-hour tactical response vehicle to a full fire engine, but only during the day.

Harrogate Fire Station is currently one of only of five in North Yorkshire to have staff on a 24-hour basis.

Elsewhere in North Yorkshire, the commissioner proposed moving some stations from full-time operation to being ‘on-call’.

That is where firefighters principally work in other jobs but respond to incidents when needed.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“That’s why… the fire service invests in the on-call model and that the service uses its resources in the very best way in the future.”

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

“Our availability is inverted to our demand”

The fire service’s director of assurance, area manager James Manning, told the meeting that the current method of employing staff on-call had led to some issues.

He said:

“Our availability is inverted to our demand.”

The data showed that fire crew availability was higher in the evenings and overnight but lower during the daytime when fewer firefighters were able to be on-call.

Roughly around double the number of incidents happen in the daytime compared to overnight.

Mr Manning added that May also saw “slightly higher than normal” levels of leave and sickness but that the service was working on becoming more flexible in its staffing arrangements.