Harrogate district road closed as crane catches fire

A main road in the Harrogate district was closed this morning when a crane caught fire.

The incident happened on the A6055 at Ferrensby, which is almost midway between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.

The fire was extinguished but no further details are currently available.

The Stray Ferret has contacted North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which does not have a phone number for media inquiries, to request further details.

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North Yorkshire fire service ‘struggling to buy the basics’, says union

The government has left North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in a “horrendous position” struggling to buy basic equipment, according to union bosses.

The Fire Brigade Union said the decision by ministers to scrap its capital grant entirely will have “serious implications” for the service.

Officials at North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office revealed last month that the fire service may have to borrow up to £31 million to help fund projects over the next five years.

But Steve Howley, Fire Brigades Union North Yorkshire brigade secretary, said the bleak financial position meant the fire service was struggling to buy basics.

He said:

“The government has left North Yorkshire fire and rescue service in a horrendous position – it’s abolished the entirety of its capital funding for it. When coupled with the already desperate financial state of the service there will be serious implications. 

“The fire and rescue service is now struggling to buy the basics needed for our firefighters to protect their communities, and struggling to invest in its dilapidated buildings, many of which are unfit for purpose in 2022. For example, we still have several stations which do not have adequate facilities for female members of staff.

“The government needs to start taking fire and rescue seriously and fund it appropriately. The firefighters of North Yorkshire are staring down the barrel of a gun, either cut firefighter jobs to pay for basic provisions or fail to have adequate facilities or equipment. Neither option provides the public of North Yorkshire with the protection they deserve or require.”

On Monday, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel agreed a 1.98% increase in the fire service precept, which amounts to £75.61 for the year.

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The service was limited to such an increase because it is not one of the eight lowest charging services in the country.

Zoe Metclafe, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, told the panel that she would continue to lobby government for further flexibility in the precept.

She said:

“The financial challenges for the service are considerable with pressures around utilities, estates cost and staff pay.

“I do appreciate and understand members concerns around funding and the budget request at the last meeting and I do share these.

“As you are aware, I have lobbied hard for the government on precept flexibility.”

 Meanwhile, Michael Porter, chief finance officer at the commissioner’s office, said:

“I think it is fair to say that the financial needs of the organisation and the service outstrip what we are asking for and proposing today.”

Jonathan Dyson, deputy chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, sought to reassure the public that despite the financial pressures the public would “continue to receive a high standard of response”.

Firefighters rescue passengers from car stuck in Dallowgill ford

Fire crews from Ripon and Lofthouse rescued two passengers from a car trapped in water in a ford at Dallowgill yesterday.

Emergency services were called when the vehicle got submerged in water half a metre deep at around 11am.

Dallowgill is situated between Ripon, Pateley Bridge and Masham.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log, one passenger had managed to get out of the vehicle by the time firefighters arrived but two others required assistance.

Firefighters then used a winch to lift the car to safety.

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Comments on a Facebook group for the area said the car was stuck on Belford Lane in Kirkby Malzeard.

The occupants are believed to be from Leeds and there was some debate over whether the road was either open to traffic or suitable, given the amount of rain.

Residents also said they saw an air ambulance attend.

The fire and rescue service incident log said:

“Crews rescued two passengers from the vehicle by assisting them to walk to the bank side from their car, which was stuck in water half a metre deep. Crews used a winch to remove the vehicle from the ford.”

Firefighters called to tree house blaze in Knaresborough

Firefighters were summoned to a blaze in a tree house in woodland in Knaresborough last night.

Appliances from Harrogate and Knaresborough were summoned to the fire at about 9.30pm last night.

According to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log, the fire occurred in a wooded area at Waterside. It said:

“The structure suffered 100% fire damage and was extinguished using a main 45 mm jet and a ceiling hook.

“The cause of the fire is unknown.”

There have been several fires recently in the woods near the River Nidd in Knaresborough.

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Two Ripon fire crews called after chip pan causes kitchen fire

Fire crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called to a kitchen fire in Ripon last night.

Crews were called to a house on Sandy Lane in Ripon just after 6pm last night. The residents reported a cooker fire which is thought to have started in a chip pan.

Two breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet, a positive pressure ventilation fan and small tools were used to extinguish the fire.

The fire caused damage to the kitchen, floor, cooker and ventilation unit.

In the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service incident log it said:

“Two fire engines from Ripon responded to reports of a cooker fire, all persons were out of the property on arrival of crews. The oven was removed to open air and the property ventilated.”

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Cause of fatal house fire in Harrogate still under investigation

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has said the cause of a Harrogate house fire which killed a woman last week is still under investigation.

Firefighters from Harrogate and Knaresborough were called to Craven Street, just off King’s Road, at 6.20am on Friday.

When they entered the house they found a woman in her 50s and although paramedics performed CPR she was certified dead at the scene.

The woman has not been named.

The fire service said today investigations into the cause of the blaze were ongoing.

Neighbours told the Stray Ferret they thought the fire began at the back of the house.

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Car crashes into house on Rigton Hill causing ‘significant damage’

Emergency services were called to North Rigton this morning after a car crashed into a house.

Images show a silver Ford Fiesta car struck the corner of a cottage on Rigton Hill, just north from the Square and Compass pub.

Police and fire crews responded to the incident at around 8am and were able to manage traffic while ensuring the scene was safe.

North Yorkshire Police said the incident caused “significant damage to the front of the property and the vehicle”. It added:

“Thankfully, no one was injured and the homeowner was not inside when it occurred.”

Police and fire crews said this was a damage-only collision and there were no reports of any injuries.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said:

“This was a single vehicle road traffic collision involving a car impacting a building. All the persons were out of the vehicle on the arrival of the fire crews, who worked to make the scene and vehicle safe.”

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A recovery vehicle arrived to remove the car just after 9.30am.

Police are investigating the collision and any witnesses are asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 1, and speak to the Force Control Room. The reference number is NYP-07012022-0047.

North Yorkshire Police launches Christmas drink and drug drive campaign

North Yorkshire Police has launched its Christmas campaign to tackle drink and drug driving.

The campaign, which runs until January 1, will see traffic officers conduct around the clock patrols and breath testing.

Every year, about 1,400 people are arrested across the county for drink and drug driving. The number increases during the festive period.

Sergeant Andy Morton said:

“A lot of people think police are just interested in catching and arresting as many people as possible for drink or drug driving over the festive period. And whilst this is true to an extent, the main priority for us is to keep people alive.

“We want to catch people who take serious risks by breaking the law in this way. Drink and drug driving kills. It’s that simple. We want you to live and be at home with your loved ones this Christmas.”

According to a police press release, there are often misconceptions about how much you can legally drink and drive. The legal limit is different for everyone, depending on factors such as age, size and the type and amount of alcohol being consumed.

In England, the blood limit is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. But police advise people not to drink and drive at all.

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York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership is working with the police, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and other partner agencies to warn motorists of the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for access, said:

“It’s very easy to misjudge if it’s safe to get in the car and drive after doing so. Just one large glass of wine or a pint of beer can take at least two hours to leave your body before it’s safe to drive again. Please don’t put yourself or your loved ones at risk.

“We encourage people to stay safe by leaving the car at home and arranging alternative means of transport or designating an alcohol-free driver for the evening.”

Self-combusting carpets cause fire in Farnham

Knaresborough firefighters were called out last night after a collection of carpet cut-offs self-combusted in Farnham.

Three pallets containing the cut-offs caught fire outside industrial premises at about midnight.

It is believed hot glue within the pieces of carpet caused the fire.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service‘s incident log said:

“The pallets, which were holding carpet cut-offs were extinguished using one hose reel jet, two breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera.

“The cause is believed to have been self-combustion from glue within the carpet cut-offs.”

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‘Bleak’ future for North Yorkshire fire service due to underfunding

North Yorkshire’s fire and rescue service faces a bleak outlook due to chronic underfunding, systemic on-call staffing shortages, crumbling buildings and out of date vehicles, a meeting has heard,

North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime panel was told the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and the fire service, which serves about 824,000 people across the county, was working “exceptionally hard” to break even this year.

Chief financial officer Michael Porter told the meeting the service would be drawing on £638,000 of reserves to balance the books until April, but “next year is looking like it is going to be really challenging”.

Mr Porter said a £390,000 deficit had initially been forecast for 2022/23 from reserves to balance the 2022/23 budget, but that was likely to deepen significantly due to pay awards, soaring utility bills and increases in national insurance contributions.

The meeting heard unless restrictions on fire services increasing their council tax demands were eased by the government, the service would need to make more savings. Mr Porter said:

“There’s an awful lot of additional pressures that are lining up for the fire service for next year. Initial views on the settlement for next year are that it is probably not as generous as it has been for the police and the police have more scope to increase precept.”

The meeting heard members question why some £365,000 had been spent on “minor works” to fire service buildings, before hearing they were built as medium-term premises up to 70 years ago and constructed with interiors designed for a different time, when there were few female firefighters.

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Mr Porter said the service’s 30 buildings across the county and its fleet of vehicles had been significantly under-invested in for some time.

“There are a significant number of properties within the estate that are in dire need of replacement, as opposed to maintenance. The longer that we leave it or are unable to replace the buildings, the more we will have to spend patching them up.

“We have got an aged estate that doesn’t meet modern requirements and standards it is an inhibitor of what the organisation wants to do as it moves forward. We almost have to borrow every single penny we have to invest in the capital programme as it is. It is not a rosy picture.”

Sharing buildings

The meeting was told the fire service was considering sharing more buildings with other emergency services to cut costs, but the fire service needed to have bases spread across the county to reach emergencies in good time.

City of York Council leader Councillor Keith Aspden told the meeting recruitment issues over on-call firefighters had persisted for a long time, but overall funding was the key issue.

“Every time I see the fire minister I ask about capital grants for fire services and precept flexibility.  Unless something happens nationally things are going to get very difficult, particularly for services like this with relatively small budgets and rural areas.”

Interim Chief Fire Officer Jon Foster told members on-call recruitment remained a challenge due to changes in people’s lifestyles and covid had further impacted on it.

He said the service was examining changing terms and conditions and flexibility of being an on-call firefighter as the system was very outdated, paying a small amount for being available and a larger amount to attend calls.

After the meeting, the panel’s chair, Councillor Carl Les said:

“I think the situation is bleak. The fundamental problem is the overall funding for the fire and rescue service.

“Arguments will be made that the government grant could and should be increased, but also the fact that the precept regime with the fire and rescue service is very limited.

“I think we need to lobby the government that for small rural forces like North Yorkshire it would be useful if there was flexibility to go above the two per cent increase cap and levy an extra £5 or £10.

“We know that delivering services in rural areas is more expensive than delivering services in cities.

“For a number of years resources have been difficult to find to allocate for things like buildings and machinery that are getting older.”