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.”

Keith Tordoff launches police commissioner campaign in Harrogate

Pateley Bridge man Keith Tordoff held a media launch in Harrogate this morning for his campaign to become the next North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

Mr Tordoff, who is standing as an Independent candidate, said he was the man to regain people’s trust after the resignation of Philip Allott.

His manifesto is based on the slogan “safer streets for all”. He said he would find ways to protect vulnerable people and increase public confidence in the police and fire services.

Mr Tordoff said he wanted officers to spend more time on foot talking to people and look at how police deal with areas of persistent anti-social behaviour.

Speaking to the Stray Ferret, he said:

“It is very important that we give people confidence that we have safer streets for all. There’s plenty we need to do to achieve this, to show we’re listening to them and doing something about it.”

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Mr Tordoff served as a police officer in Leeds for 20 years and said this set him apart from the other candidates, and would enable him to find practical ways to bring improvements.

Besides working for the police, Mr Tordoff, who has won the support of the Yorkshire Party, also has a business background having served as chairman of Nidderdale Chamber of Trade and owned the sweet shop in Pateley Bridge.

He added:

“North Yorkshire needs strong leadership that can work with everyone, that’s why I’m independent.”

Election on November 25

The commissioner’s role is to hold the county’s chief constable and chief fire officer to account.

The by-election will take place on November 25. Applications to vote by post must be submitted by 5pm on Wednesday 10th, while proxy vote applications must be entered by 5pm on Wednesday 17th.

Mr Tordoff finished third when the role was last contested in May. Turnout then was 25%.

He is standing again following the resignation of Mr Allott in the wake of comments made about the murder of Sarah Everard.

The full list of candidates is:

Hannah Barham-Brown, Women’s Equality Party

James Barker, Liberal Democrats

Zoë Metcalfe, Conservatives

Emma Scott-Spivey, Labour

Keith Tordoff, Independent

Harrogate fire crew helps toddler with toilet seat stuck on head

Harrogate firefighters came to the aid of a toddler yesterday evening after he was brought to the fire station with a toilet seat stuck on his head.

The two-year-old arrived at Harrogate fire station, on Skipton Road, with his parents just after 7pm.

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

“Crews disassembled the seat so that it could be removed from the child’s head.”

Small tools were used to remove the seat before the boy was sent on his way.

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Pub owners ‘devastated’ after overnight fire in Harrogate district

A country pub near Boroughbridge is closed indefinitely after fire broke out in the early hours of this morning.

Firefighters from Ripon, Thirsk, Knaresborough and Harrogate were summoned to the Ship Inn at Aldborough after a fire alarm went off in the kitchen at about 2am.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue’s incident log said:

“Crews discovered a fire in the kitchen believed to have originated from a tumble dryer.”

“Crews used 2 hose reel jets, one covering jet, four breathing apparatus, thermal imaging cameras, one short extension ladder, positive pressure ventilation (fan) and lighting to extinguish the fire and assist them with the incident.”

The Stray Ferret called the pub this morning and a woman, who did not leave her name, said:

“It was an electrical fire. At the moment we are closed and need to assess the damage.

“It’s absolutely devastating — after everything that’s happened with covid and now this.”

The pub, run by Brian and Elaine Rey, made headlines in 2011 when Princes William and Harry were among a group of 16 that visited for a friend’s wedding. Kate Middleton was also present.

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