North Yorkshire Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Archives - Page 2 of 12

Crime commissioner declines to respond to resignation call

North Yorkshire’s Police Fire and Crime Commissioner has declined to respond to a call for her to resign after a government watchdog found some vulnerable children “remain at risk unnecessarily” due to delays in police investigations.

Zoe Metcalfe, who is aiming to be the Tory candidate to be the first North Yorkshire and York elected mayor, said she would not be commenting on a notice of motion lodged by North Yorkshire Council’s opposition leader, Cllr Bryn Griffiths, which is tabled to be considered at a full meeting on Wednesday.

However, rather than debate the issue at the meeting, one option for the council’s chairman would be to refer the notice of motion to one of the authority’s scrutiny committees for consideration.

The critical Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary report followed its assessment last year which found the force was “not effectively safeguarding children”.

Last week, at a public accountability meeting Ms Metcalfe said the information she had been provided about the force’s progress over its failings was bogus.

She said:

“We were led to believe that North Yorkshire Police were in a better position than they ultimately were and we accept this.

“And as a result, we have entirely overhauled our scrutiny and assurance process, I have clearly set out how I will hold North Yorkshire Police to account for delivery.”

Cllr Griffiths called for Ms Metcalfe’s resignation to be debated at the meeting.

He said the second report, published earlier this month, had examined 33 child protection cases, of which 11 were found to be good, eight required improvement and 14 were inadequate.

He said:

“For so many cases to be found inadequate is a damning entitlement not only on the police, but also on the overall management of the force by the police and fire commissioner.

“The police, fire and crime commissioner is elected to be responsible for generally overseeing both police forces and fire services. Clearly has failed and is continuing to fail to hold the North Yorkshire Police force to account and keep the public and in particular children safe.

“Urgent action is therefore needed to remove the existing commissioner immediately and replace with a far more effective manager.”

In response, a spokeswoman for Ms Metcalfe said the motion was being put to the council “for discussion only, and so we will not be commenting at this time”.

Some of Ms Metcalfe’s Conservative former colleagues on the authority said they believed the notice of motion was “political” and that they would not be supporting the call for her to resign.

The Tories said those behind calls for her resignation had misunderstood the situation as the reports referred to a time before she was the commissioner.

Crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe under pressure following critical report

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe is facing pressure to step down following further criticism that the police are failing to protect vulnerable children.

Ms Metcalfe’s role includes scrutinising the performance of North Yorkshire Police.

But leading North Yorkshire councillors have voiced dismay over the lack of progress Ms Metcalfe has brought about in the force over the last year.

It comes after His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services highlighted continuing concerns over child protection.

A HMICFRS report this week found evidence-gathering delays and a lack of knowledge about online abuse inquiries were reducing North Yorkshire Police’s ability to safeguard children.

Following a re-inspection of the force in December, the watchdog revealed police officers had not forensically examined digital devices connected to a suspected child rape six months after they were submitted.

In response, the commissioner, who is tasked with holding the force to account, said both her and her team had been “regularly assured that all concerns would be tackled head on and improvements made at a significant pace”,only to find “12 months later, the force is not in the position I expected them to be in”.

She said:

“Not enough has been done and there is simply no excuse – North Yorkshire Police have let the public and the most vulnerable in our society down.

“I know that it is my responsibility to increase the accountability of and pressure on the chief constable, to demand answers and not accept anything other than immediate and significant improvement.”

Within hours of the report being published Ms Metcalfe struck a determined tone as she held a public online meeting with senior officers, including chief constable Lisa Winward, where she questioned them over the progress made over 10 recommendations.

The meeting heard the force fully accepted the criticisms and was investing in officers’ training and in control room staff, the recruitment of specialist child protection workers, and cutting the time it takes to examine digital devices to less than 72 hours.

The force said it had spent £400,000 on reducing its digital forensics backlog and £1.17m on hiring specialist child protection staff, and was establishing dedicated safeguarding teams in each of the three regions it covers.

Call to resign

Once the elections for City of York Council are concluded the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime panel, which exists to hold the commissioner to account, will reconvene and consider holding an extraordinary meeting to question the commissioner.

The panel pushed Mrs Metcalfe’s predecessor, Philip Allott, to step down and heavily criticised the county’s first commissioner, Julia Mulligan, over her treatment of staff.

Ms Metcalfe has confirmed she is seeking to be the Conservative candidate for mayor of North Yorkshire and York, elections for which are due to take place in May next year. She has claimed to be “uniquely qualified” for the role.

Leader of the opposition on North Yorkshire Council, Cllr Bryn Griffiths said the Liberal Democrat group would be calling for Ms Metcalfe to resign at the next meeting of the authority.

North Yorkshire Council’s Labour group leader, Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said the commissioner had been in charge for “nothing but a series of calamitous reports”.

He said:

“She is doing very little. Police at the coal face are actually doing a brilliant job across North Yorkshire, but the ones who lead them need to get on with the job they are supposed to be doing.

“They have been short-staffed for a while, but that lays at the door of the Tory commissioner, who should have been banging doors down for a lot longer than this.

“‘Call me Zoe’ wants to be the Conservative candidate for the mayor of North Yorkshire and York, but I think she’s blown it.”

The North Yorkshire Council Independent group leader said the latest criticism showed there was no legitimate reason by commissioners should exist.

Cllr Stuart Parsons said increasing “scrutiny” by calling for the police to provide evidence of progress would only take more police officers off their day-to-day jobs. He said:

“What is the point of a police, fire and crime commissioner if she can’t ensure the force is doing what it is meant to?

“Instead of believing everything she has been fed she should have been investigating what was really going on and then calling them to account.”

Crime commissioner’s office to move to Harrogate Police Station

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe is set to relocate her office to Harrogate Police Station.

The Conservative commissioner, whose job is to scrutinise the performance of the force as well as the fire service, will move in alongside officers on Beckwith Head Road on June 1 this year.

Ms Metcalfe’s office, which employs about 30 staff, is currently based on Granby Road in Harrogate.

The current office on Granby Road in Harrogate

The move comes as part of the commissioner’s strategy to optimise her estate and “improve partnership working and communications”.

Simon Dennis, chief executive and monitoring office at the commissioner’s office, said:

“We expect to save approximately £80,000 per year by changing our office arrangements. Like many progressive organisations, the commissioner’s team has a strong commitment to flexible, agile working and our office accommodation needs have changed in recent years.

“We have been working closely with the estates team, chief constable and chief fire officer to ensure we are all making the most efficient and effective use of the police and fire station buildings.

“In addition to our office re-location the team will also work more flexibly from home and other police and fire buildings.

“The team are really excited and are looking forward to the move which will not only save money but improve our working relationships with the police and fire service.”

Harrogate Police Station

Ms Metcalfe added:

“The public expect police and fire buildings to be used efficiently, especially at this time of strain on our finances, so I am pleased that we can make a contribution towards savings by vacating our office at Granby Road.”

The commissioner’s office said it would continue to review the use of its estates as it planned for devolution and the introduction of a mayoral office.

Zoë Metcalfe confirms bid to become North Yorkshire’s first mayor

Zoë Metcalfe has confirmed she wants to stand as the Conservative candidate in next year’s York and North Yorkshire mayoral election.

Ms Metcalfe, who lives near Boroughbridge, is the current North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

The Stray Ferret reported on Saturday that she was believed to be planning a bid for election.

Ms Metcalfe is the first person to formally declare an intention to stand for the role of mayor, which is being created as part of the North Yorkshire devolution process. The election will be held in 14 months’ time.

The mayor will oversee a significant budget for York and North Yorkshire covering areas such as transport, education and housing.

He or she will also swallow up the commissioner’s role currently occupied by Ms Metcalfe, who was born in Ripon, educated in Harrogate and lives in Aldborough.

Speaking to the media

In a statement issued last night, she said she was “uniquely qualified” for the role and had the “necessary business experience and close links to Westminster to promote economic growth”,

Ms Metcalfe is a former Harrogate borough councillor who was elected to the commissioner’s role in 2021 following the resignation of fellow Conservative Philip Allott.

Since taking up the role on a salary of £74,000, she has overseen the introduction of a Risk and Resource Model for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, which sets out how resources will be deployed from 2022 to 2025.

The changes included reducing Harrogate Fire Station’s nighttime cover from two fire engines to one.

‘Close links to Westminster’

Ms Metcalfe’s statement in full said:

“This is a really exciting role that I am uniquely qualified to do.

“The mayor will have responsibility for economic growth, transport, housing and regeneration, but will also see the integration of the responsibilities and decision making of my current role as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner within it too.

“There is a rich synergy between creating safer streets and economic growth, two areas that I am passionate about.

“I have the necessary business experience and close links to Westminster to promote economic growth. I will also continue the great work I have started in turning around community safety in York and North Yorkshire and I will see through the transformation of both the police force and fire and rescue service.

“I have always been a supporter of devolution as it will bring many exciting opportunities for York and North Yorkshire, it will be a great platform to enable and enrich the lives of our residents and businesses bringing hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment into our region”.

Is crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe aiming to be North Yorkshire’s first mayor?

Zoe Metcalfe, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, is hoping to stand for election to become the county’s first mayor, the Stray Ferret understands.

A Conservative Party source has told the Stray Ferret that Ms Metcalfe had indicated she planned to launch a bid for the party’s nomination for next year’s mayoral election.

The mayor will oversee a significant budget for York and North Yorkshire and have the power to allocate funds to areas such as transport, education and housing.

He or she will also swallow up the commissioner’s role currently occupied by Ms Metcalfe.

Ms Metcalfe has strong local connections: she was born in Ripon, educated in Harrogate and lives near Boroughbridge.

A former Harrogate borough councillor, she was elected to her commissioner’s role in 2021 with 39.5% of the vote in a by-election caused by the resignation of fellow Conservative Philip Allott following comments he made about the murder of Sarah Everard.

The changes included reducing Harrogate Fire Station’s nighttime cover from two fire engines to one.

The commissioner’s role gives Ms Metcalfe a countywide profile that could enhance her prospects of winning the Conservative nomination for mayor — a new role being created as part of North Yorkshire devolution.

The Stray Ferret contacted the crime commissioner’s office asking whether Ms Metcalfe planned to stand but did not receive a response.

North Yorkshire Police announces force review amid £14 council tax hike

North Yorkshire Police has announced it is to consider a major overhaul of how it operates to boost visible frontline policing amid a £14 hike in its share of council tax.

Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe and force chief constable Lisa Winward made the announcement as they revealed they would ask residents to pay 4.99% extra council tax for the service, despite leaving more than 120 posts vacant.

A meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel yesterday was told the review could lead to an increase in uniformed officers attending incidents such as burglaries.

Zoe Metcalfe

Ms Metcalfe told the panel of North Yorkshire and York councillors and experts that inflation was set to present an ongoing challenge to the force’s finances, so an operational and organisational review of the force would be undertaken for the first time in eight years.

She said the review would aim to deliver the best possible frontline and visible policing services, while a pause on the recruitment of police community support officers would create an opportunity to “redesign neighbourhood policing”.

However, the commissioner added she would be expecting the chief constable to “grip the force’s finances tightly”.

Two members of the panel highlighted that the force would be asking the average band D householder to pay £14.03 extra “when they will actually be getting less in terms of 50 less PCSOs and 74 less staff”.

The band D £295.08 demand will mean an average rise of more than £90 in the amount residents are obliged to pay North Yorkshire Police to cover the cost of the police service not paid for by central government over the last decade.

Chief constable Lisa Winward

Chief constable Lisa Winward said there had been a huge change in the nature of demand since the force’s last overhaul in 2015, including “a massive increase in technology and the seizure of technology, an increase in child abuse and rising online crime”.

She said:

“The sort of work that our officers are now doing predominantly has changed since 2015. We have tried within the existing budget to investigate and deliver a high-quality policing service.

“We really need to go back to the core of policing, investigation, arresting by people and being physically present in our communities.”

The meeting heard despite focused recruitment campaigns the force had been unable to recruit PCSOs as people were either joining the service as officers or were seeing “more favourable jobs” elsewhere, so the police budget needed to be spent elsewhere.

The meeting was told the precept increase would also be used for “urgent” service improvements, such as £1.9m extra to improve 999 emergency call handling times, 101 call handling time, and expand means of the public contacting police.

The report states:

“Demand profiling has identified that in comparison to other forces, North Yorkshire Police have a significantly smaller workforce in the control room than other comparable forces.”

Costs facing the force are expected to increase by £18m, mainly due to pay rises and inflation.

With a £1.5m injection it is proposed to boost frontline uniformed response teams, which will see the number of officers rise to 1,645.

After the meeting, the panel’s chairman, Cllr Carl Les, said he did not believe it was a case of people paying more for less, but rather that residents would be paying more because of inflation, for a service that would be different in future.

He said:

“I think at the moment it is the only thing the commissioner can do. We really are between a rock and a hard place this year in budget-setting terms.

“We know that there is a cost of living crisis and how hard it is going to be for some people to pay any increase whatever that might be, but equally all the services are facing the same sorts of pressures we are.”

Commissioner ‘confident’ over North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue improvement

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has said the county’s fire brigade has undergone “significant improvements and progress” after being heavily criticised by inspectors.

Conservative commissioner Zoe Metcalfe has issued an upbeat and optimistic response to the criticism by the watchdog that monitors her performance, saying she was confident that, together with the force’s “inspirational” new senior leadership team, about guiding the service into “a strong and sustainable future”.

Her comments to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel come three weeks after His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services released a mixed report, which concluded the brigade required “urgent improvements”.

Inspectors praised its prevention work, but said it required improvement at effectively keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.

They also rated it ‘inadequate’ at efficiently keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks and ‘inadequate’ at looking after its people.

Despite increasing collaboration, such as sharing buildings, between the county’s fire and police services being trumpeted by successive commissioners as being of significant benefit, inspectors said there was “little evidence to show its benefits to the service”.

City of York Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden told a meeting of the panel at County Hall in Northallerton that the inspection report did not make happy reading when compared to those for other brigades around the country.

He said many of the issues facing the service had been known for several years and asked for an explanation as to how the brigade had been allowed to deteriorate.

Reform ‘has not been fast enough’

Jonathan Dyson, chief fire officer, said reform of the service had not been fast or deep enough in North Yorkshire, where in other forces numerous fire stations had been closed, freeing up resources for efficiencies.

He said the situation the brigade was in was a reflection of the organisation’s leadership and the service had stood still over how it applied resources to risks.

Panel member Cllr Tim Grogan said while the issues had developed at the brigade before the commissioner or chief fire officer were in post, the service appeared to be on “a downward spiral”.

Referring to the report’s ratings the Conservative said:

“Three years ago we got a B and two Cs and now we’ve got a C and two Ds.”

Mr Dyson responded saying government inspectors themselves had recently advised that fire services should not look at the grades they were given, but “the narrative behind” instead and that the inspections had become tougher over time.

He said:

“But of course press and everybody else only see when you open your newspaper that one word. You don’t take the two hours to read through as the public would in that context. And that can be misleading because the context, ultimately is the grade.”

Mr Dyson said the service was under no illusion that there was significant work to do to bring it up to standard.

Mrs Metcalfe said every penny of the public’s money was being spent wisely, and that she would continue to “make the case for fairer funding” to the government.

She said:

“I can assure the panel that the communities of North Yorkshire and York can be confident and that should they require their fire and rescue service in an emergency that the right people and support will come.”

North Yorkshire Police to balance books by leaving 120 posts vacant

North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has revealed a plan to leave more than 120 jobs vacant this year to balance the books.

Zoe Metcalfe, the Conservative commissioner, will ask a panel of North Yorkshire and York councillors on Monday to consider increasing the force’s council tax demand by 4.99%, which would amount to £14.03 extra for the average band D household.

The band D £295.08 demand would represents an average rise of more than £90 in the amount residents are obliged to pay North Yorkshire Police to cover the cost of the police service not paid for by central government.

Under the proposal, North Yorkshire taxpayers would be contributing 45% of their police force’s £191m income. In contrast Northumberland residents’ contribution only equates to 19.3% of their force’s funding.

Of 2,343 responses from residents over the proposed police budget, some 55% said they would be prepared to pay up to £5.60 more – an increase of up to 1.99%.

Nevertheless, the commissioner’s report concludes there is “significant support from the public for an increase of at least £10”.

However, a report by the commissioner to the panel also highlights that North Yorkshire has among the highest policing precept levels in England and Wales but will need ro make £8.2m of savings in the coming year to balance the books.

The report states:

“I have been clear with the force that in asking the public of North Yorkshire to pay more they should expect more from their police service.

“As you would expect with the predicted continuing inflation and potential pay awards that the budget will continue to be a challenge and therefore the chief constable has indicated that an organisational and operational review will be taking place to restructure the organisation to deliver the best possible front
line and visible policing services within the new future budget constraints.”

The proposed precept increase will also be used for long-awaited service improvements, such as £1.9m extra to improve 999 emergency call handling times, 101 call handling time, and expand means of the public contacting police.

The report states:

“Demand profiling has identified that in comparison to other forces, North Yorkshire Police have a significantly smaller workforce in the control room than other comparable forces.”

Rising cost of policing

Costs facing the force are expected to increase by £18m, mainly due to pay rises and inflation.

With a £1.5m injection it is proposed to boost frontline uniformed response teams, which will see the number of officers rise to 1,645.

Since 2001, the number of response offices in the City, County and Coastal Command units has risen significantly, from 87, 142 and 96 to 146, 163 and 105 respectively.

The report says due to the labour market crisis, some 50 Police Community Support Officers posts “have been unable to be filled despite recruitment efforts”, and will remain unfilled this year to save £2m, particularly as the force already employs the highest proportion of PCSOs compared to other staff in England.

To cut costs by another £1.2m it is proposed the force will allow non-officer staff vacancies rise from 50 to 74.

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s shadow home secretary, raised North Yorkshire Police’s proposal in the House of Commons.

Labour’s Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, raised North Yorkshire Police’s proposal to leave 120 vacancies unfilled in the House of Commons on Tuesday (January 31).

She said the move was a reflection of increasingly fewer police staff across the country.

Ms Cooper said:

“There are 6,000 fewer neighbourhood officers and 8,000 fewer PCSOs, with the number of PCSOs having halved since 2010. Neighbourhood teams have been decimated.

“People say they do not see the police on the street any more—that is because, across the country, they are not on the street any more.”

Meanwhile, the report states extra resources are needed to cope with increased demands on areas such as child protection, domestic violence and safeguarding the most vulnerable, as the need for more officers to investigate burglaries, robberies, and serious violence has become plain.

The report states:

“This has now reached a point where the demands and workload are no longer manageable and an increase in resources is required.”

Free security upgrades for some Harrogate district homes and farms

People in parts of the Harrogate district are being urged to sign up for free security checks and upgrades to homes and farms.

Residents in the parishes of Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton, Kirk Deighton, Kirk Hammerton, Leathley, Long Marston, North Deighton, Sicklinghall and Spofforth with Stockeld are eligible to apply.

They could receive new locks for vulnerable doors, windows, garages and sheds, and alarm systems for farms and small holdings. For homes with suitable WiFi coverage the scheme also includes a RING video doorbell.

Funding for the Protect Your Home was secured last year by the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner‘s office, which was awarded £719,590 from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund.

The scheme aims to prevent burglaries in over 1,000 homes and 90 farms along the borders of the Harrogate and Craven district but so far only 422 homes have received a security upgrade.

In the Harrogate district, the take-up has been as high as 46% of homes in North Deighton and as low as 3% in Sicklinghall.

Now crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe and local councillors are encouraging more people to sign up.

Ms Metcalfe said:

“My office have done really well to secure this funding from the Home Office on behalf of these communities and so it’s really important that the money is used to improve the security of as many homes and farms as possible.

“The more people who sign up in a community the more resilient to burglary that area becomes, and we’ve seen this demonstrated in Cononley when a burglar was captured on seven video door bells, many funded through this scheme.”

The last chance to apply is August this year.

Superintendent Teresa Lam, senior operational commander for Harrogate and Craven, said:

“I would encourage any eligible occupants to become involved in this fantastic initiative to help protect their properties”.

‘Serious concerns’ over North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue finances, say inspectors

Inspectors have raised “serious concerns” over North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s finances and its ability to respond to fires and other risks.

Inspectors from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services undertook an inspection of the service in spring 2022 for its effectiveness and efficiency.

The report, released today, rates the service as requiring improvement for its effectiveness at keeping people safe.

Meanwhile, the service was rated as inadequate for its efficiency in keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks.

It was also graded as inadequate for how it looked after its staff.

‘Serious concerns’

In his report, Roy Wilsher, His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire Services, said he had concerns over the sustainability of the service’s financial plans and its ability to respond to fire and other risks.

Mr Wilsher said the service’s use of resources was inadequate due to the “fragility of its budget”.

He added that he had concern over whether the organisation had the ability to get the right staff with the right skills due to a “lack of robust workforce planning”.

However, Mr Wilsher said the service was good at preventing fires and other risks and had piloted public safety officers at the time of inspection.

He said:

“Since its last inspection, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s performance has deteriorated in most areas.

“Although the service is good at preventing fires and other risks, I have concerns about its ability to respond to them. We have also highlighted serious concerns about how sustainable its financial plans are for managing these risks in an affordable way.

“It needs to make sure collaboration activities, such as those with police are effective and provide value for money. It currently shares some business services with North Yorkshire Police and the office of the police, fire and crime commissioner, but there is little evidence to show its benefits to the service.

“Our inspection also found the service to be inadequate in how it looks after its people. The service needs to improve how it promotes the right values and culture, as well as how it maintains and develops staff performance.

“In view of these findings, we have been in regular contact with the newly appointed chief fire officer and will be revisiting the service to monitor its progress.”

Fire service ‘very disappointed’

In response, Jonathan Dyson, chief fire officer at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said he was disappointed with the outcome of the report.

He said:

“While this is a very disappointing outcome, it is not a reflection of the hard work and dedication that our staff show, every day, to keeping our communities safe, and feeling safe. The inspectors have said that we are good at preventing fires and other risks and responding to major and multi-agency incidents.

“Much of what the Inspectors have focused on relates to service-level policies and practices.

“We do need to acknowledge that the Inspection came at a time of significant change for our service. We were just coming out of covid and transitioning to a new chief fire officer.”

Mr Dyson added that the service was “absolutely committed” to improving over the next two years as part of an improvement plan and service transformation.

Meanwhile, Zoe Metcalfe, Conservative North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said:

“I welcome regular inspections from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), because the reports are an independent and rigorous assessment which I can use to ensure our Fire and Rescue Service becomes an Outstanding Service. I am confident that NYFRS will become an exemplary Service and we are already on our journey to achieve that, I am committed to our success.

“It is extremely important for the public to understand that North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service keeps people safe as noted in the report where the Service is recognised as being good at preventing fires and other emergencies and good in its response to major and multi-agency incidents.

“Although major areas for improvement have been identified, the report recognises the great work being done by firefighters and staff to keep our communities safe. And I want to pay tribute to our courageous and dedicated fire personnel, who have my full support as they go about their vital work – as well as playing their part in improving our Service.”

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Call to resign

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‘Close links to Westminster’

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Reform ‘has not been fast enough’

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Rising cost of policing

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‘Serious concerns’

Fire service ‘very disappointed’

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