Plans to improve fire crew cover in Ashfield move a step forward as public consultation approved

The major changes, intending to save £2 million to reduce a budget deficit, would see West Bridgford Fire Station have no crew on duty at all at night, and both London Road and Stockhill stations losing one fire engine each.

But the Fire Brigades Union claimed the plans would ‘further endanger the lives of the public and the safety of fire crews’.

Coun Michael Payne, authority chairman, said it was with ‘deep regret’ they had to consider such proposals.

However, Ashfield Fire Station, in Kirkby, would return to full whole-time cover, reversing a controversial cut made four years ago.

Recommendations for a public consultation to start on the plans were passed with nine votes for, eight against and one abstention during a Fire Authority meeting on September 23.

Chief Fire Officer Craig Parkin said the service is looking at a £6m deficit over the next six years.

He said: “My real fear is if the financial situation does not improve in 12 months, that in 2024 we could be making firefighters redundant.

The major changes would leave West Bridgford station with solely day cover and no firefighters working through the night.

As crews would come from other areas overnight, this is expected to increase average response times by 43 seconds at a station already significantly above the service’s eight-minute target.

But in Ashfield, the fire service plans the return of 24-hour cover at the Kirkby station in a move hailed by local leaders as a ‘massive victory’ for residents and public safety.

In 2018, the service made a decision to take away full-time crew cover from Ashfield in favour of on-call cover over night.

Mr Parkin told the meeting: “It is a difficult report and something I have wrangled with for many weeks now to get to this point.”

He said a workforce review of 158 staff has also been carried out, looking at if further savings can be made for staff who are not firefighters.

The authority is ‘seeking to make some cost savings’ from this group.

Mark Stilwell, East Midlands FBU branch chairman, said: “How is it this authority can agree to further endanger the lives of the public and the safety of fire crews by removing even more resilience from an already stretched and struggling workforce.”

Steve Tucker, a serving firefighter at Worksop and Nottinghamshire FBU chairman, said: “We have already felt the devastating effects of cuts already imposed on this service, which is why we applaud and support the proposal to revert Ashfield Fire Station to a whole-time station.

“However we do not, cannot and will not accept that the same flawed and failed model should be implemented at another station.”

Coun Jason Zadrozny, Independent Alliance leader, member for Ashfields and Ashfield Council leader, said he thought the fire authority should meet with the new fire minister and MPs.

He said the Independent Alliance would be ‘stepping up efforts to encourage people in Ashfield to have their say’ on the plans.

The changes will be the subject of a 12-week public consultation from Monday, September 26.

A final decision on the plans is expected in February. If approved after the public consultation, the changes will go ahead from April.