A MOVE to reduce the size of on-call fire crews in Staffordshire have been branded “dangerous” by a union.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has approved plans to staff appliances with three people rather than four following a trial.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Glynn Luznyj said the move would allow firefighters to attend incidents quicker:
“We will always strive to have at least four firefighters on a fire engine, however having a minimum of three on-call firefighters available to respond as an extra resource means that they can attend incidents quicker than the next nearest fully crewed appliance, which may be several miles away.
“Time is critical at emergencies and having firefighters arrive earlier can help limit the escalation of an incident.
“We recognise that at some incidents they will not be able to fully resolve the incident by themselves, but they can make important interventions in the time that the public would normally be waiting for a full crew to attend.”
But the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said that the trial saw 130 firefighters sign a letter opposing the reduction in crew size, citing concerns that teams of three do not have the capacity to safely respond to high-risk incidents.
Martin Starkey, from the FBU, said:
“Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service are putting public and firefighter safety on the line by sending on-call firefighter crews out in crews of just three in a fire engine.
“A crew of that size is fundamentally incapable of safely responding to high-risk incidents upon arrival.
“The public consultation cited to support this reckless policy was deeply flawed, with only 1,500 respondents answering a question deliberately framed to elicit a specific answer.
“Such a low level of participation cannot be taken as evidence of any meaningful support for this dangerous approach.
“When a fire engine arrives at an incident, you expect the firefighters on board to have the resources to help, but a crew of three has to wait for back-up.”
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said:
“Firefighters across the UK have made it clear that sending firefighters out in crews of just three is unsafe and unacceptable.
“No fire and rescue service should be putting public safety at risk in this way.
“Firefighters should never be put in the terrible position of waiting at an incident for back-up, unable to take action safely because there are only three in the team. A team of five firefighters is the professional and safe operational level.
“Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service must face reality and put an end to this dangerous policy immediately.”
So the FBU would rather have a fire engine parked in a fire station during a heatwave rather than having a 3 person crew using the appliance to provide extra water for a grass fire away from hydrants for instance. Or not responding to someone trapped in a burning car or just a bin fire. If a place like Barton cannot turn out you a looking at a full time crew from Burton or Lichfield (daytime only).
West Midlands Fire service operate 3 person crews on their brigade response vehicles. The alternative is more people sign up and provide cover during the day at retained fire stations. Or you have more full time crews in low call out stations and/or roaming/mobile full time crews at a cost.