Scrapping York fire station ‘could lead to delays of 16 minutes’ in response to emergencies
The response time to some fires in York could increase significantly if proposed cutbacks go ahead, a union rep said today.
If Huntington Fire Station is scrapped and replaced with a part time fire engine, response times could reach 16 minutes.
That’s according to analysis of the data by North Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union.
It is fiercely opposed to the plan put forward by North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe.
When making the case for the closure and relocation of fire engines from Clifford Street in 2011, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (NYFRS) said that not relocating a fire engine to Huntington would see a worse service for 31,000 residents.
Fire Brigade Union Brigade secretary Steve Howley said today (Wednesday): “Over 31,000 residents will see an average increase in attendance times of eight minutes and data reveals that delays of up to 16 minutes can be expected.
“In a fire every second counts.
“Our members do not believe that NYFRS are being transparent with the City of York taxpayers with their quoted delay in attendance of three minutes 47 seconds.
“Due to difficulties recruiting part-time staff due for Huntington fire station, NYFRS have extended the time in which staff are able to respond to 10 minutes.
“Our analysis shows an average response time increase of seven minutes 59 seconds when relying on the part-time crew to respond. This is much longer than the five minute normally permissible time.”
He says this isn’t the fault of part-time firefighters, but Huntington “is not in a location which allows for recruitment of staff within five minutes.
“Let’s not forget this was clearly identified seven years ago and the reason a full time unit was placed at Huntington. Nothing has improved it’s getting worse.”
Under her proposals to restructure the fire service, commissioner Zoe Metcalfe said turning Huntington from full-time to on-call “would offer appropriate and safe cover for the community” because it is the least used fire station in the area.
It is part of a shake-up of the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service not, she says, to cut costs but “to invest in vital areas identified by the public as priorities”.
You can read more and comment on the commissioner website here.