Public consultation for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service proposals comes to an end
The consultation on a proposal for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Services (WFRS) to change their delivery model closed yesterday (10 March).
Last updated 16th Apr 2024
Around 1000 residents had their say on a proposed change to how Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service manage their resources, including fire appliances and firefighters.
The proposal is called Resourcing to Risk and optimises the distribution of those resources so that they better align to risk and demand across the county.
The public consultation period launched in mid-December.
Talking about the need for change, Chief Fire Officer for WFRS Ben Brook said: "Currently our resource doesn’t match with activity levels. We have more fire appliances available at night when activity levels are lowest, and fewer fire appliances available between 8am and 10pm, which is when 89% of life and property incidents occur."
Councillor Andy Crump, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Fire and Rescue and Community Safety, said: "I want to stress that this proposal isn’t about cutting costs and it’s not about closing fire stations. Instead, it’s about making sure that we’ve got our resource in the right place to make the best difference when an emergency happens. This is a genuine consultation, in that we’re really keen to listen to what people have to say about the proposal. No decisions will be made until we’ve read every single comment given to us."
A firefighters' union previously called for the Service to suspend proposals, as they believed some areas would lose an on-call engine and several stations would only be staffed during major incidents.
The Fire & Rescue Services Association (FRSA) said floods earlier this year and a hospital fire in Rugby undermined the proposals.
Anthony Maude, Vice president of the FRSA, said: "If the consultation proposals go ahead, you will find, for example, that in an Eaton and Bedworth it will go down from 3 fire engines that night to only one. If you live in Stratford, it will go down from several fire engines being available to simply one.
"If you live in Stratford, for example, and have a fire, a major fire, you will find you'll find fire engines being pulled from all over Warwickshire and then it will be a case of whack a mole for the fire service because they will then be going back to other places as other fires and incidents occur. It's very dangerous. You're going to find there are going to be property losses. And maybe even losses of life, and you'll certainly be waiting a longer time for support in the more rural areas of the country."
The public consultation documents summarise the reasons for the Resourcing to Risk proposal and the benefits that WFRS believes the proposed approach offers in improving how they keep Warwickshire’s communities and people safe.