York fire station cuts ‘would put public safety at risk’
There are plans to turn Huntington fire station into an on-call service.
Plans to turn Huntington fire station in York into an on-call service would “put public safety at risk”, councillors have claimed
Huntington is currently a full-time station but is also the least used in the area and does not warrant 24/7 staffing levels, according to North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (NYFRS).
Fire response times from Huntington are expected to increase by about four minutes, as on-call firefighters have to get to the station itself when there is an incident.
Acomb and York fire stations would remain 24-hour operations.
North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, has launched a three month consultation to gather people’s views.
Also part of the plans are changes at Harrogate and Scarborough fire stations. Here, crews would operate just one fire engine at night, when demand is lower, as opposed to the current two.
Interim chief fire officer Jonathan Foster said the reduction in posts would come from either retirements or redeployments.
Just 26 per cent of NYFRS’s incidents last year related to fire emergencies and Ms Metcalfe said the changes would allow the service to invest in prevention while improving the availability of on-call fire engines in rural areas.
Coun Tony Fisher, who represents the nearby Strensall ward, said: “We have had two serious house fires in Strensall in the last couple of years. Luckily, everyone escaped safely, but I worry what would have happened if the crews had arrived four minutes later.
“There is also the risk to Strensall Common, where fires can spread out of control extremely quickly – just a few weeks ago the crew from Huntington were instrumental in containing a 500 metres fire front on the common.”
Coun Andrew Hollyer said: “Residents in Haxby and Wigginton will be shocked at these proposals, particularly as they come after several devastating house fires in recent years.”
The changes would save £1.5m per year from 2025/26.
NYFRS chief finance officer Michael Porter said: “This isn’t us trying to balance the books.
“This is about us trying to provide more efficient and effective services as we move forward and trying to provide savings from within to reinvest into areas that are deemed high risk.”
Earlier this year it merged years of chronic underfunding had left the service battling staffing shortages, crumbling buildings and out of date vehicles.
In January, fire chiefs were told they would need to borrow the majority of the £31m needed over the next five years to maintain and update its buildings and equipment.
Ms Metcalfe said: “We want to ensure we are addressing our current and future challenges and that we have the capacity to prevent and protect to stop incidents happening in the first place and prevent harm before it can take place, while also having the capacity to respond to emergencies when they do take place.
“We are confident these proposals would do that.”
Liberal Democrat councillors in York have launched a petition in opposition to the changes.
Huntington and New Earswick councillor Carol Runciman said: “We’re asking everyone to sign the petition and make their voice heard in objecting to these changes, which will put public safety at risk.”