Risking lives (From Dudley News)

Risking lives

9:20am Wednesday 11th January 2012 in News Exclusive By Rachel Hickman

Risking lives

THE lives of Dudley residents will be put at risk, claim firefighters, as the town’s fire station gets set to lose two of its engines.

Firefighters at the Burton Road station are up in arms over costcutting plans by West Midlands Fire Service to replace one of its main appliances and its technical rescue vehicle with a Range Rover at the end of the month.

The Fire Brigades Union claims the move would also put jobs at risk.

Firefighters were informed in December about the 12-month trial with the new brigade response vehicle (BRV) – a specially kitted out Range Rover which will attend small fires and less serious incidents.

However crews at the station argue the BRV will only increase dangers, as it carries less kit and a lesser number of crew – with space for just three.

Chris Downes, West Midlands Regional FBU secretary, said: “This is a minimalistic approach to firefighting.

“They will only be able to carry a small amount of kit and will have to make do with what they have.

“Firefighter safety is being compromised, as well as public safety.

“We have evidence that the Range Rover cannot effectively deal with fires.

“When trying to put out a car fire, the fire kept igniting. It was only successful when dealing with a single tyre fire.”

The latest cut by WMFS comes just weeks after the decision to decommission Halesowen Fire Station.

Halesowen is set to close in March with the loss of another fire engine, leaving Brierley Hill, Stourbridge, Cradley Heath and Dudley’s one engine to cover the entire borough.

Mr Downes added: “Dudley Borough is taking one hell of a hit at the moment.

“We should be asking what has the borough done to receive a downgrade in emergency cover and will the people of Dudley be getting a rebate on Council Tax as the service the Fire Service will be operating will be greatly reduced.”

The plans have also been criticised by campaigners who fought to save Sedgley Fire Station, which closed in 2009, after assurances the areawould be covered by appliances from Dudley.

Rachel Spittle,who headed the Sedgley fight, said: “It is recognised by everyone that the economic climate is not good at present, but West Midlands Fire Service are jumping on the bandwagon to use it as an excuse when it really isn’t needed.

“I have no doubt this service hasn’t got its pressures like others, but I don’t agree with cutting more appliances and TRV's to meet such savings.

“Why do the Fire Service not acknowledge that a retained service is the most cost effective way of providing the same full professional service that is offered at a whole time station.”

Confirming trials will take also take place in Tipton and Coventry, a West Midlands Fire Service spokesman, said: “Analysis of incident data from the last three years tells us that in many cases, a traditional fire engine isn’t needed to respond to an incident.

“In 2011, we began trialling the use of a specialist Range Rover to respond to false alarm calls in city centres across the West Midlands.

“This not only demonstrated a cost saving, but also ensured that our traditional fire engines were always available to respond to incidents where specialist fire and rescue support was required.

“The speed and flexibility of the specialist vehicles should enable us to provide a faster and more effective response to fires like those involving rubbish.

“It also means that our fleet of traditional fire engines will be better able respond primarily to larger scale incidents where more resources are required.”

What do you think about the cutbacks at Dudley Fire Station? Let us know by posting a comment below.