Plans for change are happening!
Plans to modernise Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service are moving forward with positive results.
Proposals to change the way in which the service uses it resources was part of the Improvement Plan approved at full council in July 2010. Since that time, project working groups have been established and are delivering in key areas such as increasing home fire safety checks and launching a new automatic fire alarm policy.
Within the last few months the service has increased its target for home fire safety checks from 6,000 to 10,000 by 2010/11, making even more homes safer in Warwickshire. It has also launched a new automatic fire alarm policy, which has already reduced the number of false alarms the service attends by 48%. In addition, specialist training has increased with over 400 firefighters undertaking specialist hot fire training.
As part of the Improvement Plan, three retained fire stations; Warwick, Brinklow and Studley, are being decommissioned and a reinvestment is being made to place a whole-time crew at Alcester. Working closely with the stations affected, members and the unions, it is expected that Warwick and Brinklow will be decommissioned by September 2011. It is expected that Studley will be decommissioned in March 2013, once a whole-time appliance at Alcester has been established.
The investment of a small fires unit, road traffic collision unit with specialist rescue capabilities and a new boat to enhance the services flood response is expected to be operational by March 2012.
Chief Fire Officer, Graeme Smith said:
“The service has seen many changes over the last few months and we have already achieved some significant results with a reduction of 48% in our attendance to automatic fire alarms. This is of real benefit to both the service and the communities we serve as it means that firefighters are now more available to attend life risk incidents, instead of being called out to alarm systems which do not need a fire service response.
“In addition we have also increased the number of home fire safety checks we carry out. This means that we are making more homes safer by providing residents with key fire safety advice and fitting smoke alarms. I see this to be a crucial area of work for us; to help families and more vulnerable members of our community and stop fires happening in the first place.
“Clearly, changes to the way in which we use our resources have given some residents cause for concern. I hope they will now see that we are delivering on our promise, ensuring that no changes are made until key preventative measures are put in place. Operational response continues to be very important and we are progressing with better training and new equipment for our firefighters.”
Portfolio Holder for Community Protection, Councillor Richard Hobbs said:
“This is a real step forward for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service. We have taken difficult decisions to ensure that we have a service that is fit for purpose, now and for the future. It is already clear that there are real benefits to be achieved and I am confident that we are now ready to face the challenges which lie ahead to make certain that we provide a first class emergency prevention, protection and response service.”
For more information on Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue