Poor turnout at chance to protest about fire station cuts
Friday, 11th March 2011.
The main consultation meeting in Haverhill about proposed changes to the way the town's fire station is crewed attracted just six members of the public last night.
The meeting, held at the fire station, had been carefully prepared by Suffolk County Council, with the three senior fire officers and the portfolio holder for public protection lined up to explain the proposals and take questions.
Some 90 seats had been put out but, apart from councillors, police officers and technicians to run the high-quality sound system set up for the meeting, there were only six residents for them all to talk to.
The portfolio holder, Cllr Colin Spence, set the now-familiar scene of how the county council needed to cut £125million over four years, £40million in the first year.
Among a variety of measures within the 'relatively protected' fire service, is the proposal to change Haverhill's full-time crew from seven days a week to five days a week, leaving the weekend to be covered by on-call firefighters, as the evening and night-times currently are.
"It is unlikely we can convince everyone our proposals are right,"Cllr Spence said. "The aim of this meeting is to give local people the opportunity to have their say."
Suffolk's chief fire officer Andy Fry said he had spent almopst all his working life in the fire service, but he had never more acutely felt the responsibility he had as leader of the fire service in Suffolk as he did now.
But he felt the level of risk in the community after as a result of the new proposals would be comparable with that in the rest of the county.
Cllr Margaret Marks asked if one firefighter could be retained at the station to get the fire engine running while other on-call firefighters were arriving, but was told this was not a practical measure.
Cllr Anne Gower wanted to know the view of the on-call firefighters about the extra which was going to be required of them.
Mr Fry said there were 21 to choose from in Haverhill, of whom eight were needed to crew the two engines. Current figures showed there was only on average one call per week at the weekends which required attendance.
The on-call firefighters were not concerned about their ability to respond at weekends, even when there was a significant amount of traffic about.
Cllr Tim Marks asked about the risks of such plants as IFF and Genzyme, but deputy chief fire officer Mark Hardingham told him these were very well run operations which crews were familiar with.
If there was a large incident on such sites it would need a response from right across Suffolk.
Fire Brigades Union representative Andy Message, who serves at Haverhill Fire Station, asked whether the future population rise in Haverhill might need the changes to be reversed in the future.
Mr Fry said tjis was a 'very real issue', but they were in negotiation with St Edmundsbury Borough Council about encouraging developers to install sprinkler systems in new homes.
Mr Message said he knew from his own experience that the changes would make a difference in Haverhill, and he thought they would also discourage investment and growth in the town.
"This sends out the wrong message to the investors we need to bring more highly-skilled jobs to the town," he said.
Cllr Spence pooh-poohed the idea, saying he didn't think this was a top priority for any business considering relocation.
"I have never seen any business assessing this sort of thing when it is considering investment," he said.
The consultation period contimnues until May 5, and there is a drop in session later this month at the fire station where people can ask more questions.
The meeting, held at the fire station, had been carefully prepared by Suffolk County Council, with the three senior fire officers and the portfolio holder for public protection lined up to explain the proposals and take questions.
Some 90 seats had been put out but, apart from councillors, police officers and technicians to run the high-quality sound system set up for the meeting, there were only six residents for them all to talk to.
The portfolio holder, Cllr Colin Spence, set the now-familiar scene of how the county council needed to cut £125million over four years, £40million in the first year.
Among a variety of measures within the 'relatively protected' fire service, is the proposal to change Haverhill's full-time crew from seven days a week to five days a week, leaving the weekend to be covered by on-call firefighters, as the evening and night-times currently are.
"It is unlikely we can convince everyone our proposals are right,"Cllr Spence said. "The aim of this meeting is to give local people the opportunity to have their say."
Suffolk's chief fire officer Andy Fry said he had spent almopst all his working life in the fire service, but he had never more acutely felt the responsibility he had as leader of the fire service in Suffolk as he did now.
But he felt the level of risk in the community after as a result of the new proposals would be comparable with that in the rest of the county.
Cllr Margaret Marks asked if one firefighter could be retained at the station to get the fire engine running while other on-call firefighters were arriving, but was told this was not a practical measure.
Cllr Anne Gower wanted to know the view of the on-call firefighters about the extra which was going to be required of them.
Mr Fry said there were 21 to choose from in Haverhill, of whom eight were needed to crew the two engines. Current figures showed there was only on average one call per week at the weekends which required attendance.
The on-call firefighters were not concerned about their ability to respond at weekends, even when there was a significant amount of traffic about.
Cllr Tim Marks asked about the risks of such plants as IFF and Genzyme, but deputy chief fire officer Mark Hardingham told him these were very well run operations which crews were familiar with.
If there was a large incident on such sites it would need a response from right across Suffolk.
Fire Brigades Union representative Andy Message, who serves at Haverhill Fire Station, asked whether the future population rise in Haverhill might need the changes to be reversed in the future.
Mr Fry said tjis was a 'very real issue', but they were in negotiation with St Edmundsbury Borough Council about encouraging developers to install sprinkler systems in new homes.
Mr Message said he knew from his own experience that the changes would make a difference in Haverhill, and he thought they would also discourage investment and growth in the town.
"This sends out the wrong message to the investors we need to bring more highly-skilled jobs to the town," he said.
Cllr Spence pooh-poohed the idea, saying he didn't think this was a top priority for any business considering relocation.
"I have never seen any business assessing this sort of thing when it is considering investment," he said.
The consultation period contimnues until May 5, and there is a drop in session later this month at the fire station where people can ask more questions.
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