100 signatures reached
To: Rutland County Council (RCC)
Save Oakham's Retained Firefighters and Fire Engine
We the undersigned, call on RCC to continue with it's offer of £150,000 to the Combined Fire Authority (CFA), on the condition it is ONLY used to help fund maintaining Oakham's second fire appliance and retained crew.
We oppose this money being used to fund a rapid response vehicle which we believe would provide a significantly reduced service to the public of Oakham and Rutland.
We oppose this money being used to fund a rapid response vehicle which we believe would provide a significantly reduced service to the public of Oakham and Rutland.
Why is this important?
Oakham Fire Station is 1 of 20 Fire Stations in Leicestershire Fire and Rescue (LFRS). The geographical area it protects is the second largest in LFRS. The area includes many risks such as part of the A1 motorway, HMP Stocken and a number of industrial units. The station attends a number of Road Traffic Collisions (RTC’s) on the many treacherous roads surrounding the area.
Oakham Fire Station is the only Station in LFRS where calls to incidents have not declined over the last 5 years. Because of the risks in the area, Oakham Fire Station contains 3 Fire Service appliances. 1 of which is a fire engine that is available 24/7 and crewed by a minimum of 5 full time firefighters. The other 2 appliances are crewed by part-time retained firefighters who live and work in the Oakham area. The part-time retained firefighters at Oakham crew a second fire engine with a minimum of 4 firefighters. They also crew the Heavy Rescue Unit (HRU) appliance that attends specialist rescues such as RTC’s involving Heavy Goods Vehicles.
LFRS have proposed to remove all of Oakham’s part-time retained firefighters and the fire engine they crew by April 2016. There has been no mention of what will happen to the HRU, but without the retained firefighters who crew the vehicle. It is unlikely to remain at Oakham Fire Station. Therefore, Oakham will be left with only 1 fire engine usually riding 5 firefighters, rather than 3 fire appliances with 11 firefighters it currently has ready to respond to any emergency incidents when they are needed.
We believe these changes would increase the risk of death and injury to the members of the public in Oakham and Rutland.
The estimated cost for LFRS to keep Oakham’s second fire engine and all the retained firefighters who crew it is £97,000 a year. RCC has kindly offered the Combined Fire Authority (CFA) £150,000 in order to maintain Oakham’s second fire engine and its retained firefighters for the next 2 years.
On the 8th April 2015 the CFA decided that Oakham’s second fire engine and all its retained firefighters would be removed by April 2016. At the same time the CFA stated they would continue discussions with RCC regarding accepting the offer of £150,000 and using it instead to fund a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) which is to be placed somewhere in Rutland.
We believe the RRV will provide a significantly reduced service to the people of Oakham and Rutland compared to that given by the second fire engine at Oakham. The RRV will be crewed by 2 or 3 firefighters rather than a fire engine which can be crewed by a maximum of 6 firefighters. The RRV will contain significantly less firefighting and rescue equipment compared to a fire engine. Furthermore the RRV may not even be placed in Oakham.
To highlight the reduced service the RRV will provide; at present when a fire engine attends a house fire, the crew can only go inside that house if it has a minimum of 4 firefighters. This is to ensure all the safety critical roles and procedures are being met. Since the RRV will only be crewed by 2 or 3 firefighters, in the same situation the crew of the RRV would not be allowed to enter the house to rescue the people inside or extinguish the fire and would instead have to wait outside until further resources arrived. This is unacceptable and could lead to members of the public risking their own lives to try and save their family, friends and neighbours. Whilst the firefighters riding the RRV have to stand outside awaiting further resources.
Therefore, it is crucial we oppose the £150,000 offered by RCC to be used for anything other than helping to maintain Oakham’s second fire engine and the retained firefighters who crew it.
Oakham Fire Station is the only Station in LFRS where calls to incidents have not declined over the last 5 years. Because of the risks in the area, Oakham Fire Station contains 3 Fire Service appliances. 1 of which is a fire engine that is available 24/7 and crewed by a minimum of 5 full time firefighters. The other 2 appliances are crewed by part-time retained firefighters who live and work in the Oakham area. The part-time retained firefighters at Oakham crew a second fire engine with a minimum of 4 firefighters. They also crew the Heavy Rescue Unit (HRU) appliance that attends specialist rescues such as RTC’s involving Heavy Goods Vehicles.
LFRS have proposed to remove all of Oakham’s part-time retained firefighters and the fire engine they crew by April 2016. There has been no mention of what will happen to the HRU, but without the retained firefighters who crew the vehicle. It is unlikely to remain at Oakham Fire Station. Therefore, Oakham will be left with only 1 fire engine usually riding 5 firefighters, rather than 3 fire appliances with 11 firefighters it currently has ready to respond to any emergency incidents when they are needed.
We believe these changes would increase the risk of death and injury to the members of the public in Oakham and Rutland.
The estimated cost for LFRS to keep Oakham’s second fire engine and all the retained firefighters who crew it is £97,000 a year. RCC has kindly offered the Combined Fire Authority (CFA) £150,000 in order to maintain Oakham’s second fire engine and its retained firefighters for the next 2 years.
On the 8th April 2015 the CFA decided that Oakham’s second fire engine and all its retained firefighters would be removed by April 2016. At the same time the CFA stated they would continue discussions with RCC regarding accepting the offer of £150,000 and using it instead to fund a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) which is to be placed somewhere in Rutland.
We believe the RRV will provide a significantly reduced service to the people of Oakham and Rutland compared to that given by the second fire engine at Oakham. The RRV will be crewed by 2 or 3 firefighters rather than a fire engine which can be crewed by a maximum of 6 firefighters. The RRV will contain significantly less firefighting and rescue equipment compared to a fire engine. Furthermore the RRV may not even be placed in Oakham.
To highlight the reduced service the RRV will provide; at present when a fire engine attends a house fire, the crew can only go inside that house if it has a minimum of 4 firefighters. This is to ensure all the safety critical roles and procedures are being met. Since the RRV will only be crewed by 2 or 3 firefighters, in the same situation the crew of the RRV would not be allowed to enter the house to rescue the people inside or extinguish the fire and would instead have to wait outside until further resources arrived. This is unacceptable and could lead to members of the public risking their own lives to try and save their family, friends and neighbours. Whilst the firefighters riding the RRV have to stand outside awaiting further resources.
Therefore, it is crucial we oppose the £150,000 offered by RCC to be used for anything other than helping to maintain Oakham’s second fire engine and the retained firefighters who crew it.
