Plans to cut fire engines shelved
PLANS to reduce the number of fire engines across Greater Manchester have been shelved for at least a year.
And there will be a recruitment drive to fill vacancies in the brigade. Around 18 months ago the fire authority agreed to cut 253 firefighter posts and bring in a contentious 12-hour shift pattern.
Some of the brigade’s 56 appliances have been regularly taken off the road at various stations, including city centre areas, due to a shortage of staff.
A four-year risk management plan, which runs until 2020, sets out how firefighters, staff and resources will be distributed across the region. It will be reviewed over the next 12 months and some elements, including the proposed reduction in the number of appliances operating out of specific stations across Greater Manchester, will be postponed as the review is carried out.
There were plans to reduce the number of appliances by eight over four years. Deputy mayor for policing and crime Beverley Hughes said: “Work has been commissioned to provide a more detailed risk analysis before any proposals are implemented.
“We will be placing some of the proposals included in the risk management plan on hold for a period of 12 months while it undergoes a full review.
“We are discussing these proposals with the FBU nationally and regionally. The brigade is carrying a number of vacancies, which would further be impacted upon if the proposals outlined in the plan came into action.
“We are seeking to accelerate recruitment to move as quickly as possible to meet this gap. In addition, overtime will now be offered at time-and-a-half for a time limited period which will be reviewed in six months. Future overtime rates would also be considered as part of the review.”
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said: “When I spent time out with firefighters, I heard the need for more stability and certainty going forward.
“That is why I have acted quickly to respond to those concerns. I hope the service can now move into 2018 on a better footing.”
Deputy chief fire officer Dawn Docx said: “We need to develop a new model that is robust enough for us to make changes and reflect the needs of Greater Manchester.”
The axing of the 253 posts in June 2016, due to the brigade having to make £14.8m worth of cuts over four years, means the brigade will have around 1,000 firefighters in by 2019. In 1996 it had 2,200.
Les Skarratts, executive council member for the FBU in the North West, said: “The mayor has unveiled some very sensible, constructive and pragmatic solutions to the problems facing the fire service. Members of the community and firefighters in Greater Manchester have been put at risk as a result of years of funding cuts that have diminished the resources that are available in the event of an emergency.
“The announcements made by Andy Burnham will go a long way to addressing these issues and we will endeavour to work with the mayor as well as hold him to account.
“An endemic shortage of firefighters means fire engines are regularly unable to attend emergencies. In October 53 shifts (out of 62) saw fire engines unavailable due to staffing shortages.”