Revealed... the shocking state of our fire stations
VERMIN INFESTATION, POOR TOILETS AND LACK OF SHOWER FACILITIES FOUND ACROSS REGION
GREATER Manchester’s hero firefighters have been struggling to work in vermin-infested stations that lack proper shower or toilet facilities.
The region’s fire bosses – who are undertaking a review of the service in the wake of the Arena attack - say they have identified ‘really serious issues’ with the state of the brigade’s buildings.
They are now carrying out an ‘urgent’ programme of basic upgrades.
A report to council leaders reveals that work includes ‘the provision of suitable WC, shower and locker facilities for staff’ at Chadderton station in particular, with the ‘eradication of vermin and a temporary fix to the female WC’ having already been carried out.
Several sites lack ‘suitable female facilities’ more generally, a problem that is now being ‘actioned as a priority’ in the hope of fixing the situation within eight weeks.
At the same time, a number of basic health and safety concerns and ‘poor working conditions’ have been identified since Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and his deputy Bev Hughes began their review in March.
Addressing council leaders at the latest meeting of the region’s combined authority, Baroness Hughes said they had ‘uncovered a range of serious but practical issues such as the condition of some of the fire stations.’
“Chadderton was actually worse and so we brought forward a programme to rectify the really serious issues in a very bad working environment there,” she added.
“A lack of female facilities at a considerable number of fire stations – again, a considerable programme of work to rectify that is underway. And generally issues with maintenance and compliance with health and safety issues was poorly monitored and poorly complied with and again that’s been brought forward because clearly it’s urgent.”
It is as yet unclear why maintenance and conditions have been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that they have, or how much it will cost to rectify the problem, although the M.E.N. has asked the combined authority for estimates. It is understood facilities management within the brigade has historically been carried out in-house. At the combined authority meeting Mr Burnham praised the region’s firefighters for their relentless endeavours during the Saddleworth Moor and Winter Hill fires earlier this summer, which saw them work 24-hour shifts in blazing heat. That had brought back home to the public ‘the strength and value of the fire service,’ he added.
As well as improvements to stations, his latest update on the fire service’s reform also reveals a number of proposed changes to working arrangements for the brigade, including an end to the current situation that does not let firefighters choose their own annual leave. Baroness Hughes said she hoped to change that from the start of next April, subject to a consultation with union members. New shift patterns – aimed at ensuring firefighters are not simply called to go in on their day off with no notice – are also being put forward, as well as an extension to an agreement made in December that extended overtime arrangements. The moves all form part of a ‘root and branch review’ ordered by the mayor in the wake of March’s Kerslake report, which was commissioned to look at how the emergency services dealt with the Manchester Arena attack. That has now seen a new chief fire officer, Jim Wallace, appointed to oversee the service following the abrupt departure of Pete O’Reilly in the wake of the bombing.
Baroness Hughes said Mr Wallace had considerable experience of restructuring services during his previous capacity as accountable officer for Northern Ireland’s brigade and was, therefore, a good fit for what the mayor’s office was trying to achieve.
Relations between the Fire Brigade Union and Greater Manchester’s management have long been strained. The union has been approached for comment on the latest proposals.