North Devon MP NICK HARVEY has written to Conservative councillor RODNEY CANN urging him to oppose planned cuts to Barnstaple’s fire protection cover at a crucial meeting this Friday.

The Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Authority will consider a plan to remove the dedicated crews for the hydraulic platforms (aerial appliances) in Barnstaple, Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth.  This would cut jobs by 24 or, if Plymouth is included, 32. 

And the MP is worried that it will reduce the level of public protection throughout North Devon, which is served by Barnstaple’s vehicle.

“Rodney Cann is North Devon’s only member of the authority and we urgently need him to oppose this idea, which enjoys the support of the Conservative chairman of the authority.  I have written in similar terms to the Liberal Democrat members of the authority.  But North Devon’s interests will be represented by Cllr Cann, and we must all hope that he will do the right thing.  His vote could be crucial,” says the MP.

A copy of the e-mail to Cllr Cann is below.

Dear Rodney,

CREWING OF HYDRAULIC PLATFORMS (“Aerial Appliances”)

I write to you as a member of the Devon & Somerset Fire Authority, to implore you to vote against the proposal to move from Primary Crewing to Dual Crewing of the hydraulic platforms in Barnstaple, Torquay and Exeter.

I understand that the issue is to be determined at the Authority’s meeting next Friday – 26 October 2007.

I believe sincerely that the proposed new arrangements would significantly reduce the service provided to Devon’s residents, and in a potentially dangerous way.  The current system – of maintaining a dedicated crew with the specialist skills necessary to operate these machines – guarantees the synchronised availability of the appliance and the specialist crew.  The new proposal creates a risk of there being a mismatch between these two things at crucial moments.

The original justification put forward for the proposal was that savings had to be made.  But after representatives of the Fire Brigades Union apparently highlighted to managers a range of other savings which either will or could save an even larger sum, the goalposts seem to have moved.  Now it is argued that the changes aren’t for financial reasons but for “rationalisation” – ie simply to bring Devon’s crewing arrangements in line with Somerset’s.

I am aware that in Somerset, Taunton has retained Crewing but that Bridgwater and Yeovil have “jump crewing” (not entirely the same as what is proposed). We also hear that a serious industrial fire in Bridgwater experienced exactly the problems we fear, because the fire-fighters skilled for the aerial appliance were already in attendance at the building fighting the blaze, and had to be relieved and then taken back to the station to ready the appliance and return to the fire – costing vital time and increasing the damage.

But Somerset’s arrangements have been in place for 30 years.  One might expect some operational synergy between the two counties to develop over the years to come, but it is hard to see the need for this sudden enforced change, which also appears to break promises given at the time of the merger that it would not result in cuts to front line fire-fighters (this cuts 24 posts!).

The original plan also involved the Plymouth aerial appliance, but that has been dropped on the curious grounds that the main Plymouth station doesn’t have retained fire-fighters, whereas the other three do.  The idea that retained fire-fighters, with their limited time commitment and minimal weekly training, could provide crews for the hydraulic platforms would seem mildly absurd. Our firm belief is that Primary Crewing should continue at all four.

A word is also warranted on the question of consultation.    Focus groups were held, some with members of the public (70 in all) and some with staff (33 in all).  The participants were exposed to only one side of the argument, and because by the end of this indoctrination the public support had gone from 29% to 80%, and staff support had gone from 15% to 24%, hey presto!... It was deduced that there is support for the change.  This is a complete distortion of the science of focus group research, which even Peter Mandelson would struggle to present with a straight face.  Petitions and public meetings opposing the plan appear to have been ignored.

In conclusion, I believe this proposal is a botch-up.  Devon’s public will be expected to pay more on the fire precept but will receive a diminished level of protection.  The chiefs should be forced to go back to the drawing board – or better still abandon the proposal altogether.

As elected representatives we cannot meekly sit quiet and let this happen, and I urge you use your good offices to stop it.

Best wishes

Nick

NICK HARVEY

MP for North Devon