Fighting the Threat to Local Fire-Fighters

Firstly, I'd like to welcome the representatives from the Folkestone Brigade who are here this evening. When on shift, they can be called upon to put their lives in order to save ours, and those of our constituents, family and friends.

This evening, I hope we as Councillors can show we are worth that risk.

In the next year, the Government is seeking cuts in spending from Kent Fire and Rescue of £2 million. The cuts proposed to Folkestone Brigade total £840,000 a year: almost half the County wide total.

There are currently 40 full time fire fighters, plus 12 watch and crew managers at the Folkestone Brigade. This is on top of the fire engine run by the retained crew of 13 that also operate from the station.

The full time crew currently operate one standard fire tender, 1 rescue tender and a long ladder, required to reach above the fourth floor.

Please don't be of any doubt on the scale of the cuts proposed: they are to remove 24 of the full-time firefighters. The current complement of 52 firefighters and managers reduced to 28 through redundancy and redeployment. This is on top of a loss of 12 full time fire fighters as recently 2005.

Of the three appliances they use, it is proposed that TWO are removed - the standard engine and the long ladder.

The ladder will be redeployed to Ashford, from where it will travel if required anywhere in Shepway.

The impact of this is that the full-time brigade can only have one engine on the ground at any time plus the retained crew. The minimum attendance at a house fire is I believe 9 firefighters - that's 2 engines.

In rural areas, the required minimum service level is now to have 1 appliance in attendance at a fire within 10 minutes in 90% of cases. With these cuts, any time a retained crew is not available there will be a severe impact on the chances of getting to rural incidents, particularly with enough engines to deal with larger incidents.

If the retained crew in any area across Shepway is currently not available - and as retained crew generally have other jobs, this can happen fairly frequently, then Folkestone's full time team can currently provide cover. That option may no longer be available with these cuts.

One recent example saw the Folkestone Brigade tackling a fire in St Mary's Bay because no nearer retained fire engine was available. What would have happened in that case if these cuts has already taken place?

Also, lets not forget full time fulltime crew are trained to deal with situations and equipment retained crew are not. This includes going underground at the Channel Tunnel, and the use of some cutting and rescue equipment, such as that used to help free people from road accidents.

These cuts will not just hurt Folkestone. They will lead to reduced cover across the whole of Shepway - Hythe, the Marsh and Elham Valley - and even beyond.

In an interview with Kent TV (The Kent County Council internet TV station that has cost £1.5 million - enough you'll note to keep Folkestone Fire Station fully crewed next year and leave change), Chief Fire Officer, Charlie Hendry says:

"We have too many fire engines in Folkestone. We think it would OK perfectly ok to take one of those away."

Fire fighters at Folkestone Fire Station simply do not agree. Folkestone IS different: we have responsibilities towards the Channel Tunnel which is NOT fully covered by its own station alone, we have the Channel Tunnel Rail link, and more tall buildings than average. The risks are different here.

Not only that, the "Fit for the Future" review - that Kent Fire and Rescue Service themselves published - actually does not seem to agree with Charlie Hendry either.

In its Frequently Asked questions Section, question 9 asks: "Will this mean a reduction in fire cover for the residents and businesses in the Folkestone Area?"

Now, as Councillors, we should be used to answers that explain that "service delivery will be enhanced through better resource distribution", or that "there is no reason to believe there will be reduced cover". A bit of covering jargon, telling us all will be fine. I was waiting for that. It actually says:

"The residents and businesses in the Folkestone are will receive a level of fire cover that is appropriate for the risk and comparable with the level of service elsewhere in the County."

So that's a yes.

• It does mean a deduction in cover.
• It does mean waiting times will increase.
• It does mean fires will burn longer before they can be tackled.
• It does mean that people will die.

We simply cannot fail to stand up for our local brigade.

Lets work together NOW with Shepway Council to alert all residents of Shepway of the threatened reduction in cover.

And lets speak up for our Firefighters, and all those who will be unlucky enough to need their incredible skills and support in the coming years.