Warwickshire Fire and Rescue (WFRS) is inviting feedback on a proposed change to its service delivery model as part of its Resourcing to Risk approach.
Complete the consultation survey today: https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/insights-service/wfrs-r2r/
The public consultation period launches today (Monday 11 December), with Warwickshire residents, businesses, community groups and public sector partners invited to have their say on the way that WFRS manage their resources. Resourcing to Risk aims to have the right resource, in the right place and at the right time, to keep people safe in Warwickshire.
The Service wants to hear views and feedback on this proposal, which optimises the distribution of fire appliances, firefighters and supporting resources so that they better align to risk and demand across the county.
Talking about the need for change, Chief Fire Officer for WFRS Ben Brook said: “Currently our resource doesn’t match with activity levels. We have more fire appliances available at night when activity levels are lowest, and fewer fire appliances available between 8am and 10pm, which is when 89% of life and property incidents occur.
“One of our challenges is that despite the commitment and hard work of on-call firefighters who serve their communities whilst also having other commitments such as full-time jobs, our on-call availability has fallen from 90% to 35% over the last five years. As a result, the 12 fire appliances which are crewed by on-call firefighters are, on average, only available one-third of the time. This is a similar picture nationwide and we expect this trend to continue in the long-term.”
Councillor Andy Crump, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Fire and Rescue and Community Safety, said “I want to stress that this proposal isn’t about cutting costs and it’s not about closing fire stations. Instead, it’s about making sure that we’ve got our resource in the right place to make the best difference when an emergency happens. This consultation will stay open until March next year, giving everyone an opportunity to look at our proposal in detail and to tell us what they think. No decisions will be made until the consultation is over.”
The public consultation, available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ask summarises the reasons for the Resourcing to Risk proposal and the benefits that WFRS believes the proposed approach offers in improving how they keep Warwickshire’s communities and people safe. It includes an online survey which will remain open until 10 March 2024. A series of consultation events will also be held in each of Warwickshire’s five district and boroughs in January and February.
Anyone interested in viewing the proposal and giving feedback should visit https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/insights-service/wfrs-r2r/ or, if you need a paper copy of the survey, or an alternative format or language, please call 01926 410410 or email wfrsr2r@warwickshire.gov.uk.