Last week I attended a consultation meeting in Bedworth concerning proposals to close the Fire Station there and yesterday a similar meeting took place in Monks Kirby in relation to Brinklow. The new Chief Fire Officer presented the proposals which were drawn up by his predecessor and members of the public were invited to make points and ask questions. Brinklow is a smaller Fire Station, serving a rural community but many of the same points arose and, of course response times and the quality of cover the service will be able to provide in the future were the key issues. Despite a bias in the questionnaire that accompanies the consultation, there are many good points in the document such as increased emphasis on training, on fire prevention and reducing arson; and reducing Firefighter sickness levels. However it seems to me that these do not necessarily have to be linked to reducing the number of Fire Stations across the County from 19 to 12. Almost everyone in the room was of like mind and I know that there will be many responses urging that the closure proposals in the consultation are not implimented.Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Saving Brinklow Fire Station
Last week I attended a consultation meeting in Bedworth concerning proposals to close the Fire Station there and yesterday a similar meeting took place in Monks Kirby in relation to Brinklow. The new Chief Fire Officer presented the proposals which were drawn up by his predecessor and members of the public were invited to make points and ask questions. Brinklow is a smaller Fire Station, serving a rural community but many of the same points arose and, of course response times and the quality of cover the service will be able to provide in the future were the key issues. Despite a bias in the questionnaire that accompanies the consultation, there are many good points in the document such as increased emphasis on training, on fire prevention and reducing arson; and reducing Firefighter sickness levels. However it seems to me that these do not necessarily have to be linked to reducing the number of Fire Stations across the County from 19 to 12. Almost everyone in the room was of like mind and I know that there will be many responses urging that the closure proposals in the consultation are not implimented.
