A CONSULTATION into plans to reshape the fire service in Cheshire has closed.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service received more than 400 responses to its consultation, which included a proposal to replace on-call services in Northwich, Winsford, Runcorn and Macclesfield.
These would be replaced with full-time crews, which would only operate during the day and not at the evenings and weekends.
Firefighters, residents and council have been critical of the plans, raising concerns over the 'reduction in service' and the changes 'which will result in redundancies and the loss of experienced, on-call firefighters'.
Despite these criticisms, the fire service says the responses have been 'largely supportive'.
Chief fire officer and chief executive Alex Waller said: “Our proposals include converting four fire engines, currently crewed by part-time (on-call) firefighters and not often available, to fire engines crewed by full-time firefighters and guaranteed to be available during weekday daytimes, when we are usually busiest.
"This would mean more full-time firefighter jobs and more fire engines being available. These fire engines would improve response times and serve right across Cheshire, including in Northwich.
"It is important to emphasise that the proposals do not impact on the full-time fire engine at Northwich, which will still be available as it is now.”
READ MORE: Northwich firefighters up in arms over plans to axe on-call service
The draft Community Risk Management Plan 2024-28 focuses on increasing the number of fire engines guaranteed to be available across Cheshire during weekdays from 17 to 22, while also reducing risk by carrying out more prevention work with homes and businesses.
CFRS say the 'vast majority' of incidents they attend only require one fire engine and that if these proposals are approved, they will continue to get to all incidents within their 10-minute target.
A consultation into these plans ran until January 2, with roadshows and meetings held around the county.
All of the responses will be shared with Cheshire Fire Authority prior to them deciding on whether to approve the draft plan at their meeting in February.
Among those unhappy with the plans was Northwich Town Council.
Mayor, councillor Jane Thomas, said: “Residents and council members have serious concerns about the reduction in service, particularly during the night and weekends when most fatalities occur.
“The changes are going to result in redundancies and the loss of experienced, dedicated, trained firefighters who are only able to work on an on-call basis due to having other work commitments.
“We are unable to offer our full support for the proposed changes, especially the withdrawal of the second engine in Northwich and the reduction in availability of services at night and on weekends.
“We would hope that this aspect of the restructuring could be reconsidered.”
Mr Waller has moved to address some of these concerns, explaining that the current on-call staff would be offered full-time positions.
He said: “We have invested significantly to improve availability of fire engines that are crewed by on-call firefighters; we now spend 45 per cent more than we did five years ago.
“Despite this the fire engine availability continues to decrease. Northwich’s on-call fire engine was available 10 per cent of the time during the weekday daytimes last year. When it isn’t available the full-time fire engine based at Northwich responds to emergencies.
“While our proposals would mean significant improvements for Cheshire communities, we recognise that a small number of part-time staff would be impacted personally by the changes.
"We understand their concerns. Should the proposal be approved, we would offer them a full-time job and support them as best as we can.”
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