CONTROLS: FIRE AUTHORITIES IN OPEN REVOLT

Humberside adds its name to growing number of fire authorities rejecting the FIReControl project

Humberside has added its name to a string of fire authorities across the country who have rejected the regionalisations of emergency fire controls.

Last week it passed a resolution that said it was “opposed to regional control centres and objects most strongly to being forced down this route by the ODPM.” It also resolved “that the regional management board be informed that this authority is not willing to participate in a company arrangement.”

The move came after intensive lobbying by the Union locally and underlines the growing strength of opposition within the fire service to the Government’s massively expensive high risk plans.

In private feedback to the private outline business case – leaked in full by the FBU – fire and rescue service regional management boards across England have delivered a damning verdict on the FiREControl project.

Even most supportive RMBs skeptical

Even the most supportive RMBs had some concerns while others were openly skeptical at whether the plans made sense at all.

South East RMB said: "there are grave concerns that key elements of the real costs have been missed out". A number also warned that some of the FireControl project cost was being loaded into the costs of FireLink, the national radio project.

The effect - as the union has warned - would help conceal the true cost of FireControl in order to claim bogus savings. Some fire authorities said the boundaries between the two projects are being blurred and redrawn with clear suspicions this was to enable ODPM to move costs 'off the books' of FiReControl.

The plans were savaged by fire authorities. Avon called for the project to be stopped and Cornwall could not accept the case presented to them. Yorkshire and Humberside RMB said the OBC was not "achievable financially or practically" and called for it to be withdrawn, rethought and then put back out to consultation.

A running theme was that while it may be able to work in theory there were serious practical difficulties. Dorset fire authority was "not satisfied that deliverability, affordability or value for money had been demonstrated."

Costs already beginning to bite financially and operationally

Some warned that the costs of the project were already beginning to bite financially and operationally. While ODPM was putting up money for the extra costs, it didn't cover the cost burdens being placed on fire authorities.

One burden not being placed on fire authoritties is the need to carry out Best Value reviews of controls which the ODPM insisted must now stop. The proposed new regional controls will not be subject to Best Value reviews to test whether they offer value for money.

Serious concerns about project risks

There were serious concerns expressed about the risks of the project. West Midlands RMB said: “this is clearly a high risk project" which meant proper checks and procedures needed to be followed. In a chilling warning it went on to say: “the impact of project failure or even of the transitional period includes a very high likelihood of endangering lives" which heightened the need for all procedures, checks and reviews to be followed.

However, there were serious questions about whether this was happening, with the project by-passing a critical internal review.

A claim that all the procedures were being followed to reduce the risk of project failure was said by the South East RMB to be "misleading to the point of being factually incorrect".

Union steps up campaigning

The union has stepped up its campaign for an independent review, organising campaign meetings at both the TUC and Labour conferences.

Meanwhile the the proposed merger or regionalisation of all 999 services was the subject of a major debate in parliament as it returned from its long summer holiday (see e-bulletin Issue number 72, Friday 14 October)

As of today, 237 MPs have signed the EDM on regional controls calling for an independent inquiry or for it to be scrapped.

Visit www.controlcare.org.uk for up-to-date news and information – and campaigning materials - on the FBU’s campaign to stop the closures of local emergency fire control rooms.

As Halloween and Guy Fawkes nights approach, members urged to report all incidents of violence/abuse

A Task and Finish Group of the Forum has been created with a wide ranging membership to review the issue of escalating attacks on firefighters and make recommendations for dealing with this dangerous situation.

This followed the FBU’s move to raise the issue at the Practitioners Forum of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) at a meeting on 19 July 2005.

The meeting recommended to the Forum that a Task and Finish Group needed to be set up to look at ways of dealing with the issue of attacks on firefighters.

The Task and Finish Group will be chaired by CFOA. National Officer Paul Woolstenholmes has been nominated to represent our member’s interests on the Group.

Scotland will be monitoring task and finish group’s progress

While the Practitioners Forum only has a remit for issues affecting England and Wales, HMFSI (Scotland) and the Scottish Executive will be monitoring the Group’s progress closely.

It is clear from the statistics published by the ODPM regarding attacks on firefighters which they commenced collecting in April 2004, that there is both a serious under reporting and patchy reporting of incidents occurring.

Brigade managers must be advised of and report all attacks

It is important for the safety of FBU members and the work of the Group to ensure that fire and rescue service brigade managers are being advised of, and reporting, all attacks on their firefighters and that includes incidents of verbal abuse as well as physical attacks.

Fire and Rescue Service Circular 5 - 2005 - Fires and Incidents of Special Interest (FOSI), issued in February 2005, includes reporting details for all attacks on firefighters in Appendix 3 of the document.

This is a separate report which is additional to the FDR 1 system. To avoid delay in reporting incidents, details may be emailed, faxed, or even telephoned through to HMFSI in London by the brigade concerned.

FBU brigade officials will be raising the issue with brigade managers to ensure that:

FBU members - at branch and watch level – are urged to report all such events and to make sure that attacks are being recorded and reported.

London attacks

A firefighter was attacked while he was battling a blaze on Tuesday night. A crew from the Old Kent Road station were called to a report of rubbish being set on fire in a stairwell in flats on Westmoreland Road in Walworth at 7.35pm.

They were dampening down the blaze when someone threw a bit of metal at them, hitting one of the firefighters on the head.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the firefighter's helmet absorbed most of the force of the blow.

He added: "The firefighter was taken to King's College Hospital with a suspected neck injury.
"He is now recovering at home. "Police are investigating the incident." No arrests have been made.

FBU London Executive Council member Mick Shaw said attacks on firefighters often went unreported.

He added: "It's a problem we are looking at on a national scale. Whenever the issue is debated in Parliament or official figures are released they never match the anecdotal evidence on the ground. One of the problems is that firefighters just accept it as part of the job, which is a sad indictment of society." www.icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk

Scottish attacks

POLICE today stepped up their hunt for a gang of thugs who carried out the latest attack on firefighters.

The crew were responding to a 999 mercy mission in Glasgow when they were attacked by missile-hurling yobs.

The "cowardly" gang lobbed bricks, bottles and stones at the fire engine as it dashed to a blazing building.

They smashed the vehicle's windows and damaged its body in the attack at 8pm on Friday in the Greenfield area.

It comes after figures showed a record 388 attacks on firefighters. www.eveningtimes.co.uk

Attacks in West Midlands

Teenage yobs stoned a fire engine and tried to pull a hose from firefighters called out to a spate of arson blazes on a Telford housing estate.

The firefighters were pulled bodily across the green at Withybrook, Woodside, in a bizarre tug-of-war with the youths.

Outraged residents say teenage arsonists have shattered their peace every night this week and are urging police to do more.

Fire and police chiefs say they will not tolerate attacks on firefighters and will come down hard on the culprits.

The latest incident happened last night when youngsters lit a bonfire made up of wheelie bins and anything else they could steal from houses in the area, said Withybrook resident Mick McGinn.

”It’s happened every single night this week. We can’t enjoy our evenings at home because of all the noise and smoke,” he said. www.shropshirestar.com

Notts co-responding dispute

At a branch meeting held Wednesday at Retford fire station, Nottinghamshire, FBU members expressed a strengthening of resolve against the bully boy tactics of the fire authority.

The defiant mood comes despite the management move to deduct 10% from the salary of anyone refusing to Co-operate with this scheme. The management have now received permission for this.

Steve Ainley, vice-chair, and Ian Young, Nottinghamshire brigade secretary, attended the meeting.

Says Ian: “We were immensely proud of the way in which the branch members are conducting themselves. Their dignity and self control in times of immense uncertainty and with all the associated pressures is admirable.”

Retford branch members pass on their thanks to all the members from around the country who have written and pledged their support. They also wish to thank all for the practical support in terms of cash sent to the hardship fund.

Notts members are paying a minimum voluntary levy of £5 per week into a Hardship Fund to assist the 34 members at Retford.

Details of the fund are:

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Last Modified: 7/04/08 10:50,