Last chance to have say on planned changes for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue service's work patterns

The deadline for residents to have their say on planned changes to Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s work patterns is imminent.

The public consultation into the proposals ends on Sunday (March 10).

Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC) plan is to change work patterns to better cover higher-risk times and areas throughout the day rather than at night when there is less demand.

But residents have raised concerns about making such changes on the fringes of the county and spoke about their area’s flooding problems and the frequent need to respond to road collisions.

And campaigners, such as Joe Rukin, also fear that Warwickshire is “sleepwalking into fire station closures with made-up data”.

Mr Rukin said: “"It is really important that the people of Warwickshire wake up and respond to this consultation before it is too late.

"To say this proposal is not about closing seven fire stations is an insult to everyone’s intelligence.

"They say it’s about changing working patterns, but it’s about going from a working pattern were firefighters work at seven fire stations, to a working pattern where firefighters don't work at those fire stations.”

More of Mr Ruckin’s comments on the issue can be heard in this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wATWUJNIZ3I

Firm commitments were made in meetings last year by WCC leader Izzi Seccombe and Cllr Andy Crump, the county’s portfolio holder for fire and rescue and community safety, that there would be no station closures.

Cllr Crump has also spoken about the “reluctance” of volunteers for the right times, meaning that something had to change.

He said: “People have busier lives, they do different things, and there are work pressures as well.

“Many employers who value their staff find it difficult to release them to attend and be an on-call firefighter.

“Back in 2010, who would have thought that in 2022 this country would have temperatures of 40 degrees?

"They don’t happen at night, they happen between noon and 4pm and that is where we are starting to get a lot of additional wildfires, things like that.

“We have to change, the climate appears to have changed so we have to be more reactive and reflective as a vibrant and efficient fire and rescue service.”

For the consultation visit https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/insights-service/wfrs-r2r/