~~~~~

Dear Mr Editor,

As you may be aware we launched our 2^nd phase of the fight to save 43 fulltime Firefighter jobs and 6 full size fire engines at the following stations: Tadcaster, Malton, Northallerton, Harrogate, Ripon, Scarborough. This is just the start and the City of York has been earmarked for the next phase of cuts in around 18 months time, should management get their way.

If these changes happen, response times across the county will increase and fire appliances from areas not affected will be required to provide cover more than ever before in areas other than their own.  This obviously means that they will be unavailable for calls in that area if they are propping up other stations. Mark my words these proposals will seriously affect the level of service throughout North Yorkshire placing the public and firefighters at greater risk.

Please will you share the link to the website we have set up www.no2firecuts.com with all your contacts and EVERYONE you know all you have to do is click on one of the affected areas listed and follow the 3 easy steps ensuring you fill in our petition and NYFRS public consultation questionnaire saying no to all their proposed dangerous cuts!

Scarborough has the North Sea on one side and if these cuts go through, the next nearest full-time stations able to offer support are Whitby and York as Malton is also getting downgraded. The part-time stations surrounding Scarborough are often unavailable due to crewing shortfalls, so we cannot allow Scarborough and Malton to be downgraded and isolated.

Also, I would urge you to write to your MP voicing your opposition and your Fire Authority members. Tell them you do not want these cuts and urge them to force senior management to find alternatives instead of slashing the frontline.

Believe me there are many which have not even been looked at, without a proper resourced and effective frontline capability, what worth is the fire service?

No professional Firefighter should be placed in a position where they are expected to stand and wait for back up to arrive while people are suffering. Attached are PDF’s of our fliers and poster. Also here is a direct link to the petition which is on the site https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-the-unnecessary-and-dangerous-cuts-to-north-yorkshire-fire-service it would be better for us if people went through the site, but whatever you feel will work for you to maximise the uptake.

I look forward to your help please let me know if you require anything further.

Yours in unity comrades

Steve Howley

North Yorkshire Fire Brigades Union

Brigade Secretary

Tel 07974101438

http://www.no2firecuts.com/scarborough

POSTER DOWNLOAD

• – an “In My View” article by NIGEL WARD, reporting on the wider context in which the current austerity measures are impacting upon safety standards and professionalism at North Yorks Fire & Rescue Service.

~~~~~

In a previous article, I touched upon the soporific effect that the disbursement of finances within the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service appears to have exerted on certain North Yorkshire County Councillors.

The deployment of the life-saving resources of the NYF&RA is no trivial matter. Not that I am suggesting for one moment that Councillors could be forgiven for sleeping on the job over seemingly less vital decisions – such as the latest PR strategy for “sexing up” the Authority’s image by promoting, for example, the élite Swift Water Rescue Team – though thereby hangs another lamentable tale (for which my thanks go to Bungosaurus Rex, who provides the following information regarding the new NYF&RA Deluxe Operational PPE Drying Suite Facility, which, despite swingeing cuts in other branches of the service, opened to rapturous reviews last month):

The new NYF&RA Deluxe Operational PPE Drying Suite Facility has been equipped with these state-of-the-art facilities to ensure that the highly-trained élite NYF&RS Swift Water Rescue Team can be back in the water in their hi-tech £1.2K+ dry-suits within less than an hour of any given rescue operation –  without losing a second through fussy and impractical Health & Safety regulations.

And what exemplary value for money – circa £27.98, all in.  If they cut any harder than that they will be down to a NAAFI candle and a chapel hat-peg. Lord, give me strength.

The lads deserve better.

• an “In My View” article by NIGEL WARD, ringing alarm bells about awareness levels at the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority.

~~~~~

On 24th June 2015, the North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority (NYF&RA) met at the NYF Training Centre in Easingwold in the District of Hambleton.

The Authority comprises sixteen members, sitting as delegated representatives from the two partner Councils of the Combined Fire Authority (CFA) – four City of York Councillors, plus twelve North Yorkshire County Councillors – amongst them County Councillor Chris PEARSON [Con.] of the Mid Selby division and County Councillor Michael HESELTINE [Con.] of the Richmondshire North division.

The Agenda for the meeting included a number of important annual reviews, many of them relating to austerity measures. Unsurprisingly, the public gallery included a strong Fire Brigades Union (FBU) presence with deep concerns regarding potential cuts in service delivery and working conditions. Naturally, they followed proceedings with the keenest interest.

Unfortunately, their presence was rewarded by the astonishing sight of two Authority members whose own interest was conspicuous by its absence. They fell asleep.

This was compounded by the even more astonishing spectacle of one of the meeting’s Support Officers approaching the somnolent duo ostensibly to pass them written information – in fact, a farcically inept subterfuge designed to wake the snoozers in time to vote without betraying their woeful condition to the FBU members, who were (of course) were neither fooled nor amused.

One of them had the presence of mind to capture photographic evidence of County Councillor Chris PEARSON [Con.] (pictured on the left) sleeping the sleep of the damned.

Just wide of the photographer’s line-of-sight, County Councillor Michael HESELTINE was also lost to the world, snoring gently and wearing a beatific smile.

But County Councillor Chris PEARSON has strenuously denied having fallen asleep. He told the Ripon Gazette that he was hot in his suit, that was all. Yeah. Right. Then get out of the kitchen.

He stated:

• “I agree with what the fire authority are doing, times have changed, we have to do things differently.”

Beginning, presumably, with preserving a state of wakefulness during the decision-making process.

Retired fireman Ian WATKINS has approached NYCC Monitoring Officer (present at the meeting as legal advisor) to ascertain whether or not it is acceptable – or even legal – for NYF&RA members to vote on issues of vital importance (which County Councillors PEARSON and HESELTINE did) having taken no conscious part in the preceding debate.

Would it be appropriate (or even legal) for Councillors to draw Attendance Allowance and Travel Expenses (around £4K p.a. on top of their NYCC Allowances) for presence at a meeting throughout a significant part of which they were sound asleep, for heaven’s sake?

What will be the view of Monitoring Officer Barry KHAN (who witnessed this sorry episode personally)?

Will Barry KHAN raise a Standards Complaint? Would it stick? (Do they ever?).

Is there even an appropriate article of the Code of Conduct to cover the scarcely imaginable contingency of decision-makers falling asleep on the job – a job which entails the disposition of circa £35M per annum of taxpayers’ money, at a time when budgetary cuts are expected to “put lives at risk”?

The Enquirer approached Brigade Secretary of the North Yorkshire Fire Brigade Union Steve HOWLEY to summarise his response to the sleeping Councillors. He stated:

It is very disappointing that some members of the Fire Authority continue to snub the FBU and refuse to meet us outside the formal meetings in order for us to discuss our concerns around managements proposals, offering them a balanced view prior to making very important decisions such as down-grading fire cover. These people are elected to decide what is best for the communities they represent.

It is therefore an absolute disgrace to witness 2 members of the Authority sleeping through the entire debate on the proposed changes, included in the Fire Cover Review, and then vote in favour to increase response times across North Yorkshire which will place the Public and Firefighters at greater risk – and this is without going to public consultation. These are very serious issues which will change the level of service the public of North Yorkshire will receive in the future. It just goes to show the total disregard these Tory Councillors have for the FBU as the major stakeholder, the voice of professional firefighters and the democratic process. It is clear they already have a fixed agenda and are being instructed which way to vote prior to any meeting. Otherwise, how else can you sleep through the debate, then wake up only to vote!

It is also disgraceful that the Chair of the meeting did not allow us to answer genuine questions of concerns that some non-Tory councillors attempted to raise.

These people constantly tell us that, as firefighters, we need to do more with less as austerity is biting hard, and things need to change. Maybe they should look closer to home when proposing changes in the interests of the taxpaying public of North Yorkshire, rather than just slashing frontline services, which will put both the Public and Firefighters of North Yorkshire at greater risk.

Is it actually legal to sleep through the debate and then vote, is this predetermination at its best?

So when we have all finished taking the well-deserve mick out of County Councillor Chris PEARSON [Con.] and County Councillor Michael HESELTINE [Con.] (no – not ‘Tarzan’), let us remember that the paramount issue here is one of safety.

S – A – F – E – T – Y

There is no conceivable excuse for decision-makers sleeping whilst North Yorkshire burns. They say that there is honour amongst thieves. Perhaps. But I doubt that there will honour enough amongst our North Yorkshire Toxic Tories to ensure that these two indolent twerps resign – as they most certainly should.