FIRE chiefs have been accused of aiming to shutdown a village fire station by stealth.
Waltham Parish Council members considered dusting down their 100-year-old hand-pushed fire kart if the village is left without a fire appliance in future.
The row followed a meeting of councillors when they heard of the new specification of tactical response vehicles which will replace the fire engines at Waltham and Cleethorpes fire stations.
The new vehicles are due to become operational by the end of this year.
Councillors were angry that they do not have a fireman's ladder.
They had been promised a 4x4 small fires unit in the restructuring plan announced by Humberside Fire Authority in January.
But councillors were critical at the change of plans to now replace the fire engines at Cleethorpes and Waltham with tactical response vehicles instead.
Under the initial plan, both Cleethorpes and Waltham fire stations will lose their fire engines, to be replaced with new 4x4 vehicles which have a high pressure hose reel capable of putting out small fires. They will respond to small fires, such as wheelie bins, bonfires and waste bins throughout North East Lincolnshire and will be crewed by two firefighters, cutting down the response time of a crew of retained firefighters.
The new vehicles will also respond to medical emergencies and could become part of the response from East Midlands Ambulance Services in Cleethorpes.
In Waltham, the unit will be equipped to tackle road traffic emergencies.
But Waltham parish councillors have written to the chief fire officer for Humberside to demand the new vehicles should be crewed by four firefighters and have the capability to attend more incidents.
Deputy chief fire officer Chris Blacksell met councillors.
He said: "The intention has always been for the vehicle at Waltham to operate with two firefighters when the fire engine is replaced with a smaller vehicle, in the same way that all of our other vehicles of that type are crewed."
He said the staffing for the Waltham station will be based on only needing two firefighters to be available at any one time.
He said: "The vehicle would set off to an incident as soon as two people were there anyway, and would not be waiting for a third or fourth person even if more people were available, as that would create an unnecessary delay in responding."
The deputy chief said the new vehicles give flexibility as to how they are used,
Mr Blacksell said: "Waltham's vehicle won't be used to standby at Peaks Lane, but it will be used to attend small fires in the Grimsby area, which will mean that Peaks Lane will be available more often for life risk incidents."
But Councillor Martin Archer, chairman of Waltham parish council, said: "We are seeking reassurances over the types of incident the new tactical response vehicle will attend.
"Our fear is that it will not be deployed to sufficient number of incidents because of its limited capability that it is deemed, statistically, not to be effective.
"Members fear it would be a way of shutting our station by stealth.
"If it was manned by four crew members then it could be used for a lot more incidents throughout the borough."
The parish council voted to urge fire chiefs to scrap the two-crew option and agree to a four-crew option. Councillor Archer said: "If it was a small fire then they could still go with just two crew. That provides the flexibility the fire brigade want.
"Waltham Parish Council feel most strongly it should be a four-crew vehicle to cope with a wider range of incidents, including flooding."
He added: "Councillors question whether the new vehicle would be able to attend road traffic collisions with just a crew of two. The fear is that two would not be useful other than to make the scene safe, because of all the health and safety regulations."
Councillor Philip Jackson, North East Lincolnshire ward councillor for Waltham, said: "I now have some serious concerns about what is being proposed. I am concerned that the specification of this vehicle may not meet Waltham's needs.
Councillor Jackson said: "A crew of only two would be very limited in what it could do at the site of a house fire or road traffic collision and would need the back-up of a full-size appliance."
He said the current Waltham appliance regularly provides standby support for Peaks Lane fire station when appliances from the Peaks Lane are out on a call.
Councillor Jackson said: "The new TRV as specified and crewed with only two will be unable to provide the necessary level of support so where will this come from? Will this compromise fire safety across the whole of North East Lincolnshire?
"Will the new TRV be able to provide the level of support needed across the border in Lincolnshire in villages like Holton-le-Clay?
"From what we are now hearing, the vehicle may not be sufficiently specified or crewed to safely cover Waltham or provide much needed back-up for Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Local residents will be understandably worried by what is happening."
He said he will be writing to his council's four representatives on the Humberside Fire Authority – Councillors Steve Norton, Alex Baxter, Terry Walker and Mike Burton.
In Cleethorpes Sidney Sussex Labour ward, Councillor Hazel Chase said: "Although I do not like the cuts being made with the Fire Service, I regret to say that this is a direct result from the economic climate that we find ourselves in, and not only affects the fire service.
"After saying that I understand that the Poplar Road Station will house a Tactical Response Vehicle which I understand will be more efficient to deal with incidents in our vastly enclosed environment. This of course will be backed up by the existing arrangement from Peaks Lane to deal with incidents accordingly.
"The Fire Authority made a decision that no fire stations will close and I am assured that there are no plans for closure of the Poplar Road site."
ON THE WEB: Have your say on the plan for fire stations by logging on to www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk
