Questions for fire service after anonymous crew member claims lives are at risk

PLUS: Blackpool's suicide strategy with figures still above national average

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

Today we report on the widely shared story that Blackpool is lacking in fire service coverage.

The claims were shared online by an anonymous firefighter who says they are blowing the whistle.

The fire service maintains that they are responding to incidents within a time that meets their own targets - but the concern have travelled far enough that an MP is to write to the government about it.

We also report on what the Blackpool Suicide Prevention Partnership is doing to tackle the issue, which is consistently around 50% higher than the national average.

Government asked to investigate fire service coverage in Blackpool

Crews from Lytham Fire Station. Credit: LFRS

By Michael Holmes

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb has asked a government minister to investigate claims made online about fire engine coverage in the resort.

A post allegedly written by an anonymous firefighter has been shared almost 300 times on Facebook - leading to concerns about lives being put in danger.

A number of claims were made, including that firefighters were having to travel from miles away to respond to blazes in Blackpool because there were not enough engines to properly cover the town.

The whistleblower accused the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service of “knowingly putting lives at risk” to cut costs, with only “five fire engines to cover the entire Fylde coast to Garstang”, which they said is “half of what (the service’s) own safety plan says is needed”.

The post said: “I am speaking up anonymously due to fear of disciplinary action - but I am deeply concerned for my colleagues’ safety and the public’s.

“This is not scaremongering but the quickest way to let the public know and question why their safety is being put at risk and fight for their safety.

“When there are ways to effectively save money without risking anyone’s safety.”

Webb said: “I’ve heard the concerns from residents and the Fire Brigades Union and have since met with (the) assistant chief fire officer at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (Samantha Pink) and raised these issues directly.

“I have since written to the minister (Alex Norris, parliamentary under-secretary of state for building safety, fire and local growth) asking to investigate and meet me to discuss funding in Lancashire.”

The fire service, which took the unusual step of replying directly to the post on Facebook to insist “there are sufficient fire engines available to respond to emergencies in Blackpool”, was asked a series of questions by The Blackpool Lead in light of the claims.

It admits that much of what was written is true - though it has defended its safety record, saying coverage is sufficient and crews are still reaching fires quickly enough.

The post, made on Sunday July 6, read: “Blackpool’s second fire engine has been off the run for 24 hours - and will be for another 24 - despite council tax just going up to fund it.

“Yesterday saw two 4+ pump incidents in Blackpool. With only one local engine, crews had to come from miles away. Response times suffered.

“This morning, there are 15 fire engines off the run and 5 small incident units (only 3 riders).

“That leaves just 5 fire engines to cover the entire Fylde Coast to Garstang - and one is already at a job.

“That’s half of what Lancashire Fire & Rescue’s own safety plan says is needed. They are knowingly putting lives at risk.

“All of this is part of a cost-cutting plan:

“HR staff on over £100k/year making decisions with no operational experience

“A new rota management team with no operational experience constantly making errors therefore costing money. ( previously done by watch officers)

“Over £1 million being spent on a station renovation to house 12 staff - but only 4 or 5 on duty this weekend

“Meanwhile:

“The Aerial Ladder Platform has been close to being off due to crew shortages lucky crews them self managed (sic) the rota to keep it on.

“Closest water tower cover is Morecambe or Accrington if Blackpool are out at a job.

“St Anne’s Scorpion appliance is also off the run.

“This reckless policy is being driven by non-operational managers who do not understand the basic frontline requirement:

“4 firefighters minimum are needed to run a fire engine safely.

“This is gross negligence.

“The public is not being told.

“Firefighters are being silenced.”

Writing publicly in response, the fire service said: “Please be reassured that there are sufficient fire engines available to respond to emergencies in Blackpool.

“There are currently nine on the Fylde coast able to respond in minutes including at south, central and north Blackpool, and 51 in total across the county.

“This position changes all the time as incidents occur and our crews attend, so we have robust systems in place to continuously monitor and deploy fire engines and firefighters where they are needed across Lancashire.

“Public safety - ensuring that every community in Lancashire receives a fast and effective emergency response - is our top priority.”

When contacted by The Blackpool Lead, the fire service conceded that Blackpool’s second fire engine was out of service on the day of the post from 8am to 6pm “due to crewing shortages at other services” but said fire engines were available at the stations at Fleetwood, Bispham, South Shore and St Annes.

And it admitted that Blackpool’s two fire engines were both unavailable the next day - with one “unavailable” for the full 24 hours and the second tied up in training from 8am to 6pm and out of service from 6pm to 6am the next day, again due to shortages elsewhere.

On July 5, the day before the firefighter’s anonymous post, there were two emergencies requiring four or more fire engines, the service said.

One of them is understood to have been a domestic garage fire in Warley Road, North Shore, which destroyed a car and left the adjacent house badly damaged.

Engines from Blackpool, Bispham, Fleetwood and South Shore were called and firefighters spent about 90 minutes at the blaze.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said it “met our response standard for each” of the two incidents, adding: “Our response standards, set by the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority, are amongst the fastest in the country.

“During all incidents, our control room monitors cover across the county and moves fire engines to provide additional cover if it is needed.

“We have robust systems in place to monitor, manage and dynamically deploy our fire engines and firefighters to respond to emergencies across Lancashire.

“Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is committed to delivering a fast, effective and professional emergency response to every community across the county.”

Asked how many fire engines and other appliances were officially recorded as being “off the run” on the day of the Facebook post, the service said availability fluctuates throughout the day and night.

There were 40 fire engines available between 8am and 1pm. Three were tied up in Blackpool at an “incident” and 15 were off the run.

A fire service spokesperson said: “There are 39 fire stations across Lancashire; 22 of these have at least one wholetime crewed fire engine and 17 have at least one on-call fire engine.

“Additional wholetime, day-crewed or on-call fire engines are also available at some of these stations which have two fire engines.

“There are four fire stations with two wholetime crewed fire engines in the county: Blackpool, Preston, Blackburn and Burnley. All four also have other fire stations close by, with additional fire engines ready to respond.

“For example, in Blackpool there are four fire engines; two in central Blackpool, one in the south of the town at South Shore and one in the north at Bispham.

“These are also supported with fire engines at St Annes, Lytham and Fleetwood, in total providing nine fire engines covering the Fylde coast.

“Previous policy was that when one of the two fire engines at our four stations with two wholetime engines was unavailable due to training or maintenance, it was not replaced or backfilled.

“However, if one was unavailable due to a crewing shortage (for example, due to leave or sickness) it was kept available by bringing in firefighters from other stations (we call this detached duties), or on overtime once detached duty options have been exhausted.”

The service said there were six fire engines covering the western area, which covers the Fylde coast to Garstang, on the day of the post, with three at a fire in Blackpool.

“This meets the requirements of our community risk management plan,” it said.

Asked if the aerial ladder platform in Blackpool was recently close to being unavailable, the service did not answer except to say it was “available”.

It conceded that St Annes’ Scorpion appliance, which has an extending turret that blasts water on to fires from above, was unavailable because it was "having a few snapping faults fixed” but said it had been replaced by a standard fire engine and is now available.

And the service responded to claims about more than £1m being spent on a station renovation to house 12 staff even though only “four or five” were on duty when the post was made by saying it was designed to allow for “future adaptability".

A spokesperson said: “The service has recently invested capital funds to upgrade and improve the internal accommodation for our staff.

“The investment in the station provides facilities that are fit for a modern fire service and provide our staff with good quality accommodation.

“The station is home to administration and technical departments in addition to operational firefighters.

“The investment addresses several aspects for the service including addressing inherent maintenance issues, requirements of service delivery, decontamination reduction, equality and diversity and inclusion aspects along with sustainability and future lifecycle of the building.

“The current design addresses current space requirements for the service whilst allowing for future adaptability.”

The Blackpool Lead also asked about the claim about a “new rota management team with no operational experience constantly making errors” and costing money.

The service said the team has been in place for three years and is run by support staff but managed by firefighters.

“They work closely with senior officers to ensure we have the right firefighters in the right place at the right time,” the spokesperson said.

They added: “Staff have several different avenues to raise concerns internally. These include speaking to their line manager, speaking to senior officers during station visits, emailing the relevant departments with their concerns and speaking with their union representatives.

“Firefighters have not and will not be subjected to disciplinary action if they raise safety concerns with the service.”

---

What is being done to tackle the issue of Blackpool’s high suicide rates?

By Richard Hunt

Blackpool still has a higher suicide rate than the national average but efforts are being made to tackle the situation and the various issues linked to it.