Letter: How SCC Is Improving Our Fire and Rescue Services To Make Surrey Safe

Published on: 29 Sep, 2019
Updated on: 28 Sep, 2019

From Keith Witham

Conservative county councillor for Worplesdon

Earlier this year, Surrey County Council provided an extra £975,000 for our Fire and Rescue Services to recruit more firefighters, buy new vehicles and reorganise to meet today’s challenges with two “state of the art” fire stations opened, at Guildford and Woking.

To summarise the Making Surrey Safer plan:

– So far, 82 more firefighters recruited and trained with 20 more “on-call” being trained;
– No redundancies and no fire station closures; and
– Planned increase in daytime visits on prevention and community safety from just more than 2,000 a year to 20,000 a year, targetting those most at risk from fire, the elderly, disabled and vulnerable people, businesses and schools.

Thankfully, in 2018 there were no deaths by fire in Surrey. But of those recorded historically as fire fatalities in the county, most were older and vulnerable or disabled people. That is why the number of safety visits is being so vividly increased. This will reduce emergencies and ensure those most at risk have working smoke alarms and know what to do if and when a fire starts.

Plan opponents have criticised night-time cover. But Surrey’s “state of the art” technology detects where all fire and rescue vehicles are at any time, 24/7, and where they need to be all the time.

Evidence shows that by putting money and effort into prevention, and using this tried and tested technology, there can safely be fewer firefighters on duty at night, but still keep the public safe.

In future, those firefighters will be on daytime duty and can make more prevention visits (which can’t be done at night) to deliver safety messages to schools across the county, when they are not out on call. That is why there will be one fewer appliance crewed at night at seven fire stations.

In the areas where Surrey Fire and Rescue are reducing full-time night staff, the service will still be responding within 10 minutes, as they do now, by sending the nearest fire engine available, because journeys can be up to 50% quicker at night.

Austerity? Cuts? No, Surrey Fire and Rescue has a budget of nearly £35 million a year, plus the almost £1 million extra this year to increase the number of firefighters and vehicles available. This sensible plan is not about so-called cuts in any way and it will make the most effective use of resources to keep more people safe.

Responses to Letter: How SCC Is Improving Our Fire and Rescue Services To Make Surrey Safe

Keith Witham Reply

September 29, 2019 at 10:06 am

The Guildford Dragon asked me (understandably) to keep this letter to 500 words. But if anyone wants to read some more detailed background information please visit. https://www.worplesdon-matters.com/l/the-making-surrey-safer-plan/

Keith Witham is the Conservative county councillor for Worplesdon.
John Tester Reply

September 30, 2019 at 12:23 pm

If Cllr Witham is correct, why is it the Fire Brigade Union is totally against SCC’s policy? At the recent demonstration at County Hall, nearly every fireman in Surrey attended, apart from those working.

Do Surrey County Councillors have any concern for the welfare of Surrey’s Fire & Rescue Service?
- Keith Witham Reply
  
  October 2, 2019 at 8:36 pm
  
  Yes, SCC is concerned for the welfare of our firefighters, which is why it is recruiting and training 100 new firefighters, 82 already in post, so far this year, with another 20 in process.
  
  The council also wants to reduce reliance on the use of overtime so that our firefighters are not overstretched.
  
  Keith Witham is the Conservative county councillor for Worplesdon.
Glenn Miller Reply

September 30, 2019 at 12:47 pm

So is Cllr Witham saying that his tried and tested technology will tell where fires will break out and where we need to have fire engines deployed?

Why not just do away with the Fire & Rescue Service and just rely on the technology to call the person in difficulty, advising them accordingly.

That is some crystal ball technology Cllr Witham must be imagining.
- Keith Witham Reply
  
  October 2, 2019 at 8:50 pm
  
  No, the tried and tested technology is not a crystal ball. It is a live system installed about three years ago which shows the location of every fire and rescue vehicle in Surrey 24/7 so that the nearest and most suitable vehicle available (whether at a fire station or elsewhere can be despatched). The Fire and Rescue Service also knows from the records of previous incidents those localities where greater resources are needed to deal with what is likely in the future.
  
  Additionally, the independent, external validation (National Fire Chiefs Council) shows that to be safe Surrey needs 20 fire engines during the day and 16 at night. The plan of the Chief Fire Officer has more than this – 25 crewed during the day, and 23 crewed at night. The Safer Surrey Plan has also been developed in conjunction with HM Inspectorate of Fire Services and with support from the London Fire Brigade.
  
  Keith Witham is the Conservative county councillor for Worplesdon.
  - Paul Crowther Reply
    
    October 21, 2019 at 10:20 am
    
    It’s always of interest that data relating to previous incident locality can determine their next. Unless there’s an arsonist in a small geographic area, all this can do is look at trends in incidents.
    
    My guess (not really a guess) is that sociodemographic factors are given to give the likely need. Sadly, this is where information gives you skewed logic. Whilst frequency is important, severity is the key factor when it comes to life and impact on occupants. It seems to be overlooked.
    
    Severity of an incident absorbs resources for long durations and impacts more greatly on all concerned, including the increased cost of insurance and time spent away from a residence for instance. It is fantastic that fire appliances are being mobilised by highlighting their current location. Cllr Witham should understand that this isn’t a new thing though.
    
    That said, as my colleagues past and present will tell you, it is not uncommon that the appliance is still at its furthest from an incident when the call comes in.
    
    Regardless of distance, the new system still does not calculate travel times based on live traffic conditions. It is entirely possible that an appliance could be one mile away but still not guaranteed to be the fastest to the scene.
    
    This is when this system loses out to the weight of attack as appliances should also be moving from other areas. I know this happens but, now, with potentially greater travel times. I agree with Mr Miller in so much as, if this technology was accurate, a fire engine could park itself outside a property prior to anything happening.
    
    If this were then the case the travel distances, traffic issues, training and new technology become an irrelevance also. I reiterate that a person with an old slipper can extinguish a fire given that they are there in its early stages. If left, then training, risk and greater insurance losses are all in play.