Campaigners have threatened to protest outside a Black Country fire station in a last ditch bid to save it from the axe.
Around 40 residents, councillors and firefighters gathered at a public meeting last night to raise their objections.
There are plans to shut Smethwick station as part of a shake-up of the fire service across the region. But many of those who attended the meeting at the Fire Service Training Centre in Dartmouth Road in the town criticised the choice of venue, timing of the meeting and lack of publicity.
They called the public consultation “a sham.”
Leading members of the West Midlands Fire Authority, who are due to decide on the future of the station, were also criticised for failing to attend the meeting.
Under the proposed changes put forward by the authority, Smethwick will lose its station altogether, while Halesowen, Cradley Heath and Wednesbury stations would close and be replaced by two new stations.
Overall in the West Midlands 12 fire stations would close. Public consultation is due to close tomorrow with a decision on the potential closures expected to be made in early February.
St Paul’s ward councillor Gurinder Singh Josan said he was “disgusted” at the way the meeting had been set up two days before the consultation closed and on an industrial estate which many residents would struggle to get to.
Smethwick councillor Vic Silvester branded the closure plan “nonsense,” while Soho and Victoria councillor Roger Horton claimed the lives of Smethwick residents were being put at risk.
Fire Authority member and former chairman, Councillor David Hinton, was the only one of 27 members at the meeting and said the Tory-controlled West Midlands Fire Authority had ignored calls from Labour and Liberal Democrat members to shelve the closure plans.
Miss Parbinder Kaur, of Park Hill Road, said: “Many of us are willing to protest outside the fire station.”
Roy Campbell, of West Midlands Fire Service, told the meeting no decision had been made but the proposals had been drawn up based on expert analysis of response times in the area.
9 Comments
Labour’s fault…spent what they hadn’t got and now it is coming home to roost.
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LEADING MEMBERS OF THE WEST MIDLANDS FIRE AUTHORITY, WHO ARE DUE TO DECIDE ON THE FUTURE OF THE STATION, WERE ALSO CRITICISED FOR FAILING TO ATTEND THE MEETING.
Says it all, and when the tragic and avoidable list of death starts to mount up, will they again be hiding to avoid facing the fact that their greed for telephone number salaries, has been paid for by closing down fire stations nearer the scene of the fires, that could have saved lives.
Jim of Bearwood.
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I’d have more sympathy with the protesters if they could provide evidence that shutting fire stations saves lives, rather than just reacting to a shock statement.
Sure it sounds as though the consultation meeting was a sham, and the fact that members can’t be bothered to turn up hints that the decision has already been made. But, given that cuts have to be made, maybe the savings could be spent on saving more lives, rather than keeping open an inefficient, ineffective station? I’m not convinced either way - show us the reasoning behind closing the station (other than being able to flog the site which is in a residential area and will raise a nice bit of cash when sold) and show us the reasoning behind keeping it open rather than sensationalist statements like “closing it will cost lives” - how do you know, Cllr Horton?
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that’s it close fire stations and waste millions on regional fire control centres, which will not be as efficient as the local control rooms but it will save money! but not lives, as a retired fire officer I
can state that saving a few seconds can mean saving a life as I know from 1st hand experience
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Yes Rob H, all Labour’s fault shame on them. Please remind me who runs the West Midlands Fire Authority again? Ah, that would be the Tories. Same old same old. Some of us have the ability to remember more than 11 years ago. Nothing changed then, same old Tories, cut the services as usual but don’t let that stop you blaming Labour eh?
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Regional Fire Controls save money? Cost of 1 Billion pounds, 2 years late and with the Governments reputation on IT it`s fingers crossed.
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This Fire Service aint got a clue,ask any serving Firefighter,the decisions the top brass have made in the last few years are a joke,these were made by a Chief Fire Officer who recently had to resign over allegations of child porn,says it all really.What chance have we got.
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JeffB, how are RCC’s less efficient than local controls?
When 999 calls for the Midlands (Hereford & Worc) were being handled by London (LFB). How were London going to easily deploy resources to lets say a house fire in Hereford. RCC’s enable any centre to deploy resources. And please don’t come back with the local knowledge arguement, fire control personel do not come from a spread of the entire county.
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rebecca, how can you say smethwick fire station is ineffective?? are you saying we dont save lives at smethwick fire station??? i know of a number of house fires over the christmas period that would of ended in fatalities had smethwick fire station not been there.cllr horton may not know but i do, i work there.
What about the thousands of houses weve fitted smoke alarms in rebecca?? or maybe every school in smethwick we visit on a regular basis may be classed as inefficient??I may not live in smethwick but i damn well care about the community the station serves, closing it will cost lives, period. it will also endanger fire crews who will have to travel a lot further to get to smethwick, as they will not know smethwick, .
not very efficient is it????
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