Exclusive: Firefighters hit out over changes to frontline crew numbers

West Midlands Fire Service is implementing ‘risk-based crewing’ across the service in September as a trial ahead of using it permanently in January.

Fire chiefs say the changes will not create more risks to its staff or the public.

But concerns have been raised there will be fewer firefighters working after 10pm.

A Black Country firefighter, who did not want to be named, told the Express & Star: “During night shifts, vulnerability increases, and even though statistics may suggest a low staff requirement, certain incidents may demand more personnel.”

“Staffing reductions and crews being assigned to many other stations are still allowed to happen? This is likely to lead to increased sickness, stress, and depression among the personnel.”

A fire in Wall Heath seriously worried staff taking risks would become commonplace after the cuts.

Another firefighter described an incident of a tree fire in Wall Heath that spread to a property but a vehicle with only two firefighters on board was sent out. They added: “The crew took risks to save lives. Luckily, no-one was home. Will such situations become more common with the cuts in staffing?”

Frontline staff also are unhappy service management numbers are not being cut and believe senior firefighters should help out at understaffed stations more.

West Midlands Fire Brigades Union opposes any cuts to frontline services.

Sasha Hitchins, brigade secretary of the West Midlands FBU, said: “We are aware of proposals to reduce crewing numbers on fire engines in the West Midlands and we are speaking to our members to understand what it would mean for firefighters and the public we serve.

“We oppose any cuts to frontline services –firefighters and the public deserve better than the constant driving down of budgets from central government that we’ve been suffering for 13 years.”

Councillor John Tipper, who represents Cradley Heath and Old Hill, which includes Haden Hill Fire Station, voiced concerns over forthcoming cuts.

He said: “You can’t try to do something as important as keeping the public safe on the cheap. If firefighters who regularly risk their lives on our behalf are concerned about this, we should be concerned about it too.

He added: “I know of a couple of major fires in Cradley Heath in the past year or so – including an explosion on the industrial unit at Garratts Lane – and as usual they were dealt with quickly and expertly and in a way that minimised the danger to the public.

“I’d like reassurance from WMFS that our firefighters will continue to be given the resources, especially in terms of staffing, they need to do their difficult and dangerous job as safely as possible.”

However, West Midlands Fire Service defended risk-based crewing, which is based on data of incidents across the county. Assistant Chief Fire Officer Simon Barry said: “Risk-based crewing (RBC) is not new to our service. We first successfully implemented it 18 months ago, in line with the results of our public consultation and community risk management planning.

“RBC enables staff in our fire control and the officer in charge of an incident to send the appropriate number of firefighters to an incident, based on its nature, taking a risk-based approach that considers both the community and our staff.”

CFO Barry, who is director for risk reduction, added: “The approach means that fire engines remain ready and available to respond to the most serious incidents. It protects our service delivery model and five-minute response time.

“Our data confirms that RBC increases the time our crews can spend on proactive risk reduction activities in our communities. It is a risked-based, carefully considered way of ensuring we can continue to deliver all of our services.We always consult with our staff and representative bodies before any such changes are implemented.”