Kidsgrove Fire Station not in the line of fire

The current level of fire cover at Kidsgrove is to be maintained following a review.

The future of the Kidsgrove Community Fire Station in Lower Ash Road came under threat as the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service reviewed their operations in order to try and save £1.7 million for the next financial year. The need to meet financial challenges due to cuts in funding and a decrease in demand (over the past 5 years fire calls in the Kidsgrove area have fallen from 383 to 85 per year) led to the review of how the Fire Service combines their prevention, protection and response activities.

They have already saved £4 million since 2010 and will have to save an additional £5.7 million by 2020. Now a 12 week Community Safety Options Consultation on how fire cover should be provided in the future has concluded that the new delivery model should not be pursued and the current response arrangements at Kidsgrove will be maintained until such time as the trials of the Staffordshire Efficient Response Option are complete and provide a new approach to emergency response, providing safe systems of work are available. Deputy Chief Executive Becci Bryant said: “We received a great deal of feedback from residents, members of staff, partner organisations and stakeholders during the 12-week consultation. We have listened closely to and have carefully considered the views that were put forward and, as a result, the recommendation is not to pursue the New Delivery Model option. One of the reasons for this recommendation is the significant impact that we would experience in our ability to undertake prevention activities. These activities are a cornerstone of our ability to reduce incidents and improve the safety of the residents of Staffordshire.” Chairman of the FRA Councillor Len Bloomer said: “We firmly believe that prevention is the key to saving lives and that it is far better than cure. This ethos is very clearly working, demonstrated by the fact that operational demand has decreased by around 33 per cent over the last six years. The changes that we have agreed to will see operational capacity reduced by less than 10 per cent. There will be no job losses as a result of today’s decisions. “We have invested a significant amount of resources into engaging with the communities we serve, from school children to older people and all those in between. A total of 135,000 free Home Fire Risk Checks have been carried out over the past six years – 84,000 were conducted by operational firefighters. “Our new community fire stations allow us to have far greater levels of engagement with residents, meaning that we can educate and advise people on fire safety in the home and on the roads, further helping to reduce the number of incidents occurring in the first place. We are confident that the plans approved today will enable us to continue the work that we have already started and, further, to build upon it to make Staffordshire the safest possible place to live, work and visit.” A detailed report outlining all the recommendations can be found at: www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk/Documents/fire_and_rescue_authority_13-07-2015.pdf