Date of Request
26/08/2024
Request
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service,
Following on the Cuts that have been pushed through to the frontline fire engines at Redditch, Worcester, Bromyard, Hereford, Leominster and Wyre Forest, can you confirm that at Redditch, Worcester and Hereford that there is only 1 fire engine crewed by wholetime staff and 1 by retained, and that you have disestablished the Day Crewing sections at Hereford and at Worcester as you have Cut their Pumps.
Do you plan on relocating these fire engines to their stations again if you have an incident that occurs that could have been prevented had their been an extra fire engine closer? and will the 4×4 people carriers be mobilised as stand alone fire engines, with blue lights or without blue lights and with what crewing level?
please confirm also how many fire engines are now based at each fire station as follows Pershore – 1 Worcester – 2 Redditch – 2
Without including the 4×4 pickups as these are cars.
Response
Hi
We thank you for your request for information, which has been received by Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (the Service) and considered under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000
The Service can confirm that the information that you have requested is held and is detailed below:
Following on the Cuts that have been pushed through to the frontline fire engines at Redditch, Worcester, Bromyard, Hereford, Leominster and Wyre Forest, can you confirm that at Redditch, Worcester and Hereford that there is only 1 fire engine crewed by wholetime staff and 1 by retained, and that you have disestablished the Day Crewing sections at Hereford and at Worcester as you have Cut their Pumps.
The number of fire appliances currently stationed at Redditch, Worcester and Hereford are as follows:
Redditch has two fire appliances, one of which is crewed by Wholetime staff working a two days, two nights, four off shift system across four watches to provide 24 hour cover. The second appliance is crewed by On-Call staff providing 24 hour cover, 7 days a week.
Hereford has two fire appliances, one that is crewed by Wholetime staff working a two days, two nights, four off shift system across four watches to provide 24 hour cover. The second appliance is crewed by Wholetime staff between the hours of 0700 and 1900 working a Day Duty system across two watches working four days on and four days off, and by On-Call staff between the hours of 1900 and 0700, seven days a week.
Worcester has two fire appliances, one of which is crewed by Wholetime staff working a two days, two nights, four off shift system across four watches to provide 24 hour cover. The second appliance is crewed by Wholetime staff between the hours of 0700 and 1900 working a Day Duty system across two watches working four days on and four days off, and by On-Call staff between the hours of 1900 and 0700, seven days a week.
Do you plan on relocating these fire engines to their stations again if you have an incident that occurs that could have been prevented had their been an extra fire engine closer? and will the 4×4 people carriers be mobilised as stand alone fire engines, with blue lights or without blue lights and with what crewing level?
Emergency cover for Fire & Rescue Services (FRS) are guided by the production of a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). The CRMP is a Service’s overall strategy for keeping people, their homes, communities and the environment safe. It highlights the fire and rescue-related risks across the Service area and sets out high-level plans for tackling these risks through our prevention, protection and emergency response services. The current CRMP for Herefordshire and Worcestershire is for 2021 – 2025 and the Service is in the process of preparing the CRMP for 2025 – 2030. Hereford and Worcester Fire & Rescue Service’s Fire Control operators will always send the closest resources to an incident based on what is proposed by the command and control system.
The Fire Appliances removed as part of the resource review were rarely required at incidents and were the least available at their fire stations, meaning that they had a very low operational usage. No fire stations have been closed, all Fire Appliances that were removed were On-Call Appliances at fire stations with two or more fire engines and no fire station with a single Fire Appliance was affected. This means that there is no change in the strategic location of the first 25 fire engines.
Hereford and Worcester FRS has Crew Carrier vehicles based at six stations. These vehicles can used to transport additional personnel who were initially not able to crew the attending fire appliance at an incident. Crew Carrier vehicles are an additional resource at these stations and are not mobilised to incidents as a replacement for a Fire Appliance and can be mobilised with one person that are currently fitted with blue lights. When being used purely as a Crew Carrier, they would not normally attend incidents on blue lights. However, they have 4×4 capability with a high and low range, and are a very capable vehicle which can be utilised during increment weather and spate conditions.
please confirm also how many fire engines are now based at each fire station as follows Pershore – 1 Worcester – 2 Redditch – 2 Without including the 4×4 pickups as these are cars.
The number of fire appliances currently stationed at Pershore is one. For Worcester and Redditch, please see the above.
If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact Information Governance and Committee Services on tel: 0345 122 4454 or by e-mail informationrequests@hwfire.org.uk. In any such communication please include the reference number assigned (see Subject).
Should you have any queries regarding the management of your request and wish to make either a complaint or request a review of the information disclosed to you, please do so by using Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s complaints system: Comments and Complaints. This must be done within 40 working days of our response to your request. After this date and in line with ICO guidance the Service is not obliged to provide an internal review of your request.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you may appeal the decision by contacting the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF, Tel: 0303 123 1113 (alternatively 01625 545745) or E-mail: casework@ico.org.uk.
Further information on Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service may be viewed at the Service’s website: www.hwfire.org.uk
Thank you for your request for information.
Kind regards
Information Governance Team