Oxfordshire's fire service changes explained

A public consultation on major changes to the way a fire service is structured is coming to an end and the public has been urged to get involved.

Oxfordshire County Council said the changes would improve safety and efficiency, but the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has warned they will put lives at risk.

The proposals include closing the fire stations in Eynsham, Woodstock and Henley.

Oxfordshire's chief fire officer, Rob MacDougall, said: "Oxfordshire is growing and we need to have our firefighters in the right place at the right time to respond to emergencies effectively."

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service has said it is facing "a critical shortage" of the number of hours on-call firefighters are available.

These are trained staff who live or work withing five minutes of a fire station and declare themselves available to respond at a moment's notice.

All 25 of the county's fire stations have an on-call fire engine, and 19 are run entirely on an on-call basis.

Only three, in Oxford and Banbury, have 24-hour permanent staff.

Three other stations - in Kidlington, Abingdon and Didcot - have full-time staff during the day and full time staff on stand-by at night.

The total number of on-call firefighters in Oxfordshire has fallen slightly in the past decade, but the number of hours they are available has dropped by a third in that time - according to the consultation document.

As a result, most of the time engines at on-call fire stations are unavailable.

In the most extreme case, in Woodstock cover was only available 5% of the time during the day and 26% at night.

This issue is not unique to Oxfordshire, and the FBU has admitted change is needed.

But secretary John Shuker said: "Oxfordshire has a history of recruiting their full-time staff directly from the on-call pool.

"That's depleting those fire stations, which have to then go out recruiting again in small towns and villages, where there's only a small number of people available within that five minute catchment area".

The fire service is also looking to adapt to the county's growing population.

The proposed changes involve closing three fire stations with consistently low on-call staffing hours, at Eynsham, Henley and Woodstock.

It would mean fewer fire engines available overall and put some firefighters at risk of redundancy.

The fire service estimates the closures would save more than £600,000 in annual costs, and the sale of the buildings would bring in £1.2m in revenue.

It is also claimed the changes would help improve response times overall.

Chief fire officer Rob MacDougall said it would allow the service "to respond better and manage those challenges about the increasing number of homes".

But John Shuker from the FBU said some residents would be more vulnerable at night.

"When we need it the most it's going to be a slower response to those towns in Eynsham, Woodstock, Henley and the surrounding villages that they serve now," he said.

With most incidents happening during the day, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue says response times will be improved by its proposal to have full-time firefighters at an additional five stations.

These crews would work 12-hour day shifts at Bicester, Chipping Norton, Faringdon, Witney and Wallingford or Crowmarsh. Night cover would continue to be provided by on-call officers.

Wallingford Fire Station has been deemed too small for modern fire engines and full-time crews, so a relocation to Crowmarsh has been suggested.

The FBU has described the 12-hour shift patterns as "unsafe" and "unworkable". A similar proposal for the neighbouring Gloucestershire brigade was scrapped last year following concerns from the union.

Nationally several brigades operate on 12-hour daytime shifts and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue said it was "not aware" of any evidence that the proposal would be unsafe.

It is hoped response times would be improved by closing the Kidlington and Oxford's Rewley Road fire stations and replacing them with a new station at an as-yet unnamed location.

The Kidlington site currently serves as the brigade headquarters and is the base for the county's specialist rescue tender.

The FBU said plans to scrap the specialist tender would lead to a "massive" loss of experience and skills, but the fire service said it would look to retain the rescue capabilities.

It is also suggested that Thame Fire Station should lose its second fire engine.

The FBU has raised concerns about the general level of funding for fire and rescue services.

The government said it would work to ensure services had the resources they needed, and standalone fire and rescue authorities would see an increase in funding.

The consultation closes on 20 January and a decision is expected in the spring.

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