‘Cuts cost lives’ – firefighters aim to keep Deeside station open 24/7

Rhyl and Deeside’s fire stations both face being closed at night as part of cuts to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, which plans to improve emergency cover in rural areas such as Corwen, Dolgellau and Porthmadog.

Following months of campaigning led by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority has dropped two of three proposals for cuts to North Wales.

But firefighters warn that the remaining proposal (option one) will impact their ability to keep people and homes safe in two of the region’s busiest areas, as well as decreasing capacity across North Wales at night.

Firefighters want to see the Rhyl station remain open 24/7 (Image: Newsquest)

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The FBU has proposed an “option four” which, it says, is “cost-neutral”, meets the objectives set out in the service’s consultation, still improves rural fire cover, and won’t drive part-time workers out of their stations.

A decision on these plans will be made at a fire authority meeting on December 18, with any changes agreed then to be enforced in a phased approach from April 2024 onwards.

Helen, a firefighter who has been based at the Rhyl station for 18 years, said the proposals have had an “absolutely shocking” effect on staff morale.

She said: “People can’t believe it, or the way it’s been done. The authority should have come to the employees and said: ‘Work with us, let’s try and put together an option that suits everybody’.

Deeside Fire Station is also under threat (Image: Newsquest)

“But that never happened, which has left a sour taste. It’s not been collaborative from the start.

“Through the FBU, we’ve brought another option that makes more sense.

“At night time, they’ll rely on on-call staff, so response times would increase, but also, resources would reduce, so there would just be more of a risk.

“24 hours a day, 365 days a year, there is a crew here of at least five who will, within 90 seconds, be out of the door. The longer we take to get to a fire, the likelier a bad outcome is.

“Saying the cover for the area is more equitable is all very well, but the risks aren’t equitable. You’re not spreading the cover relative to where the biggest risks are.

“At the moment, option four is the best we can do that meets their agenda, and is less impactful on the crews here already.

“It keeps full cover at Deeside and Rhyl, and gives an extra bit of a resource which is more flexible and mobile.”

Alan Dale has worked at the Deeside station for roughly 18 of his 23 years at North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

According to Alan, the threat of option one being implemented has also hit the Deeside crew hard – “morale has plummeted”, he said.

He urged the authority to “listen those in the stations, and on the front line”.

“It’s important that voices are heard, and that we’re seen by the public to make them aware of this,” Alan added.

“I don’t feel like we’ve been listened to by senior leadership. Communication has been poor down to station level, and with the union.

“Only now have we started to be listened to, due to the union presenting its findings to the authority.”

“Firefighters would have to commit to working a system that’s certainly not family-friendly – they’re asking people two work a 12-hour shift, and then commit to an ‘alerter’.

“From the community’s point of view, it’s going to have a significant impact, because delays will cause greater risk.

“Option four doesn’t involve any downgrading, nor is there any increase in cost to the community. For me, it’s an option of growth, if anything.”

Justin Jones has given 27 years to North Wales Fire and Rescue, spending 17 of those based at the Deeside station.

Option one, he said, is “completely unacceptable”, and could potentially “jeopardise the lives of the people in North East Wales”.

He said: “Changing from a 24/7 model to a day crew could cause untold damage to properties, because for every minute you allow a fire to develop, there’s an extra 3cm of damage to deal with.

“The FBU has come up with an option that can increase the cover in rural areas, which we all agree with, and which they want to achieve, but which won’t have to downgrade cover elsewhere.

“Cover in rural areas is threadbare during the day, so the service is trying to bolster that with a more permanent solution.

“We completely understand and support that, but we don’t believe that should be to the detriment of the fire cover being provided for the people of North East Wales.”

Gavin Roberts, crew manager at the Rhyl fire station, warned that “cuts do cost lives”.

Gavin Roberts, crew manager at Rhyl Fire Station (Image: Newsquest)

He said downgrading Rhyl’s station could cause delays of up to eight to 10 minutes, in scenarios where “every second counts”.

He added: "I think option four is still what the authority and the service both ultimately want, and gives greater cover for the whole area.

“My message to the authority is for them to listen to all of the members of the public who have signed petitions, who are saying that they don’t want the downgrading of stations in busy areas just to improve fire cover in rural areas.”

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Fire services are already severely overstretched and under-resourced.

“Fire authorities should be doing everything in their power to invest in their fire service.

“Our fire services must be fit to face the threats of the future and the climate emergency. Instead, communities in North Wales are facing a dangerous downgrading of their protections from fire.

“Firefighters and the public have fought an inspiring campaign against these cuts, opposing them every step of the way across North Wales.

“The fire authority must listen and save Rhyl and Deeside fire stations.”

Duncan Stewart-Ball, FBU Wales regional secretary, added: “Our fire services must have the resources they need to keep lives and homes safe.

“The threat of downgrading Rhyl and Deeside fire stations presents a danger to public and firefighter safety across the whole of North Wales. 

“Closing these stations at night would put a huge strain on an already overstretched service.

“It would mean longer response times and fewer firefighters available to protect some of the busiest areas, where over 75,000 people are protected.

“This will impact everyone in North Wales. We will not sit back and allow this calamitous proposal to become a dangerous reality.”

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service deputy chief, Stewart Forshaw, said: “First and foremost, our primary aim is to work with fire authority members to protect the people of North Wales and ensure we provide the best level of emergency cover across the whole of the region.

“It’s important that we look at the whole picture and try to ensure any specific issues within particular communities do not have a disproportionate influence on the ultimate decision on the future of emergency cover across North Wales.

“Our recent public consultation was aimed at addressing where we could improve our service and achieve more equitable cover.

“Overwhelmingly, the response indicated that our ‘option one’ was the preferred option, which does not result in any loss of jobs and achieves everything we set out to address.

“It’s important that we take account of all viewpoints and all the information available so that our fire authority members are able to confidently make a fair and balanced final decision.

“We have been working with the FBU during the consultation and they have also attended our fire authority working group meetings to present their ideas.

“No decision on the chosen way forward in providing emergency cover will be made until our fire authority meets to consider the options on December 18.”