South Yorkshire fire service misses response time target
It was announced earlier this week that South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue has never met its own time target for responding to emergencies, according to fire authority figures.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said lives were being put at risk but Assistant Chief Fire Officer John Roberts said they “have to be realistic about what we can achieve” and they would be setting a new target in consultation with the public.
He also commented that “fire does spread quickly, and a lot of the work we do is around prevention to stop the fire from starting in the first place. In terms of getting there as quickly as we can, we will always make that commitment to the public, but with the ongoing financial situation we have to be realistic about what we can achieve now and in the future.”
By 2015 the government will be reducing its funding by about £10m, and the fire authority last month agreed to increase its council tax precept by 1.98% to bring in an extra £400,000 in annual revenue.