Doncaster fire calls response targeted
It was announced last week that the target response times for Doncaster fire crews to attend life-threatening incidents could be axed under new proposals.
Currently the target for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue is to attend 80 per cent of house fires or road crashes in six minutes or less which could also be extended to around 10 minutes after the brigade failed to hit the mark.
Also a third risk-based option – where communities traditionally prone to more fires have one target and those with fewer blazes a different one – is also being put out to public consultation from the beginning of this week.
The brigade – which has to save £9.5m over four years – has not met its self-set six-minute target once in six years and the report to the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority said research showed response times were ‘not the main factor in preventing fire fatalities’.
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.
Woman rescued from house after neighbour spots fire
A woman has had a lucky escape after being rescued from a fire in her home in Staffordshire on Sunday night.
The fire was spotted by neighbour, Miss Lorraine Jackson who was on the phone to her mother when she looked out of her window and saw flames coming from the bedroom window.
Miss Jackson immediately called the emergency services and then alerted other neighbours to the fire.
Miss Jackson said; “I was on the phone to my mother and I just looked out and saw flames coming out of the window. I told my mum I’d call her back, rang the fire brigade and ran over and started banging on my neighbours door. It was lucky because I just happened to look out of the window. In another 10 minutes I was going to go up to bed.”
15 firefighters attended the fire, along with 2 doctors, an ambulance and a rapid response vehicle.
An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.