North Yorkshire Fire Chief Wants Your Views

North Yorkshire's Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe is considering proposals for the fire service's new Risk and Resource Model 2022-2025.

It sets out how the Service would seek to deploy its people, equipment, and resources and a new survey wants your views.

These proposals are based on an extensive risk assessment across North Yorkshire and York, which has identified the likelihood and severity of fires, road traffic collisions, water related incidents, and other emergencies.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service says it has a balanced budget, so the proposed changes are not a way to cut costs, but instead are an opportunity to invest in vital areas identified by the public as priorities – such as improving the availability of on-call fire engines in our rural areas, and increasing prevention and protection work across the county.

In Scarborough, there is higher demand for services during daytime hours than at night, and the proposed change of fire engine would offer increased ability to respond during daytime hours, as well as boost resilience more widely.

To gather the views of the public, the Commissioner and her team are have been holding events across North Yorkshire and the city to discuss the proposals, including in Scarborough where specific changes are being proposed.

Commissioner Zoë Metcalfe said:

“It’s my job to set the direction of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service and therefore consider these proposals and make a decision. Before I do that, I want to know what the public think and I therefore encourage people to come along to one of my consultation events this summer to speak with myself or a member of my team, and to complete the online questionnaire.

“The role of a Fire and Rescue Service has changed and continues to change, with only 26% of our incidents last year relating to a fire emergency. We want to ensure we are addressing our current and future challenges and that we have the capacity to prevent and protect to stop incidents happening in the first place and prevent harm before it can take place, while also having the capacity to respond to emergencies when they do take place. We are confident these proposals would do that.

“Inevitably, there are some areas where the setup of the Service would change but I’m confident the right people, right equipment and the right support would continue to be available to everyone.”

Fire and Rescue personnel across North Yorkshire and York have been engaged by the Service on these proposals and have been reassured that whilst some roles may be redeployed, everyone would remain employed and continue to fulfil what is needed to keep their community safe and feeling safe.

Jonathan Dyson, Chief Fire Officer said:

“The Risk & Resource Model would support the transformation of our Fire and Rescue Service, enabling a greater focus on prevention and protection, underlined by our continuous assessment of community risk and vulnerability. It will also facilitate increased investment in our on-call service.”

The Commissioner's Office say implementing these proposals would mean the Commissioner could deliver another of the public’s key priorities from her Fire and Rescue Plan consultation – improving the availability of On-call fire engines. The proposals outlined would allow investment of over £1.5 million per year from 2025 to improve North Yorkshire and York On-call station availability.

Have Your Say

Click this link to have your say - Risk and Resource Model 2022-25 Consultation (smartsurvey.co.uk)

Further information on the proposals and a link to complete the questionnaire can be found on the Commissioner’s website: www.tellcommissionerzoe.co.uk

Chief Fire Officer Jonathan Dyson answers questions which have been raised by members of the public during our consultation.