Following the proposals to close Shanklin Fire station last year, a Delegated Decision Report released today is recommending reversal of that decision.
Following the outcry from residents and the impact of the budget cuts, an interim solution is being proposed that will see Shanklin fire station remain open, but will result in fourteen redundancies of Retained Day Staff (RDS).
The decision will be made under delegated powers by Cllr Barry Abraham sometime between now and 25th January.
The solution outlined in the report states that in order to keep the fire station open, nearly £200,000 would need to be raised.
Station funded by redundancies
This will be funded by six redundancies at Sandown station, four at Shanklin station, with four more from RDS posts not required at other fire stations. Those redundancies will free up £112k.
With £50k coming from the phase one modernisation budget, a further £32k from Headquarters staff reduction and other efficiencies, the £194,000 raised will cover the cost of one day crew Firefighter including all costs, four Firefighters and maintenance and running cost for two light vans.
Here’s what the report recommends …
This report sets out an alternative interim solution for fire cover in the Bay Area which will improve availability by using a ‘nucleus’ crewing system. The structure of the nucleus crewing system will entail two pumping appliances being removed from the Bay Area, leaving one appliance at Sandown station and one appliance at Shanklin station, both crewed by retained duty system (RDS) personnel, as at present.
In addition to this, five full time firefighters will be employed on a flexible rota system which will ensure cover during the day in the working week. Whilst the nucleus fire fighters will be line managed from Newport fire station, the fire fighters will be deployed daily in the bay area where intelligence shows that fire cover needs support on any particular day.
These full time firefighters will also undertake prevention and protection duties in the community and will collect data and intelligence to input into the mobile data system. The nucleus crewing model keeps both Shanklin and Sandown fire stations open in the interim.
5. The nucleus crewing solution does marginally improve fire cover at night in a few areas of Shanklin when compared to the current model which entails the closure of Shanklin Fire Station. However, it must be noted that this response from the retained crew is not a guaranteed response either at Shanklin or Sandown and attendance time can vary due to the time taken to ‘turn in’ by fire personnel to the station. As is the case currently, this will be robustly monitored and managed.
6. Whilst the fire cover provided by the nucleus crewing model is not as efficient in performance terms as the migration to day crewing will be, it does provide adequate cover.
The report also reveals that the council are having to reconsider the rebuild of Ventnor and Newport fire stations.
Read the report in full
