Unacceptable to 'downsize' fire station

Published on 20th December 2007 in Letters

Sir - I read today that due to "operational resource disposition" the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is 'downsizing' a number of stations. One of these stations is Goole, which is proposed to go from being a permanently-manned station to a retained station. This means that rather than having an emergency response crew at the station 24/7, the firemen will be called in as and when required.

In the press release I read it states that this should only increase the response time to incidents by three minutes. I, personally, think this is impossible. Everyone who lives or works in Goole knows all too well that it can take 10 minutes just to cross the barriers on Boothferry Road sometimes. However, even if by some miracle three minutes is an accurate increase, I think this is unacceptable from a service where every second can be vital.

This is obviously a financially-motivated decision and I can only assume that the budget for the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is being reduced. I am confident I speak for the majority when I say that the general public is being misrepresented if the government think they are doing us a favour in this latest ridiculous effort to misallocate the taxpayers money.

Firemen in Goole and, indeed, all over the world, deserve every penny they earn and more for being prepared to put their lives on the line. How is it justified that this essential service be even remotely marginalised?

I for one am getting pretty sick and tired of standing by and watching the state of this country in its progressive decline. We have elected officials to represent the public voice in all facets of this country's running. What the hell are they doing?

I can guarantee that the taxpayer will not see a fraction of benefit, either in service or finance, from this budget cutting, which makes me question who will... perhaps the upper echelons in government with their own agenda who make these unfathomable decisions and still somehow justify their inflated salary.

Daniel Read

Fifth Avenue, Goole