Proposals for Lincolnshire could see 20 new firefighters

Over the last year, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has been reviewing its emergency response arrangements and has developed proposals on how best to move towards a long-term sustainable model, which includes 20 more wholetime firefighters across the county and 24-hour full-time cover at Grantham Fire Station seven days a week.

The proposed changes would see Grantham Fire Station become Lincolnshire’s second 24/7 wholetime station, after Lincoln South on South Park Avenue, Lincoln, strengthening response capability at a strategically important location next to the busy A1 and East Coast Mainline.

Firefighters at Grantham would work two day shifts, followed by two night shifts, followed by four days off.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s seven other wholetime stations in Boston, Gainsborough, Lincoln North, Louth, Skegness, Sleaford and Spalding, would continue to operate a seven-day system where full-time firefighters were on duty throughout the day when data shows there is the highest demand on the service, with on-call firefighters at night.

The proposal would increase the number of full-time firefighters to 132 – 24 based at Lincoln South, 24 at Grantham, and 12 at each of the remaining seven day-crewed fire stations.

The authority says these 20 new posts would help the fire service move towards a more sustainable model, with more robust shift arrangements and greater consistency in availability across the county.

The proposal would mostly be funded by the removal of full-time firefighters providing overnight on-call cover on a voluntary basis.

There had been the option for full-time personnel on these stations to provide additional on-call cover overnight in exchange for a 20 per cent uplift in pay. But this is voluntary and take up can vary significantly, says the fire service.

The service says on-call arrangements would remain in place to provide support at all wholetime stations during the day and overnight and the county’s 29 other stations will continue operating on an on-call basis as usual.

Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: "It's important that we continue to evolve our response model to reflect the changing risks, demand and operational challenges we face as a fire service.”

He went on: “It’s important to say that no final decision has been made. We want to hear the views of our communities, partners and stakeholders before any changes are implemented.”

As part of these proposals Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue will be conducting a public engagement to help local communities and stakeholders understand the potential changes and provide an opportunity to share their views until Sunday August 23.

Residents and stakeholders are invited to read the proposals and share feedback at: www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/response-review before any final recommendations are made later this year.