Fire cover boost for Ashfield communities

People across Ashfield are set to benefit from a boost in fire cover at the end of November, the county’s fire service has revealed.

Ashfield Fire Station is currently crewed by wholetime firefighters during daylight hours, between 8am and 7pm, and then on-call firefighters, who respond from home or other places of work, in the evening and overnight.

However as of 7am on Wednesday 29th November, the station will be crewed by wholetime firefighters around the clock, Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service can confirm.

This comes following an independent review into firefighting provision across the county, which identified a gap in cover across the Ashfield district.

As a result of this review, Nottinghamshire’s Combined Fire Authority asked the service’s Chief Fire Officer in February to draw up, and implement, proposals that would see this gap filled.

These proposals were then presented back to the Authority in July, with implementation now imminent thanks to work from a dedicated team of fire service staff. 

“Since we were asked earlier this year to explore how we could fill the identified gap in Ashfield’s fire cover, we have worked quickly to bring about the necessary changes,” said Nottinghamshire’s Chief Fire Officer, Craig Parkin.

“Our priority with this work, as is the priority with all our work, has been to ensure that we are matching the resources we have to the risk our communities face across the county.

“This risk is ever changing, but we are fully committed to keeping people safe, and we hope the residents of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will be reassured through these changes that we are continuing to put them first.”  

Speaking on the impending changes, Councillor Michael Payne, Chair of Nottinghamshire’s Combined Fire Authority, has reiterated his commitment to the people of Ashfield.

“Our stance in February was quite clear – the independent review showed an under-provision of resources in the Ashfield area that needed to be addressed.

“The duty we have as an Authority is to ensure the fire service’s resources are allocated appropriately, and this is what we are doing here. We want people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to feel safe and, ultimately, be safe.

“I’d like to thank the Chief Fire Officer and his team for making this happen so quickly.”