Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 05/07/2010 09:59

A pilot project to provide 24 hour fire cover in Newquay over the summer has been agreed.

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that from 1 July to 30 September 2010, Newquay will join Falmouth and Camborne in having 24 hour full time firefighter cover.

The trial will take place for a total of 16 weeks and will cover the summer period, Christmas and Easter 2011.
CFRS Chief Fire Officer Des Tidbury said: “The town of Newquay and the surrounding area sees the population increase by up to six times during the peak periods of tourism. This equates to an increase to an estimated 100,000 people during these peak periods. The aim of this project is to improve community safety by reducing the risk of accidental fire and road traffic collisions.

All of our watches throughout Cornwall have been visited and volunteers have been requested to staff Newquay Community Fire Station throughout the summer period. A rota has been developed with those volunteers and additional staff will be drawn from other departments to obtain sufficient numbers in order to provide 24 cover.

This project has the backing of the Fire Brigades Union and this kind of flexible crewing arrangement is the first of its kind in the UK and demonstrates how the CFRS responds to community need.”

Cornwall Council cabinet member for community safety Lance Kennedy said: “This is an excellent good news story for Newquay and supports the Council’s ambition of improving Community Safety in Newquay during the busy summer period. I see this exercise as adding extra value to the Newquay Safe partnership which aims to improve public safety, prevent serious injury and fatalities and generally help to reclaim the quality of life for local residents and visitors alike. This 24 hour cover pilot project will be evaluated at its conclusion to establish the overall benefit to the community. There is no additional cost to the tax payer for this trial. It will be achieved by smarter use of existing resources.”

CFRS has received full co-operation and agreement from the Fire Brigades Union.

Mike Tremellen, Fire Brigades Union Cornwall said: “The Fire Brigades Union are supportive of any increase in emergency fire cover and welcome the recognition that Newquay has an increased level of risk. This trial will provide a greater level of safety for the community and responding fire crews alike.

A full evaluation of the trial will be vital in order to assess the benefits but also to assess the impact on resources across the whole Fire and Rescue Service in Cornwall. If it is identified that more resources are required to maintain this increase in cover then investment will be required to ensure long term sustainability.”