Blazing row over fire station closure

Oct 28 2006 By Jane Tyler, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM'S Central Fire Station is to close on Wednesday, the Birmingham Mail can reveal today.

The two engines currently based at Lancaster Circus will transfer to Hay Mills and Aston because those areas have been identified as being at greatest risk.

But the move, which will mean the city centre relies on coverage from surrounding stations, has been labelled "crazy and dangerous" by members of the Fire Brigades Union.

They point out that by 2010 there will be 10,000 more people living in new city centre lofts and apartments. The city centre is also more vulnerable than ever before to a terrorist attack, they claim.

Management have defended the closure, pointing out that there has been a 32 per cent drop in the number of call-outs Central has received in the past three years.

In 2002/03 there were 4,457 mobilisations, compared to 3,051 in 2005/06.

But the union says the ongoing regeneration of the centre of Birmingham and move towards 'city living' will ultimately put a greater strain on services - with possibly tragic consequences.

Engines from a ring of stations around the city centre - Aston, Ward End, Ladywood, Highgate and Sheldon - will attend incidents.

Pete Gallagher, secretary of the West Midlands branch of the FBU, predicts appliances will struggle to meet their five-minute response time.

"However you dress it up, it's still closing a fire station and Wednesday will be an awfully sad day," he said.

"I believe parts of central Birmingham will be put more at risk because the appliances are moving.

"We will be monitoring response times very closely because I seriously doubt we'll meet them.

"It's all buildings in the city centre, densely populated, with flats and houses and lots of life risks. If there's traffic, crews will have big problems."

But Chief Fire Officer Frank Sheehan said in recent years the pattern of call-outs had changed.

Figures show that north-west Birmingham - covered by Aston - has the highest risk of people being injured or killed by fire in their home.

Hay Mills' patch - south-east Birmingham - has the greatest risk of people losing their property to fire.

"The relocation of the two fire engines will result in a more efficient and effective service to the community," said CFO Sheehan. "There will be no reduction in the number of engines at the service's disposal.

"The changes will not affect the overall average attendance times for responding to an emergency."

Plans to close the Lancaster Circus headquarters were first revealed in 2005, when a public consultation exercise was launched. At the time no date was given for the closure and the consultation attracted just 47 responses.

The headquarters dates back to the 1930s and is classed as Grade A Locally Listed, which means it can be knocked down.

Fire control staff will continue to work out of the building until 2008 when they move to a new centre in Wolverhampton.

* Is the decision to close the fire station right or wrong? Tell us what you think at www.birminghammail.net/news/yoursay