Loss of fire engine imminent

8:00am Friday 13th April 2007

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A RETAINED fire crew in Barnoldswick is set to be axed by the end of the month, it has been announced.

Lancashire Combined Fire Authority has rejected pleas for the engine to remain in the town until after a judicial review application has been processed.

Approval to axe the crew was granted in December in the face of opposition from residents and Pendle Council.

Now the council has applied for a judicial review into the decision, which it claims was based on flawed evidence, and the High Court is deciding whether or not to hear the case.

But Coun David Whipp said they had failed in their bid to persuade fire chiefs to keep the crew until this process was completed. He said: "We asked them to keep the Barnoldswick fire engine until the decision came through, but we were just told that they could remove it tomorrow if they liked and it was likely to be taken away imminently."

Coun Whipp said the redundancy packages offered to firefighters suggested they would be gone by the end of April.

To keep them, Pendle Council would have to go to court for an emergency injunction to force the fire authority to retain the engine until the judicial review was decided. But Coun Whipp said the council could not justify the cost of the action.

He said: "It seems they are highly likely to just take that pump away at any moment. We are very disappointed because we thought that talks with the fire authority would help us come to a compromise.

"We are in a weak position at the moment, but if we are granted the review then the tables are turned back in our favour. We do need support from everyone because it won't be cheap or easy, but we do have an excellent case."

Lancashire Fire Authority claims that the pump is not needed and the move is about using resources more wisely, rather than cutting costs. Speaking after a large factory fire at Wardle Storeys in Earby recently, Bob Wilkinson, chairman of Lancashire Fire Authority, said: "We're putting our resources more into prevention rather than putting fires out."