Inadequate resources for larger incidents

I mentioned in a previous post how there are many incidents each year that require more than one or two fire engines. The consultation seems to have ignored this significant demand on resources. It is essential that sufficient resources are available to quickly attend those assistance calls, as well as dealing with other calls received whilst the larger one is being dealt with. 

To illustrate this I have plotted the location of incidents that required between 6 and 21 fire engines each between 2008 and 2012. For clarity I have had to use two maps, one for 2010-12 and one for 2008-09. You will notice that, not only can these calls occur anywhere, but there is also a significant cluster around Crawley and Gatwick. The number of fire engines available in Crawley Borough has already been reduced from 5 to 3, and the latest proposals will reduce it to just 2.

Not included on the maps are the greater number of assistance calls where 3 to 6 fire engines are required. Neither are severe weather calls included. These can produce numerous calls in a short space of time and can require the use of every available fire engine to deal with calls and protect unaffected areas. Removing a further five fire engines, in addition to the six removed in 2011, will leave only 35 to cover the whole of West Sussex. Totally inadequate.

2008-09

2010-12