Fire brigade union says engines in Cleveland being 'left in stations' due to staff shortages and Covid

The Fire Brigades union says there should be 18 fire engines available for use at any time in Cleveland.

But it claims at the moment there are typically only 12 to 15 due to the impact of Covid and other staffing issues.

The union says the situation is “entirely avoidable” but says staff resilience has been hit by years of cuts.

Cleveland Fire Brigade say staff absences have been carefully managed and they are still performing well.

Yet union North East regional secretary Brian Harris said: “Covid is hitting the fire and rescue service hard, with fire engines left out of use in their stations – but this is entirely avoidable.

"A fire and rescue service with sufficient levels of staffing and decent levels of resilience would be able to continue past these challenges.

"But across the country we’ve had one in every five firefighters cut since 2010 as financial constraints have hit, so we aren’t in that position.”

The union says Cleveland Fire Brigade has lost over one in three (34%) of its firefighters between 2010 and 2021.

Responding to the concerns, Cleveland's chief fire officer Ian Hayton said: “Throughout the pandemic, Cleveland Fire Brigade has maintained its ability to respond to fires and other emergencies.

“We have continued to deliver our full range of prevention, protection and emergency response services.

“In common with other organisations, the Brigade has experienced staff absence due to Covid and this has been carefully managed through robust business continuity arrangements.”

He added the average time for a crew to get to a building fire during the pandemic has been five minutes six seconds, well below their seven minute target.

Mr Hayton said: “We continue to maintain our emergency response standards and ensure that our full range of services are delivered.

“Despite challenging circumstances, we will always maintain the necessary cover for all emergencies as we keep our communities safe.”

He added an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found the brigade had adapted and responded to the pandemic effectively, and Cleveland was one of the top performing fire and rescue services in the country.

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