'Pingdemic' reduced Hartlepool's fire brigade operating capacity by 30% at peak, meeting told

Fire brigade chiefs stressed they are continuing to do all they can to protect staff and the public from Covid-19, despite numbers being impacted by the “pingdemic” in recent weeks.
Cleveland Fire Brigade HQCleveland Fire Brigade HQ
Cleveland Fire Brigade HQ

Cleveland Fire Authority were provided with an update on the efforts in place to help support the pandemic response across the region at a meeting.

Ian Hayton, chief fire officer, praised the work of staff, and noted they had to contend with resources being impacted by the “pingdemic” in recent weeks, with staff being told to self-isolate through the NHS app and Track and Trace.

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He told the meeting, as of Friday, they had 14 members of staff off through sickness, equating to around 7% of operational staff, including three confirmed Covd-19 cases, three suspected, and six in isolation.

He noted whilst these figures were high, they were “manageable and did not have a major impact”, but the issue was much worse in recent weeks.

Mr Hayton said: “If I was giving you this picture a week ago it would be more than double that picture of absences, which had a direct impact on the delivery of our services and the availability of our crews to staff appliances.

“There’s no doubt that the so-called pingdemic that occurred really impacted on us and impacted on the availability of our resources, certainly a week ago and through the last week.

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“Thankfully that picture has changed, as people have gone through that isolation period and moved through.

“At a certain point we were almost 30% below what would be our operational capability.”

Mr Hayton added to date 75% of staff have told them they have had their first vaccine, while 53% said they have also had their second dose, however there may be an “under-reporting” of figures.

Staff have also been supporting the wider vaccination efforts in the region, such as at the centre based at the Riverside Stadium.

Mr Hayton added: “We believe we are taking all the measures that are appropriate to protect our staff, to protect the public and to continue to deliver the services that we do.

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“In relation to our firefighters and corporate staff, they continue to help the NHS and the wider community.

“We continue to support the vaccination centre at the Riverside and therefore our staff are doing more than their duties, they are also ensuring that we get as many people vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Cllr Lynn Hall, Stockon-on-Tees representative, called on the authority to place on record their thanks to fire brigade volunteers for using their free time to support the vaccination and Covid response effort.

She said: “It gives such a fabulous image of the fire authority as well, it shows they care beyond the realms of their job within the community, it’s a fabulous service that’s being offered.”

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