Harrogate Lib Dem candidate highlights 'worrying' rise in response times to fire incidents in North Yorkshire

The Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Tom Gordon says action to rising response times by North Yorkshire's fire service had to be taken as a matter of urgency.

"Residents I speak to are deeply worried," said Mr Gordon.

"It's clear that something is amiss and the people of North Yorkshire deserve to know why their safety is being put at risk.

"While it is true that North Yorkshire is a vast county, the size of the area and the number of fire stations should not be used as excuses for inadequate response times.

"People's lives and properties are at stake, and their safety should always be the top priority.

"The safety of North Yorkshire's residents should be non-negotiable."

The comments by Harrogate's Lib Dem candidate for the General Election follow Home Office data analysed by the BBC earlier this year which showed the average response time for fire brigades to arrive at the scene had risen to a record level of nine minutes and 12 seconds across England.

The figures for the financial year ending March 2023 also revealed that North Yorkshire had the slowest average response time in the whole country - 13 minutes and nine seconds, an increase of more than a minute in the last year and fully two minutes 38 seconds slower than in 2012.

Mr Gordon said he would be demanding accountability and answers from North Yorkshire’s Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Zoe Metcalfe on the reasons behind these worrying trends.

Rural response times tend to be longer because of the larger distances to cover.

But the figures show the situation in rural areas such as North Yorkshire has been deteriorating at a faster rate over the last decade than those in urban areas.

Mr Gordon said: "It's essential that Commissioner Metcalfe provides a transparent and comprehensive explanation for these delays.

"One cannot help but wonder if the rising response times are a direct result of budget cuts or resource allocation decisions."

It is part of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s job to ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible, by setting objectives through her Police and Crime Plan and Fire and Rescue Plan.

Commissioner Metcalfe, who held an online public meeting last month to hold the Chief Fire Officer to account on behalf of the public, has said that the fire service is improving in what is England’s largest county, covering 2,608 square miles.

She added that progress was being made with the main causes of concern being prioritised.

Recent inspections by Government inspectors have labelled North Yorkshire Fire Service as "inadequate” and "requires improvement."

Nationally, figures show that the number of firefighters in England has fallen from just more than 44,000 in 2010 to approximately 35,000 in 2022.

Residents and businesses in predominantly rural areas have seen fire service response times rise by nearly two minutes, while times in metropolitan areas increased by less than half a minute.

In 2022-23, the number of fire incidents responded to rose by more than 25,000 in England to 178,737, the highest workload for firefighters since 2019.