Ashfield fire station officially returns to 24/7 Wholetime Crewing
Posted on 29 November 2023
Ashfield's fire station has returned to wholetime 24/7 crewing, as of 7am on Wednesday 29 November.
Blue Watch paraded on this morning at 7am, starting the first wholetime shift. This means that there will be firefighters working a full-time shift and manning the station 24-hours a day.
Ashfield Fire Station was previously crewed by Wholetime firefighters during daylight hours, between 8am and 7pm, and then on-call firefighters in the evening and overnight.
This comes following a Fire Cover Review that went to public consultation in 2022 and identified a gap in cover across the Ashfield district.
As a result of this review, Nottinghamshire’s Combined Fire Authority asked the service’s Chief Fire Officer in February 2023 to draw up, and implement, proposals that would see this gap filled.
These proposals were then presented back to the Authority in July 2023.
Chief Fire Officer, Craig Parkin, said “Our priority, as always, has been to ensure that we are matching the resources we have to the risk our communities face across the county.
"Since we were asked earlier this year to explore how we could fill the identified gap in Ashfield’s fire cover, we have worked quickly to bring about the necessary changes.
“The risk across our county is ever changing, but we are fully committed to keeping people safe. We hope the residents of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will be reassured through these changes that we are continuing to put them first.”
Speaking on the changes, Councillor Michael Payne, Chair of Nottinghamshire’s Combined Fire Authority, has reiterated his commitment to the people of Ashfield.
“Our stance in February was quite clear – the independent review showed an under-provision of resources in the Ashfield area that needed to be addressed.
“The duty we have as an Authority is to ensure the fire service’s resources are allocated appropriately, and this is what we are doing here. We want people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to feel safe and, ultimately, be safe.
“I’d like to thank the Chief Fire Officer and his team for making this happen so quickly.”
Adding his thoughts, Councillor Jason Zadrozny, Leader of Ashfield District Council and Member of the Combined Fire Authority, said: “Ashfield is a district of huge strategic importance to the county of Nottinghamshire – servicing a large area of the M1 corridor and home to three towns and 20 villages.