Fire service could axe rescues of pets, overweight people and more!

by littleurchin | July 30, 2007 at 02:38 pm

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As the grip tightens on the purse of public services in the UK, it seems the Lancashire Fire Service is leading the way, with a review of which services they should be providing and which they shouldn't.

Under review for the axe are services like rescuing animals, helping flooded businesses and rescuing people who have become trapped in various public and home locations.

As this report from the thisislancashire news site shows, things could change considerably.

FIREFIGHTERS could refuse to rescue cats from trees and begin charging for helping out flooded businesses as part of a major review of special callouts.

Policy on dogs wedged in foxholes, overweight people who need to be lifted and livestock animals which have toppled into canals are also being reviewed as part of a Lancashire Fire Authority consultation exercise.

RSPCA and business leaders have voiced concerns about the process.

The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service receives dozens of calls each month to incidents which could be considered outside of its core task.

In a six-month period there were 40 calls for people stuck in their own bathroom, nearly a dozen trapped in lifts, and eight calls, mainly from paramedics, for assistance with lifting and moving morbidly obese patients.

Eleven youngsters had become trapped in playground equipment, 13 had their limbs or heads wedged firm in railings or fencing, and 15 had climbed trees and couldn't get down.

Another six people had become trapped in telephone boxes and eight more had become prisoners of their own stairlifts.

Under current legislation the fire service is required to battle fires and deal with road accidents, chemical spills and other rescue operations.

But there remains a huge grey area for a great many other responsibilities.

Most concerning are the proposals to begin charging businesses for such issues as dealing with flooding. Whether this would include flooding such as the likes seen in the UK recently is unclear, and will no doubt raise considerable concerns with business leaders. Just how this charging would be administered has not been decided, whether a cost would be quoted beforehand of a bill arrive afterwards is something that needs clarification. Most of us are concerned with only one thing in the event of an emergency - and that is getting the help we need, not deciding whether we can afford the costs. Of course, there was a time when those costs were paid for through our taxes. It seems this is less and less the case in Britain.

What is not clear yet, is who (if anyone) would provide those important services in the absence of the fire service. Where the police service has introduced 'Community Support' officers to take on lower-level roles the police no longer have the time for, the fire service have no such staff, leaving the potential for problems, safety issues and confusion for the public.

What is clear is that there would no longer be news reports like the following ones, if the proposals go ahead as being suggested.