With badly parked cars responsible for slowing the progress of
fire crews to more than 50 blazes since 2008, Avon
Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is appealing to drivers to
‘park smart’.
On Wednesday, 09.09.09, AF&RS marked 999 Day by
meeting shoppers at Cabot Circus in Bristol to highlight the real
life costs of thoughtless parking. Since October 2008 firefighters
across the Avon area have been delayed in reaching 57 incidents
because of access issues caused by cars parked inconsiderately or
illegally.
Last month
two fire engines in Bath were held up by several minutes as
they tried to reach a house fire in the city. The crews were
answering an emergency call in the Snow Hill area of the city but
found their route blocked by cars parked on corners and on streets
made too narrow for the engines to negotiate. Fortunately no one
was hurt in the incident.
Jon Day, Head of Operations Response said: “I’ve no doubt that
drivers don’t mean to obstruct our crews, but thoughtless parking
is an issue we contend with every day, particularly around the
inner city areas of Bristol and Bath.
“Our crews regularly come across cars parked too close to
junctions, which make it impossible for fire engines to make the
turn, or vehicles parked along both sides of the road, making them
too narrow to access.
“Parking in the last space on the street might save someone a
few minutes getting home or going to work, but it could cost us a
few minutes that we really can’t afford. From the moment we get a
999 call every second is vital - any time we lose could make the
difference between someone being rescued or losing their life in a
fire.”
In an effort to encourage more considerate driving staff from
AF&RS were at Cabot Circus to highlight the issues to
shoppers. Visitors to the centre were invited to negotiate a
remote control fire engine through a mock up of a typical city
centre street, complete with parked cars and narrow roads to
demonstrate the problems firefighters face on a daily basis.