Thursday
14 August
08.00 hrs
Over the next few
years an extra 30,000 new homes are expected to be developed in the
South Gloucestershire area, many of these in Yate and the
surrounding area.
In order to ensure
greater protection for the communities living in these areas Avon
Fire & Rescue Service is delighted to announce it is expanding
its fire cover by crewing Yate Fire Station 24 hours a day.
Currently
firefighters work out of the station between 8am and 5pm, with
Retained Duty System firefighters covering the night shifts.
Retained Duty System firefighters respond to 999 calls from their
homes or places of work via a pager.
From Thursday 1
January Yate Fire Station will be crewed 24 hours a day, seven days
a week by a Wholetime Duty System, supported during peak times by
the Retained Duty colleagues.
Chief Fire Officer
/ Chief Executive for Avon Fire & Rescue Service, Kevin Pearson
said: "Avon Fire & Rescue Service is committed to protecting
the community and with the ever-expanding housing developments in
the town and surrounding areas it is vital we expand our fire
cover. We already have two fire stations, Bath and
Weston-super-Mare, operating very well under this system, with
Wholetime and Retained Duty firefighters working together to
protect the community."
Yate Fire Station
Manager Steve Kendrick said: "I am delighted that Avon Fire &
Rescue Service is expanding its resources at Yate Fire Station. We
are hoping the new arrangements will mean we can spend more time
working with community groups and members of the public to
highlight fire safety messages. The changes will also mean we can
be more flexible when offering free Home Fire Safety Visits,
booking appointments at a more convenient time for members of the
public.
"Obviously this
means local groups can now use the Community Safety Centre in the
evenings, which has a free meeting room and Information
Communication Technology (ICT) facilities. There will also be
facilities for the local Police Community Support Officers so that
they can use the fire station as a base."
Ends