60,000 and counting

Over the weekend FCCL tipped the 60,000 hits mark. 

Not bad for a little blog site that aimed to get 1,751 hits .....

House Calls

We would like to know 

your views on response times. 

And before you complete the survey below - please take a minute to watch how quickly a fire can take hold in a domestic setting. AND REMEMBER - a fire doubles in size every minute!

So now you have watched what happens in TWO minutes - please complete the survey below. 

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Humberside Fire and Rescue On Line Consultation

IN 

SOLIDARITY 

with our Humberside Neighbours 

Humberside Fire  & Rescue 

are currently engaging in an online consultation exercise in to gauge peoples willingness to have an increase in the precept charged for Fire and Rescue Services. 

From comments on these pages recently we feel that people are genuinely keen to to   participate in these public engagement exercises. 

So if you live or work 

or  have a business in Humberside 

please click on the link below which will take you to the online survey. 

 Humberside F & R Precept Consultation

 (click Here)

For further information on Humberside Fire & Rescue Please click HERE

For contact details for Humberside Fire Brigades Union, click HERE

Or to contact the Humberside Brigade Secretary directly by email please click HERE

Or to contact the Humberside Brigade Chair by email please click  HERE

HOW MANY !!!!!!!

We here at FireCutsCostLives need to say a big THANK YOU 

When we started this blog in September  we aimed to get 1751 hits

(one more than WYFRS had on their site during the 2011 consultation period)   

In September we had  1,214

By October we had 10,928 hits in one month 

And by November we had 28,859 hits 

This gives a grand total throughout the 12 week period of consultation of 41,001 hits  

As we were directing our traffic to the WYFRS website we wonder how many they got? 

Insurance, Just a thought!

We all should have some form of Insurance. 

Whether it be- 

House Insurance

 Car insurance 

 OR Life Insurance

We hope we never have to make a claim on them, 
But they are there for peace of mind!

When taking out insurance, we all have a choice of the type of Policy to have

The Council Tax Precepts (along with funding from the Taxes that you pay), Pay for the Fire Service (and Police). It is your insurance that in the unlikely event you need them, they will be there.

But................. what happens when the Fire Service (and other Public Services) are cut and the service you pay for is reduced?

What......... can you do then? 

Apparently – Nothing! 

You can’t claim a discount or refund for the reduction in service.

But you do a have a voice! 

SO when plans are proposed to reduce these services......... you can object. 

Tell the Politicians locally and nationally,

Tell the unaccountable Puppet Masters - The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers who concoct these plans.

NO! - NOT ACCEPTABLE

THE WEST YORKSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE's  latest proposals will decimate the Fire Service in West Yorkshire.

Attendance Times Will Increase for the Majority of Us.

Leeds 29 out of 34  Council Wards
Bradford 22 out of 30 Council Wards
Wakefield 17 out of 19 Council Wards
Calderdale 18 out of 19 Council Wards
Kirklees 20 out of 24 Council Wards

Will all have Increased Attendance times!

They say that the fitting of Smoke alarms means that you will be less likely to die in the fire. 

But 

only if you are able to get out, in the first place.

They do not stop fires from happening!

FACT - The longer a fire burns, the more severe it will get. So the longer it takes for a Fire Appliance to reach you, the more chance there is of you losing all your possessions - even if you have managed to get yourself and family out!

“OK”   you say, I've got house insurance to pay for them all replacing. (Well hopefully you should have!)

BUT ... what about all those memories and the family pet?  

(The one the Fire Service tells you not to go back for - and doesn't know what a smoke alarm is!). 

What would you not leave the house without - click here to see

And then the  next year watch your insurance premiums increase .

(More than the amount it would take to maintain the current level of service!).

The fire service argues that calls are reducing.................

The figures they have used to bamboozle the public and baffle the politicians which have been manipulated so much; you've heard the saying;-

 Lies,Damn Lies and Statistics. -Nothing is nearer to THE TRUTH .

 The Consultation document is so full of Gobbledygook that to the lay person it is undecipherable, (and councillors are just like you and I - lay people)

But they are still needed just in case!  Just like your other insurance policies.

The Fire Service has a duty to consult. 

Have you had a Public meeting in your area? 

If not DEMAND ONE !

The so called "consultation period"  closes on 30^th November.

You have the chance to make the difference!

The consultation documents are available HERE

Send your objections to

Hannah Stoneman 

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

Oakroyd Hall

Bradford Road

Birkenshaw

West Yorkshire

BD11 2DY
hannah.stoneman@westyorksfire.gov.uk (click HERE to send email)

NOT A SAUSAGE !!!!!

If you have read our previous posts you will realise that FCCL is more than a little concerned that West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue may not be fully engaging in the process of consultation. Meetings held at  silly times, no minutes being written and don't even get us started on the fine art of how they massage and manipulate statistics. 

But it has been,  we think, one of the busiest night of the year, but the incident log on the WYFRS website has been strangely quiet since Nov 2nd ...........................  

Headed "Leeds Celebrates Bonfire Night in Style"  it drew our attention as Gipton Fire Station was mentioned .......................

* West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service reported a busy evening from bonfire-related incidents.
Gipton Fire Station alone had about 15 calls through the day up until about 8.30pm.
Watch Commander Matthew Walsh said the majority were from people concerned that their bonfires were in danger of getting out of hand and wanting assistance.

But not a sausage on their website about it..................how strange ! 

The full article can be read  HERE on the YEP website

There was also a  grenade attack on a hair salon in Bradford  - which we thought surely deserved a mention as the paper was so complimentary about the fire service. 

The full article can be read HERE on the Telegraph and Argus Website

Then of course there is the main page of the WYFRS website itself 

TO send YOUR VIEWS on the proposed cuts in West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Provision 

Click HERE  to view the consultation documents.

You can also send your comments via snail mail to 

Hannah Stoneman   or email her HERE

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

Oakroyd Hall

Bradford Road

Birkenshaw

West Yorkshire

BD11 2DY



And finally we have to say thank you to Mark Faulkner for making us smile. We had heard of blacksmiths being lucky at weddings and coal men bringing good luck at New Year, but we just know this couple who married on Oct 20th the day of the TUC march in central London will have a long and happy marriage. Marks wife on spotting the happy couple thrust an FBU flag in the brides hand and took this photo.....

Whoops ,  we almost forgot - a brilliant article about the march and rally held in Leeds on Saturday 3rd November made its way on the The Guardian website ------ it is most certainly worth a read and can be found on our FBU pages HERE