The Truth -Every Second Counts !

 

 

Above is a video by London FBU which clearly demonstrates that what politicians

SAY and what they DO

are two different things.

 REMEMBER - we, the public working together with the Fire Brigades Union

CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

In 2011 WYFRS agreed to close 10 Fire Stations and bragged about getting
1750 hits on their website.

In 2012 working in partnership the public and FBU saved 3 stations from closure and modified the fire authority's plans dramatically.  This blog in 3 months received 41,000 hits and to date has clocked up over 100,000 views which proves to us

People can make a difference
 if they work together !

Does Charity Begin at Home ?

We here at FCCL  enjoy surfing the web, 

working in IT it's sort of mandatory! 

&

 amongst all the spam and junk mail 

we do occasionally discover 

And whilst looking at the What Do They Know website, whilst incidentally checking our own FOI on water charges and allotments (its a long story - don't ask) we found a Freedom of Information Request to West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue  asking for information about charity events. Now we have once been sent information about this ourselves so we read the request with  interest. We also know that WYFRS have  on occasion fallen foul of the Information Commissioners Office and we wrote about it here  way back in October 2012. 

Here is the FOI request we found .......

Dear West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service,

Please supply me with all information (times, dates and locations)

regarding charity or fund raising events where on duty Fire

Fighters were allowed to participate in the last 3 years. Eg. car

washing events, transporting equipment for such events as boxing

tournaments. I would like to be informed also of the name/s of

supervisory officers and rank who gave permission for this to take

place and how this time was recorded on the SAP system. I would

also like to see any policy where this is allowed to happen.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Hamilton Formerly Stn O 2714 of Gipton Fire Station

Well Mark,as we have said we have been told of times when crews have been sent from one area to cover crews carwashing in another.  And to be honest until this week I considered it on line suicide to blog about it. 

                                    BUT  

after careful consideration, in particular as private companies are being threatened with a  charge of £350 an hour  per fire engine and crew for false alarm calls, it seems pretty rich to "donate" crews and time to cover whilst charity events take place. 

I will watch the FOI with interest as FCCL was told specifically of Gipton being sent to cover whilst Wetherby washed cars a few months ago.   

That's a very high risk station covering for a 

medium risk one.

FCCL has the greatest respect for the Firefighters Charity, we know you do amazing work  for fire-fighters and their families

BUT 

All voluntary organisations are feeling the pinch and trade unions (and we know this includes the Fire Brigades Union) are having their right to facility time questioned. I think Mark has asked the right question at the right time.

Perhaps it is time for WYFRS managers to rein in the use of public facilities for charitable activities. 

If you would like to donate to the Firefighters Charity or learn more about their activities, please click here for further details.  

Or they are just a click away on Face Book

Whoops and we almost forgot - the full FOI is available here to read.

Who is Burning Your Money ?

I would be the first to admit i can leave substantially more of the Taxpayers Alliance   than I can take.

But we have on couple of occasions been rather taken with what they have posted on their website. FCCL was dropped a hint to look at their articles on the Chief Fire Officers Association, and what an interesting read it is! The full article is available here 

FCCL strongly  advises everybody regardless of the work they do to join (and indeed become involved and active in ) A TRADE UNION. Unions can provide you with many benefits, from cheaper insurance to legal cover for employment issues should  you ever need it. However being in a union is not free, you pay a subscription, usually monthly to give you the cover you need. Most unions subs are on a sliding scale depending on how much you earn.  Below are the 2013 rates for the Fire Brigades Union (should you need more information it's here 

	WHOLETIME		JOB SHARE		RETAINED		VOLUNTEER		JUNIOR FIREFIGHTER
	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY	WEEKLY	MONTHLY
TRADE	£5.30	£22.97	£2.65	£11.49	£1.75	£7.58	£0.35	£1.53	£1.75	£7.58
POLITICAL	£0.16	£0.69	£0.16	£0.69	£0.16	£0.69	£0.16	£0.69	-	-
AIF	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29	£0.76	£3.29
TOTAL	£6.22	£26.95	£3.57	£15.47	£2.67	£11.56	£1.27	£5.51	£2.51	£10.87

So a "bog standard " fire fighters pays approx £323 a year  from their wages to enjoy the many benefits of being a member of the FBU.

So  if a firefighter on an average salary of £28,500 a year pays £323  (doing some big sums ) 

this means a Chief Fire Officer should pay in the region of  £1,800  per year fees to the CFOA

BUT 

GUESS 

                      WHAT ???

                         

    THEY PAY NOTHING AT ALL 

Because WE THE TAX PAYER PAY THEM 

Brigade	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	Total
West Yorkshire	£4,698.75	£13,638.63	£14,652.00	£32,989.38
South Yorkshire	£17,909.74	£22,907.00	£16,610.15	£57,426.89

And to quote the taxpayers alliance 

The name suggests this is an organisation paid for by those at the top of the fire service. As I pointed out, this is far from the truth. It is taxpayers that prop-up the CFOA as it gets subscriptions from fire authorities across the country. Those same fire authorities even pay for the individual subscriptions of well paid senior fire officers.

We think that WYFRS and SYFRS  should take a stand and refuse to pay the subscriptions of the Chief Officer.  The London Fire Brigade agree with us.Last year Ron Dobson the London Fire Commissioner said this

At a time when public sector organisations are being challenged to make huge savings across the board, we believe this increase shows a lack of empathy with the financial situation facing all the fire and rescue services that CFOA is there to support.

“In the current economic climate we believe they should be leading the way, rather than simply passing on the cost of savings that we are all being asked to make.

We think that we the tax payers of Yorkshire should start to lobby to stop these payments to people who  already get very high salaries  BUT  it is much worse, here on the front page of the CFOA is the launch of Bluewatch !

The CFOA  are actually in partnership  with a private company  CAPITA

 Capita plc has today announced the launch of Blue Watch, a new fire and home safety scheme, supported by the UK’s fire and rescue services (FRS). Capita has signed a seven year contract, with an option to extend for a further three years, with CFOA Services Ltd (CSL) - a trading company of the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) - to deliver the scheme.

The full press release is available here  (but you might have to login as a guest on the CFOA site) 


Now call me thick  but aren't we being constantly told that firefighters workload is reducing?  

That we don't need as many of them ?  

Yet our very own Fire Chiefs are using OUR MONEY  to promote a private venture and reading Paul Fullers  (CFOA Services Ltd (CSL) chair) which is a trading company of the Chief Fire Officers Association)  validation of the programme makes me  feel extremely sick !

Paul Fuller, CSL chair, said: “As a serving fire chief, I am proud of the work fire and rescue services across the UK have done to drive down death and injury, but more can always be done. Too many lives are still lost and injuries caused, which is why we have set up Blue Watch. Using our experience, knowledge and professionalism we will help landlords make their properties safer from the risks of fire and carbon monoxide. It’s all about providing the best possible advice and support, as well as top quality safety products. We are looking forward to working with Capita in bringing a fresh approach to fire and CO safety, which we hope will reduce the number of people affected by fire and CO.”

I THINK IT IS TIME TO CALL OUR FIRE CHIEFS TO ACCOUNT !

A FRESH APPROACH TO FIRE SAFETY  - ----It is

P R I V A T I S A T I O N 

(and not even by the back door) 

Fireman Jeff Naylor

As an Aries who  had the (mis)  fortune to be born in the Chinese year of the Tiger it could be said that I  am astrologically pre programmed to be hot headed and  bad tempered  (ok that might be a rhetorical question)  it could also be said that i see things very much in black or white - no  50 Shades of Grey  for me  

BUT some times things are so obvious,  to ignore them is a crime. 

And in my opinion today WYFRS should have had on its news site a mention or memorial  to  Jeff Naylor the last firefighter to die whilst on operational duty in West Yorkshire. Lets hope in  10 weeks time after reading this they mark the anniversary of his actual death with significantly more respect. 

On Saturday a very important event took place, the naming of the last remaining pump

 at Keighley Fire Station  after   Jeff  Naylor a fireman at the station  30 years ago. 

Jeff was on duty on the 27th April 1983 when Keighley Fire Station attended an incident on Broomhill Walk,   a house fire in which 2 of the 5 children rescued died.  Jeff suffered horrific injuries at the incident  and died  aged 31 years ten weeks  later in Pinderfields Hospital , leaving two young children without a father. 

He was commended by the Queen for his bravery, an honour which was collected

 by his young son Mark the  year after. 

Fortunately, the death of fire fighters is a rare occurrence  31 firefighters have lost their lives in the execution of their duty in West Yorkshire, a roll of honour is listed below.

Leeds Brigade Memorial - courtesy of Mrs P  Leach 

It wouldn't have taken 10 minutes to compose a brief tribute to Jeff and post it, or maybe an outline of the events at Keighley on Saturday. Social media is a quick and easy way to transmit information to lots of people very quickly, and although this blog is usually written and published all in one fell swoop, it is possible to  programme it to release information at  certain  time  if we are not about to press PUBLISH. 

And nobody knows of the power  &  speed of social media more than the newest  Assistant Chief Officer Dave Walton. He has a twitter account   @ACOwestyorksfire  which we watch with interest. For example he spent Sunday having a look around Haworth, a spot of shopping perhaps, a pub lunch maybe?

Ever so slightly cultured afternoon stroll through #Howarth -home of the Brontes-liking this #Yorkshire thing twitter.com/ACOWestYorkFir…
— Dave Walton (@ACOWestYorkFire) April 28, 2013

BUT on   Friday 26th April  he attended the crash on the M62 which resulted in a death and several injuries. 

He tweeted he was on his way  12:04 PM (we do hope he wasnt driving) 

Am attending significant RTC on #m62 huge multi agency rescue underway
— Dave Walton (@ACOWestYorkFire) April 26, 2013

Then he tweeted he had arrived 12:52PM  

Initial rescue phase on #m62 now over.difficult scene for all agencies.good effort from fire, police & amb - more to do though
— Dave Walton (@ACOWestYorkFire) April 26, 2013

And then he started to organise his press statements

@skybod @skynews are you still looking for interview?
— Dave Walton (@ACOWestYorkFire) April 26, 2013

@johnnyianson @bbcleeds okay- doing on scene media at 1500. DM me a phone number
— Dave Walton (@ACOWestYorkFire) April 26, 2013

And then after a few Thank You's  - he left.

What a day that turned out to be!Thoughts with those affected by #m62 inc today.The poignancy of the hen trip & excitement adds to tragedy
— Dave Walton (@ACOWestYorkFire) April 26, 2013

Now we dont have a problem with him having a twitter account - but we aren't sure about him using it  to publicly  arrange press meetings and such (maybe thats a job for a discreet text or two)  and we most certainly arent convinced an Assistant Chief Fire Officer should use his account for telling the world about his  Sundays off.  Its either business or pleasure - not both!

We are of course familiar with the WYFRS social media policy - they reissued it to all staff  when this site started to become rather "popular" with WYFRS staff.  And in  that policy it states:-

"Access to social media and networking sites during paid working hours or usingAuthority facilities is strictly prohibited unless authorised at Director level for business purposes." 

We cant find any  paragraph that says its Ok to blog on a Sunday off  from what is essentially a company account. The "Views expressed are my own"  is interesting. Does that mean its a company account that is unregulated by WYFRS in which case surely he shouldn't be using it at shouts" or a company account which means he should NOT be using it for personal slightly cultured events!

Dave Walton

@ACOWestYorkFire

ACO with West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service. Tweeting about fire related issues. Views expressed are my own. In case of EMERGENCY always dial 999

West Yorkshire, UK · westyorksfire.gov.uk

We asked the Fire Brigades 

Union for their opinion  

"I'm saddened and disappointed to see that our Assistant Fire Officer found the time to update his Twitter account during operations at the tragic crash on the M62 on Friday. It's amazing that when WYFRA have a policy of "no phones" whilst at work, even if doing routine duties on station, Dave Walton thought it would be acceptable to organise Tv and Radio interviews via Twitter.

I have previously represented members who have broken the "Use of Social Media and Networking Sites Policy" one individual lost their temporary promotion position after being found to be in breach of the policy, but I'm not sure the same fate will be in store for ACO Walton."

David Williams  - WYFRS - Brigade Secretary 

SO WHAT CAN WE AT FCCL DO TO HELP 

JUST IN CASE YOU EVER NEED TO CONTACT  ACO DAVE WALTON 

(WHILST HE IS AT WORK )

HIS NUMBER IS  01274 655734 

Email Him by clicking   dave.walton@westyorksfire.gov.uk 

OR EVEN BETTER 

Why not contact the 

Senior Information and Communications Manager

Gayle Cogan

01274 655802   |   gayle.cogan@westyorksfire.gov.uk

Its FBU's to Us.

We have  said if we had even a small fire we would prefer 

And when it comes to telling the truth about response times and incidents  we prefer 

Which is why  we support the Fire Brigades Union in the sterling work they do in regard to the Anti Cuts Agenda all over  the country, even though we concentrate our efforts in the West Yorkshire Region.   

Remember,  the Chief Fire Officer Simon Pilling was proven by 

his own data we FOI'd  to have never attended an incident in 2011 /12! 

We wrote about  it way back in December 2012  here   

We cant help but wonder if any members of the FBU who are operational can say that  they never attended an incident in an entire year (whilst getting a tax free fancy car ! )

Occasionally  we have felt like packing in and giving up, but we haven't; opposing  cuts in provision is on occasions like being a goldfish that is repeatedly thrown into a tank of piranhas.   

And WHY ?

Simple - because the FBU is 

Choose Life - choose an experienced fire fighters word and their operational experience over a spreadsheet jockeys word EVERY TIME 

To contact the FBU - please see our page 

HERE