What the Fire Service did not put in the proposal

These men have saved Wales over £7 million in the last few years

I really am honestly beginning to think that there should be an all political party investigation into just how the proposal to close Fire Stations in Blaenau Gwent was prepared and perhaps injunctions taken out against the Fire Authority from making a decision until that investigation is complete.

The document that has been presented to the South Wales Fire Authority has been revealed to contain numerous inaccuracies and only yesterday a Senior Fire Officer confirmed to me that the system data used to compile statistics contained "errors" and yet this information that many know to be incorrect was used in the production of the proposal.

Now before we move onto some information that I believe could only have been omitted from the proposal deliberately, given the impact the information would have on any sane and compassionate reader of the proposal, a bit first about the new race track for Ebbw Vale.

At yesterdays consultation with the Fire Service, their spokesman Steve Ells stated that attendant risks from the influx of four to six thousand new workers moving into the area would be negligible and that besides, the fire risks would be addressed by the companies brought in to do the building work.

All very well, so there is fire support at the building location but what about the greater risk of road traffic collisions?

Would the imported fire crews at the building site be responsible for covering accidents caused by increased traffic during the building phase and then by even more traffic caused by people not familiar with our roads traveling to events at the race track, where tens of thousands of people are expected to attend?

The salesman for the Fire Service proposal said that there would be no increased risk, as the situation was similar to that of the construction of the Millennium Dome, which was of course a ridiculous thing to say, because that is like trying to compare a house brick to a banana.  It cannot be done.

The Millennium Dome was built in a city which I am not sure even knows what snow looks like and which is more than adequately covered by full time fire crews - Ebbw Vale has just one pump and two specialist fire appliances (which I am told are excellent) and depends on the support of Blaina to provide cover to the area when they are either not available or on a shout.

Now we know that the Fire Service stated that there was a decrease in the number of lives requiring fire cover in the Blaenau Gwent area but this information was shown to be incorrect in Councillor Lisa Winnett's rebuttal of the proposal and showed that our local population is increasing and will require more fire cover, not less, or as they propose - none.

Now there is another vital piece of information that should be considered by the Fire Authority in helping them make their decision whether to close the fire station with its 100% availability record or leave it to continue to protect the lives of those it has served since 1889.

That is the information hidden away in the Fire Services own documents on their website that confirms this statement published in the Chief Fire Officers Association 'Aging Safely Strategy' that says:

Deaths and injuries from fire will rise in proportion to the increases in numbers of older people. Almost twice as many people over the age of 50 now die in dwelling fires in the UK each year compared to those under 50.

Now sadly, it is a fact of life that we all grow older, even in Blaina and Nantyglo and so as we get older, research has shown that there is a greater risk of fires being started with fatalities as a result of age and yet this increased risk was not included in the proposal.  Why?

National statistics between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012 speak for themselves and underline the need for retaining our Fire Cover in Blaina:

• There were 380 fire deaths in Great Britain of which 178 (47%) were among people aged 60 or above.
• Those over the age of 80 are 10 times more likely to die in a fire than someone aged 30 or under.
• Older men are more likely to die in fires than women.

You should also know that:-

• The cost of fire involving over 65's is a staggering £2.3 billion per year.
•  The average cost of a domestic fire is £27,000
• A single fire fatality costs £1.8 million
• 23% of the UK population will be over 65 by 2033

So the bean counters want to save £222,000 per year by closing down Blaina Station but we know that in recent years, to my knowledge alone, Blaina Fire station has saved at least 4 lives and probably a lot more.

Which means that Blaina Firefighters have saved society £7.2 million, so according to my calculations, means they are paid up for at least another 28 years.

Withdraw the proposal now, because this is all starting to become extremely embarrassing.

UPDATE 19:43

I have just been reliably informed that Blaina fire crew have rescued 44 people from death in the last ten years - and they say we are not value for money.