Minutes:
The
Mayor welcomed Chief Fire Officer Roger Thomas, the s151 Officer Sarah Mansbridge and the Chair of the Mid and West Wales Fire
Authority Cllr Gwynfor Thomas who gave their annual presentation to Council on
the current position of the Fire Authority.
Members
praised the work, professionalism and expertise of the Fire Service.
Members
highlighted that the Fire Service Levy does not appear as a separate line on a
Council Tax bill, in contrast to the South Wales Police precept.
Council
were reminded of the ongoing Audit Wales review into Governance of the Fire
Authority, and members were encouraged to participate with their views.
Council
were pleased to note that the carcinogenic hazard for Fire Fighters is now
officially recognised.
Members
were given an assurance that the Fire Authority Committee has done everything
in its power to consider all savings strategies in an attempt to keep the
increase to the levy as low as possible and to minimise the impact on residents
and communities. This included the challenge and scrutiny of each budget line
and the move to a longer term Community Risk Management Plan with the aim of ensuring
maximum robustness.
Members
asked for further detail about the work that is carried out with families and
communities after fire events. It was explained that the incident is managed and
then ‘hot strikes’ are conducted in communities and families including Home Fire
Safety Checks, advice, fitting of smoke detectors and removal of dangerous
equipment. Trauma support is also offered as part of a collaborative effort and
safeguarding and signposting vulnerable people to a range of services.
Members
heard more about the communication system ‘Airwaves’ which operates across all
Category 1 responders, but which is reaching the end of its usable lifespan. It
had been flat line grant funded, but the grant has been removed at a cost of -£600,000
and now is incorporated into the base budget. A UK led replacement project process is
underway but costs unknown at this stage. Concern was expressed about the aging
technology with no proven replacement as yet.
Council
heard that the estimate of purchasing an electric Fire Engine could be almost
double that of a standard vehicle which is prohibitive and also that the
technology required for running the Fire vehicles is not yet fully developed.
Assurance that whole grey fleet are all electric following a significant
investment and WG funding.
Council
were assured that the Fire Authority will contribute to the Council Tax consultation
as key stakeholders, as an Authority and as a Service.
Members
were saddened to hear about the attacks to officers across the emergency services,
which is an area of concern but is thankfully rare in the Fire Service.
The
Mayor thanked the Fire Authority for their attendance, their presentation and
their detailed responses to members’ questions.