AN outraged Essex fire chief has spoken out against union criticism of retained firefighters.

Chief Fire Officer David Johnson has spoken out in defence of his retained teams, including those who serve at Corringham fire station, after he says Fire Brigade Union officials slighted crews by suggesting they provided inferior levels of cover to their wholetime colleagues.

CFO Johnson said that Essex should be “proud” of the service that its 458 part-time firefighters provide to more than half the communities in the county. “They do an excellent job and provide a first class service right across the county,” he said.

“Suggestions that they provide inferior levels of cover or indeed put communities at risk is entirely untrue and outrageous. The Service could not run effectively without these men and women, many of whom are FBU members themselves.”

The FBU has launched a media campaign in recent weeks against ECFRS plans to review some of its operations, in particular its day crewing arrangements and the introduction of special appliances and how they are managed.

FBU officials have been lobbying for reassurances that there will be no change in the status of day crewed stations at Dovercourt, South Woodham Ferrers, Great Baddow and Waltham Abbey.

These fire stations are crewed by full-time firefighters during the day and retained firefighters during the evening – ironically in some instances the same people!

Crews are based on the stations between the hours of 9am-6pm, excluding an hour between 1pm and 2pm when they take lunch, Monday to Friday. The rest of the time, crews respond by pager from their homes nearby.

ECFRS is currently reviewing day crewing arrangements through a project team that includes four FBU officials. That team will report its findings at the end of the year and no decisions will be taken until then.

However, this week the FBU’s Assistant Secretary Paul Adams said the FBU “fears” that the day crews could be abolished, “leaving them entirely reliant on retained firefighters”.

“I can only see an implication that the retained service is an inferior service from these statements,”

said CFO Johnson.

“This is not the first time the FBU has made these suggestions publicly, which is why I decided to speak out in defence of my staff. I will not have anyone belittle the fantastic job these people do or their contribution to the Service and their communities.”

Essex fire cover is provided from 52 stations strategically placed around the county – 34 are retained fire stations, where crews respond by pager from their home and work within five minutes of the alarm being raised; 13 are whole time, four are day crewed and one station is staffed by both a wholetime and retained crew. Essex currently employs 976 full-time firefighters.