By George Thorpe
The Echo
ESSEX, England — Fire chiefs spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on new vehicles only to find they were faulty.
The Fire Brigades Union claims Essex County Fire and Rescue Service forked out £250,000 (about $400,000 US) each for the three Control Support Vehicles, to be based at Leigh Brentwood and Clacton, as part of a major overhaul of its fleet.
The vehicles were supposed to act as control centres during big operations and allow crew members to speak to other stations and the county headquarters.
Firefighters in Essex claimed they discovered a number of “dangerous” flaws in the vehicles, including the driver’s seat spinning around when it was moving.
The bespoke vehicles were subsequently sent back to the manufacturer to fix the problems, and they are expected to be back in service this week.
The news of the faulty vehicles came at a meeting of the Essex branch of the Fire Brigades Union, in the Great Oaks car park, next to Basildon fire station. The meeting was held there after bosses refused to allow union members to use the fire station.
Firefighters angrily criticised the purchase by fire chiefs, claiming such “wasted” funds came at a time when bosses were planning to cut jobs and close stations.
Keith Flynn, secretary of the Essex branch of the FBU and a crew member at Basildon, said: “We are looking at station closures and officers losing their jobs, with our bosses saying they want to keep our essential services.
“But we feel we are an essential service. The authority is spending £750,000 on these vehicles, which are being condemned. That is money which could have been saved.
“We just want to sit down and have a grown-up conversation with our bosses and discuss what we think are the essential services.”
Chief Fire Officer David Johnson angrily hit back, accusing the union of scaremongering in the run-up to the Government’s spending review.
He said: “As with custom-built vehicles, there are always a couple of snags and there is a nagging period in which we are allowed to ask for things to be corrected.”
The vehicles are expected to be back in service soon.
Over the past 18 months, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has spent millions of pounds in buying 23 new fire engines, five aerial ladder platforms, three command support vehicles for major incidents and three foam modules, useful for chemical fires.
It has also purchased an environmental unit, used to restrict pollution at incidents, a welfare module, containing rest and feeding facilities and mobile toilets, and a specialist animal rescue unit.
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