Forum Brief: Bain review

Sir George Bain published his long awaited review of the fire service yesterday.

His report included the recommendation that fire brigades should be able to charge for attending car crashes, issuing advice and responding to false alarms in order to help fund a "top to bottom" shake-up of the service.

The review also concluded that fire fighters are "relatively well paid" and linked a four per cent rise this year and seven per cent next November to substantial reform in working practices.

Forum Response: Local Government Association

A spokesman for the LGA said: "The UK fire employers welcome the completion and delivery of the Bain inquiry and now plan to consider the report in greater detail in the next few days.

"The report's recommendations on shifting the emphasis within the service from intervention to a more preventive approach and injecting greater flexibility are to be welcomed.

"Government implementation of the Bain recommendation that Section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947 - thereby enabling fire service managers to move resources to where they are most needed - is now crucial, as is the development of a new legislative base that can provide the framework for a modernised service.

"The employers hope that all those working within the service will seriously consider the challenges and career opportunities that implementation of the report would clearly deliver. The recommendations are designed to create a more diverse and relevant service to meet the needs of the 21st century and that is something to be warmly welcomed by all stakeholders."

Forum Response: Fire Brigades Union

John McGhee, national officer at the FBU, said: "The idea that we should start charging people if we go to a car crash is crazy.

"And suggesting people should pay if they call us to what turns out to be a false alarm is ludicrous and dangerous. It is playing with fire safety. It will discourage people from reporting incidents which could cost lives.

"The other ideas mean you only get the best service if you can afford it.

"What are we supposed to do if we go to assist a little old lady who is stuck in a lift or locked out of her house - send her a bill? It's turning the clock back to the Victorian era when fire brigades were run by insurance companies and if you didn't have a plaque outside your property to prove you had paid for cover it was left to burn.

"We've said all along that Bain is a damaging distraction and we'd have no part of it."