It has today been announced that Ashfield Fire Station will reopen full-time again.
The news has been welcomed by Ashfield District Council leader Jason Zadrozny and his team of Councillors. Councillor Zadrozny and his Ashfield Independent team have fought for this since 2018.
The decision has been announced at a meeting of the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority.
It will also be recommended that proposed cuts to London Road, Stockhill Road and West Bridgford Fire Stations will not happen.
Councillor Jason Zadrozny, a member of the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority said:
“This is a decision that will save lives – there’s no doubt about that. I’d like to thank the thousands of residents who joined the Ashfield Independent campaign for a full-time fire station.
“We always said, the decision to move to a part-time station in 2018 was the wrong one. I was the only councillor to vote against this at the time.
“We instigated the Fire Service review, led Ashfield’s response to the consultation and never gave up.
“This is a victory for common sense. We promised residents that we would fight for a full-time station and have delivered on this promise.”
One of the communities adversely impacted was Selston.
The decision to move to a part-time fire station led to dramatically increased response times. Councillor David Martin, who joined the protests in 2018 said:
“Places like Jacksdale, Selston, Underwood and Westwood will really see a difference in response times.
“The hard-fought decision was 5 years in the making and will lead to lower response times.
“People in Selston and across Ashfield can sleep better knowing that their Ashfield Independent team stood up for them when they needed us most.”
Other communities impacted include Stanton Hill and Teversal.
In 2018, local councillor Helen-Ann Smith hit the headlines when she sent Valentine’s Cards to all members of the Fire Authority pleading with them not to move to a part-time station. Helen-Ann said:
“Local people in Stanton Hill and Teversal were stunned when our Fire Station moved to a part-time operation. It had a real impact on response times with crucial minutes being added. These were minutes that could have cost lives.
“As a community, we have sent a clear message that we want our full-time fire station back. I’m pleased that by working together, we have delivered a result that will keep people safer.”
Reinstating whole-time 24/7 fire cover at Ashfield would reduce the time it takes for the first fire engine to attend all incidents in the Ashfield District by 48 seconds on average.
