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CONTROVERSIAL staffing arrangements at Garforth Fire Station in east Leeds are being scrapped by brigade bosses.
Fire and rescue services at Garforth have been run from Gipton's station since April 2006 in a bid to cut management costs.
But the so-called 'twinning' set-up has faced criticism from union officials, who say it means crews at Garforth normally consist of just four firefighters rather than the standard five.
Now the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority has voted to restore the Garforth station's stand alone status from April.
The county's chief fire officer, Phil Toase, said the switch was designed to reinforce the base's operational capabilities and local identity.
News that the reorganisation at Garforth – first proposed last September – had got the go-ahead was welcomed today by local MP Colin Burgon.
Mr Burgon (Lab, Elmet) also backed the fire and rescue authority's plans for the future of another station in his constituency.
Wetherby has, like Garforth, been operating on a twinned basis since 2006, under the control of Moortown.
The authority has now decided that it too should be given back its stand alone status in April.
However, under current proposals, it will only be manned during the day, with crews being on call at home during the night.
A similar 'day crewing' system already works well in Knottingley and Todmorden, according to fire chiefs.
Mr Burgon told the YEP that retaining any level of manning at Wetherby should be seen as a positive step, given previous concerns that the station could be closed altogether.
He also pledged, though, to put pressure on the fire and rescue authority to address any problems that came to light with the new set-up.
Brigade bosses made an unsuccessful attempt to bring in day crewing at Garforth in 2004.
The plan was dropped following intensive campaigning by local residents, politicians and the YEP, before the station was twinned with Gipton as a compromise solution.
Coun Mark Dobson (Lab, Garforth and Swillington) today said the decision to make it a fully-fleged station again had "completely vindicated" the aims of the initial campaign.
Yorkshire Evening Post
1st January 2008
Pictured below: Councillor Andrea McKenna (Lab, Garforth and Swillington) outside Garforth Fire Station.
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Protestors celebrate fire station victory
