Greater Manchester 'reliant on Merseyside for specialist firefighters' in event of terrorist incident

A "serious gap" in a fire service's terror response due to an industrialdispute could put lives at risk, according to independent inspectors.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services(HMICFRS) said it has "particular concerns" about the Greater Manchesterservice's ability to respond to terrorist attacks.

Inspector of fire and rescue Zoe Billingham said the service has not hadthe capability to respond to some terror-related incidents since beforeChristmas because of an industrial dispute.

She said this means Greater Manchester is reliant on Merseyside toprovide specialist firefighters if there is a terrorist incident in itsregion.

She told reporters these specially-trained and equipped firefighters areexpected to go into "warm zones" during terror attacks to put out firesand extract casualties

Ms Billingham added: "We are really concerned about Greater Manchester'sarrangements.

"Greater Manchester does not itself have the capability to respond toterror-related incidents in that way.

"It says this is because of an industrial relations dispute.

"Manchester is reliant on firefighters coming from Merseyside to providethis specialist support.

"The delay in any emergency service responding to a terror attack couldvery well cost lives."

She said it is estimated the crews from Merseyside could be mobilisedwithin an hour.

But Greater Manchester's chief fire officer Jim Wallace said the lack ofcapacity only applies when responding to terrorist firearms attacks andhe stressed the service can respond to all other incidents.

He added: "This is an ongoing and longstanding national dispute betweenthe Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and Fire and Rescue Service Employers,which is why we were unable to resolve it locally.

"It is important to stress that this applies to a very specific type ofterrorist incident which is thankfully extremely rare but, if it happensin Greater Manchester, we have a contingency in place where we can callon the support of colleagues on Merseyside in addition to our usualoperational response.

"Should Greater Manchester face a terrorist attack in all othercircumstances, our firefighters stand ready to play their full part inthe emergency services response."

The concerns were raised in a HMICFRS report, published on Thursday,which also said new national standards are needed for fire services.

It warned there is too much variation in how fire services in Englandrecord and report emergency response times and define what buildings arehigh risk for fire protection work.

It said "more than a decade of localism" has led to "marked" differencesbetween services.

Ms Billingham said: "We are pleased that fire and rescue services showreal strengths in training for and responding to emergencies - this workundoubtedly saves many lives.

"However it is concerning that there is too much variation in how fireand rescue services operate, resulting in a postcode lottery in thestandards of service the public receives."

The HMICFRS report recommends common definitions, standards andapplications are adopted in four priority areas including identifyingand measuring emergency response times, defining high-risk premises forfire protection purposes, and setting how frequently those buildings arechecked.

It said the Home Office, National Fire Chiefs Council and LocalGovernment Association should establish a programme of work to makethese consistent "as soon as practicable".

It added that by December 2020, this work should be completed or"significant progress made" in the four priority areas.

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: "From the start we have tried todiscuss national proposals to expand firefighters' roles to cover'marauding terrorist firearms attacks'.

"We have been willing to take the necessary steps to bring firefightersinto the aftermath of terrorist incidents, with the essentialprotections in place.

"Responsibility for the delay in resolving this rests entirely with fireservice employers and central Government who have been complacentthroughout these discussions.

"In our view there needs to be much wider planning and preparation forsuch terrorist attacks. Every firefighter in the country needs to betrained and equipped for any incident they might be sent to."

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the concerns aroundGreater Manchester FRS and are working with them to reinstate aspecialist team that will provide an immediate response to a terrorattack with support from neighbouring services.

"Where the inspectorate has identified improvements are required, wewill consider these very seriously and expect all services to make thenecessary changes."