Teen beauty spot drinkers are ramblers, not rebels
- Dave Burrows
Leader: Can’t put a price on saving lives
Monday 13th February 2012, 12:30PM GMT.
The last few months have been truly awful for Shropshire in terms of the number of people who have been killed in fires.
The toll could have been yet worse, but for working smoke alarms which have underlined their worth in several incidents.
When fire prevention fails and smoke detectors are not fitted, as will always happen on occasion in the real world, the saving of life and limb will primarily depend on the fast reaction of Shropshire’s fire and rescue service.
Like everyone and everything else, the service is currently under budgetary pressure. This has raised the spectre that Shropshire’s fire brigade might have to close five fire stations to balance the books.
While nobody knows which particular ones, it would be a disaster, inevitably increasing response times through the lack of an on-the-doorstep service. Flexibility in operation would be severely compromised. In any major incident, Shropshire would be left with sparse back-up cover, and the extent to which it relies on help from neighbouring counties would rocket.
It goes without saying that nobody in Shropshire, least of all the fire service, wants to see that. A survey conducted by retained firefighters in Newport last month showed that public sentiment was almost unanimously in favour of paying a few pence extra on the council tax to stave off the prospect of fire station closures.
Today the service was setting its budget and was taking the hint.
Taxpayers will understandably moan that they are continually paying more and are not seeing more for their money. A few pence extra to stave off fire service cuts is, however, value for money.
When the grim alternative is an increase in death and damage, this decision is a no-brainer.
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Surely the onus is on the county’s two local authorities to install working smoke detectors in all properties in the county and to inspect them monthly to ensure that they are operational.
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Superb idea Mr. Peasbody. Now can you tell us how many people will need to be taken on, and paid, to carry out this task? Can you also inform us how much more householders will be paying in council/poll tax?
Inspect 2 – 4 rooms in every property, every month??
A non-starter if ever I saw one.
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This would be ideal for those on Community Orders.
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You get better.
So you’re all in favour of an old age pensioner letting a convicted criminal into their home.
Not the best idea you’ve ever come up with I’m sure.
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How can we ever wish to build a better society if we continue to demonise people for their errors? Let them make up for their errors by helping those who need help. Convicted criminals are not bad people – they are people who have made a mistake. I’m sure you’ve made a few yourself, Colin.
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– “they are people who have made a mistake. I’m sure you’ve made a few yourself, Colin.”
Indeed I have in my younger days, and, quite rightly, I was punished for it, including some free B&B courtesy of Mrs. Queen.
To say criminals are not bad people is just ridiculous. They break the law, put lives at risk and cost the ratepayer a lot of money, and you want to babysit them? Go ahead, invite some into your home and give them tea and biscuits while they nick your valuables. Join the real world.
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perhaps if the fire service was less profligate with tax payer money it would not be needing to resort to the emotional blackmail that you report.
A better question from the fire-fighters would have been for the need for a new building in Shrewsbury replacing the perfectly adequate one that was there.
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It wasn’t adequate. About 30 staff were having to work from a temporary location at Hafren House in Shelton, which is why they had to build a bigger HQ.
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Oh dear! Yet another example of knee-jerk confusion between capital expenditure – which doesn’t come out of day to day running costs – and revenue, which does. It’s this that is being savaged by the government, and which may force the closures and potential increase in death and injury. Incidentally, Shropshire’s Fire and Rescue Service is already among the smallest, leanest and most efficient in the UK.
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All comes from the tax payers pocket however you want to dress the expenditure up.
Or does one lot of expenditure come from the money tree?
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Somebody needs to get his facts right before spouting off about things he doesn’t know the answers too!!
The building wasn’t fit for animals let alone a large group of professionals doing a fantastic job
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oh dear,
you wouldn’t be a firefighter would you? protecting your own interest?
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What was your first clue Rupe? SFRS maybe?
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I think the clue is in his pen -name.
I assume then, if your house was ablaze one night, you wouldn’t want the fire brigade to waste any of YOUR money driving to put it out.
Very noble of you sir.
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If he or she is a firefighter perhaps they’re in a better position to make informed comments?
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“If he or she is a firefighter perhaps they’re in a better position to make informed comments?”
Yes and no,yes they have first-hand experience of matters but sometimes you need somebody else with enough distance between you and the object to tell the wood for the trees.
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Unlike the ever increasing amount lavished on the West Mercia Police which relies on the public and victims of crime to do it’s job for it, the £54 a year we pay for Fire Brigade coverage is worth every penny.
Increase it by £46 to $100 a year. Still VFM.
AND….before You ask Rupert…. I AM NOT A FIREMAN and HAVE NO CONNECTION ANY PART OF THE FIRE SERVICE.
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Sorry about the $. Should have read….to £100 a year!!!
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The £millions of tax-payers money wasted on the new ‘building’ would have easily been enough money to provide free smoke detectors to all Shropshire citizens.
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There are probably not that many households who do not have them,most people consider that they have a presonal responsibility to protect their familes and homes, there will always be those that think that everything should be provided by the state and would sooner spend the £5 cost of one on a packet of ciggies. Then when fitted the question is have they knicked the batteries out of it to ensure their Sky remote control is working?
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