Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price met with Tony Hedley, Chairman of Essex Fire authority to seek reassurance that planned changes would not increase risks in Thurrock.
Tony Hedley said, "I am not going to put people of Essex at risk. We have invested heavily in front line equipment and training in the last ten years. We have some of the best equipment and firefighters in the country"
Jackie said, "With so many COMAH sites in Thurrock it is essential that I make sure that whenever there is change to the fire service there is no increase in risk. For example during the fire at Tilbury Power station, 31 machines were deployed and while thankfully such events do not happen very often we need to be sure that Essex Fire service is equipped to deal with such incidents.
I am advised that over the last ten years the number of calls have fallen by 60 per cent. This is not surprising. We have safer housing standards now, we have inflammable furniture standards and fewer people use chip pans. This means thankfully that there are fewer fires. The result is that many appliances held by Essex Fire are under-utilised. The changes mean that Essex Fire and Rescue service can make savings without cutting the number of firefighters."