1 From: [email protected]

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 26 September 2013 16:09 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re Blaina Fire Station Follow up on last nights conversation

Dear Chief Fire Officer, During last night's discussions outside Blaina Fire Station, you request me to try and implement a change to the forthcoming meeting regarding public allowance to the gallery. I have made several enquirers regarding the possibility of this, and due to the legislation and governance that Borough Councils are governed by, it is not possible for this change to be made. I would ask if you will be able to address protestors following the Council Meeting. Last night you stated that you are willing to hold a public meeting with the protestors. I have a few dates that we would be able to hold a public meeting in Salem Chapel, High Street, Blaina at 7pm. These dates are 17th, 18th, 21st, 24th & 25th of October, could you please inform me which date would be the most convenient to yourself for attendance, and I will then make the relevant arrangements for this public meeting to take place. I look forward to your response in this matter.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett, Bob Pagett, County Borough Councillors

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From: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Sent: 26 September 2013 17:25 To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: Re Blaina Fire Station Lisa & Bob, Many thanks for your e-mail, for pursuing the issue of the closed meeting and for introducing yourselves last night. As you know, at this stage it is only a proposal and we need to engage with all stakeholders in a meaningful and structured way ensuring that all views are captured so that we can present back to the Fire and Rescue Authority in December. We have programmed to be in the Blaina area on the 17th and 18th October and are currently reviewing the best locations to attend and groups that we can engage with, which I am told will be finalised early next week. I fully understand the community reaction and emotions to our proposal, which is why I want this consultation to provide full and engaged responses so that our Authority can make a fully informed decision in December. Therefore, I do not feel it would enhance the consultation if I addressed the protestors following the Council meeting or attend a public meeting. As a Service we commit to holding structured engagement sessions in the area and would welcome suggestions from you on locations, individuals and groups we can engage with in a manageable manner.

Kind regards Huw

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 28 September 2013 16:13 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re Financial Figures Hi Chief Officer, Sorry to trouble you once more, but could you please forward me the detailed costing of the vehicles that the brigade purchased/leased for 2012-2013, as in your financial statement it is a grouped amount, not a detailed breakdown. I look forward to receiving this from you shortly. Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett, County Borough Councillor

In a message dated 30/09/2013 17:46:45 GMT Daylight Time, h-jakeway@southwalesfire.gov.uk writes: Hi Lisa, Many thanks for both your e-mails and apologies for only now replying. I will ask for the information you have requested to be sent on ASAP, if there is anything else we can assist please do not hesitate to ask Kind regards Huw

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 30 September 2013 21:17 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re: Re Financial Figures Hi Huw,

Many thanks for your email. Blaina Partnership Board would like to take part and meet you as part of your consultation process. The Chairpersons name is Mrs. Lydia King and you would be able to contact her on 01495290782, she is also the Secretary for WAFTA (West Side and Forgeside Tennants Association), and Chairperson of the Ebbw Fach Development.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett, County Borough Councillor

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 01 October 2013 22:53 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re Blaina Station Hi Huw,

I have received numerous enquiries from local residents regarding the problem of asbestos on Blaina Fire Station. Would you be able to inform me of the current situation regarding the asbestos, and would you also be able to release the asbestos report that you have had

2 commissioned on the building. This will enable me to respond to the questions I have been poised by my constituents.

Many Thanks Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: 02/10/2013 19:53:09 GMT Daylight Time Subj: Fwd: Urgent Complaint

Hi Huw There is a typing error in the previous correspondence and it should read 2001 Nantyglo Number Of People, Please accept my apologies on this matter. Yours Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillors

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From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: 02/10/2013 17:36:16 GMT Daylight Time Subj: Urgent Complaint

Hi Huw, I am witting in complaint to the information that is given on your website, re the consultation of Blaina Fire Station.

http://www.southwalesfire.gov.uk/English/newsandevents/Documents/Fire%20Cover%20Review%20Proposals% 20Stage%202%20-%20final.pdf

In this document it states the predicted population to fall by 1.4% in Blaenau Gwent, over 10 years.

This is quite a controversial statement, as the component of statistics is just assumption, and it is very hard to assume what is going to happen in 10 years time.

Factual information and local knowledge should have been gained for this information, and I will show you why:-

Information From BGCBC's Electoral Division which is Factual information, not assumption.

2001 Blaina Number of people on the electoral register 3598 2013 Blaina Number of people on the electoral register 3608 2011 Nantyglo Number of people on the electoral register 3217

3 2013 Nantyglo Number of people on the electoral register 3489

As you will see from these figures there is an increase in numbers, therefore if local knowledge was used there would show an increase predicted in population to our area.

Information from our LDP officer.

Our BGCBC's LDP plan shows that there are 7 allocated sites in Nantyglo and Blaina with planning permission to build 210 new homes before 2021.

Therefore based on the presumption that there are 2.1 people per home another 441 people are expected to be living in close proximity to Blaina Fire Station within the next 8 years, which is a substantial increase.

From the information that I have supplied to yourself, you will be able to see why I have stated that local factual knowledge should have been gained. One last example, the 2008 National Statistic predicted a raise in population to Blaenau Gwent, but 2011 National Statistics (released last week) show the opposite, Statistics change quite quickly due to being assumptions, so it is always better to have factual local knowledge.

Can you please address this matter as a matter of urgency, as I personally feel that the information on your website is very miss leading to the public. Can you also enclose this email as a part of my representation in the consultation process, I will be presenting you on Monday when we meet in Chambers with a written report outlining my reason's against the closure.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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From: Davison, Andrew (Group Manager - Operations Delivery) Sent: 03 October 2013 13:01 To: [email protected] Cc: Else, Steve (Station Commander - 14/18/25); Thomas, Howard (Performance Management) Subject: Blaina Partnership Board and WAFTA group meeting with South Wales FRS

Cllr Winnett Many thanks for the contact details for Mrs Lydia King. I have spoken to her this morning to assure her that we will meet up with both the Blaina Partnership Board and the WAFTA group. Unfortunately we have just missed this months Blaina Partnership Board meeting (last night) but she has kindly offered to pull the two groups together at the next WAFTA meeting at the end of the month if we can facilitate that date. Thanks for your help Regards Andy Davison

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From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: 03/10/2013 18:44:33 GMT Daylight Time Subj: Re Complaint into Miss leading and Incorrect Information

Hi Huw, There is another significant error to the statement you have provided the public on your 'Have Your Say' page, which is very significant, and very miss leading. • The Local Development Plan for Blaenau Gwent does not identify a significant number of new homes in the lower Ebbw Fach area, which means risk is unlikely to increase in the area over the immediate future. Quoted from:- http://www.southwalesfire.gov.uk/English/newsandevents/Documents/Fire%20Cover%20Review%20Proposals% 20Stage%202%20-%20final.pdf

Blaina is not part of the lower Ebbw Fach area, there for your information that you have used to collate this information is irrelevant.

FACT :- Blaina is part of the Upper Ebbw Fach area

Can you also address this issue along with the other issue of miss information immediately, as this also links with the issues I raised via email yesterday. SWFRS should be providing the public and compiling correct information, and as you can see, the information that you are stating is incorrect. . Please also include this as part of my objection to the closure.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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From: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Sent: 07 October 2013 10:47 To: '[email protected]' Subject: RE: Re Blaina Station

Hi Lisa, As requested please find attached the asbestos survey report that was conducted in 2009 Kind regards Huw

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5 In a message dated 08/10/2013 21:33:16 GMT Daylight Time, h-jakeway@southwalesfire.gov.uk writes:

Hi Lisa,

No problems with this request, we have also made a list of the queries that were raised at the Council meeting yesterday and I will endeavour to answer all of these ASAP

Kind regards Huw

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 09 October 2013 18:15 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re: Re Information Blaina Fire Station

Hi Huw,

Sorry if this sounds push as I do understand how busy you are, but I have been waiting for 12 days for my initial request for information. Could you possibly give me a timescale of when I will receive all of the requested information, as I have a deadline to follow with the consultation date.

Yours Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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From: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Sent: 11 October 2013 17:55 To: '[email protected]' Subject: RE: Re Information Blaina Fire Station

Hi Lisa, Please find attached answers to queries you have raised via e-mail and when we met at the Council offices last Monday. I trust this meets with your needs.

Kind regards Huw

Blaina Responses

1.‘’Blaina station is not part of Lower Ebbw Fach’’

Unfortunately this was a typographical error that manifested itself in the options for consideration. It was taken from an earlier paragraph in the main body of the review which clearly identifies Upper and Lower Ebbw Fach. We can only apologise for this error and

6 will ensure that the report has ‘’Upper and ‘’ added to ‘’Lower Ebbw Fach’’. Otherwise the data around this observation remains accurate.

2. BG LDP was formally adopted last week – have we taken this new version of the LDP into account?

The BG LDP used for the report was the Written Statement adopted in November 2012

This was the current LDP at the time of writing the report, and it remains the same report currently available on the BG planning website which was last modified on 30/11/2012.

Speaking to the planning department Cllr Winnet has asked for updated figures for commitments and allocations up until April this year but there have been no changes in the LDP since November 2012. I have asked for the same updated information and can compare the information that we have used

3. We say population of BG predicted to fall by 1.4% over next 10 years – disputed based on LG elector registers.

Throughout the Fire Cover Review the figures used for predicted population growths were sourced from the Welsh Government Stats Wales web site. In particular, the table used is the ‘Population estimates by local authority and year’ please see link below. https://statswales.wales.gov.uk/Catalogue/Population-and- Migration/Population/Projections/Local-Authority/2011-Based/PopulationProjections-by- LocalAuthority-Year

The calendar years used for the 10 year prediction are 2011 to 2021

4. A financial breakdown of the BG station.

Table 1 below identifies costs specific to Blaina for the last 3 financial years whilst Table 2 compares headline costs for all the Blaenau Gwent stations for the 2012/13 financial year. However, the figures do not include associated training costs, wear and tear and replacement of uniform, PPE and operational equipment costs. Nor do they include centralized costs.

Table 1

Table 2

5. What vehicles we have purchased / leased as referred to in our financial statement.

With regards to lease cars those personnel required to work in an agile way have access to the Services’s car lease scheme. We have 16 personnel on the car lease scheme which costs £33,840 pa. To ensure we provide emergency cover and safe systems of work for our operational crews we have 74 emergency vehicles that are leased at a cost of £171,705 pa.

Other vehicles that have been purchased this year are:

1 Mercedes Sprinter Van 4 Landrovers 2 water carriers/bowsers 1 Rescue boat

6. Asbestos report for Blaina station

The Asbestos report recommends that the service ‘’Regularly inspect all known identified and presumed ACM, update asbestos risk assessments and register by a competent person on a 6 -12 month basis’’.

The Service employs persons who are competent to assess whether ACM have been potentially released by damaged parts of the building. Where work/maintenance is carried out where ACM may have been released, it is conducted by competent persons and suitable air purity tests are undertaken after the work/maintenance has been completed.

Rather than wait for a fixed period to arise as previously recommended, the Service has a procedure where any property damage (ACM) is identified, reparations are made as soon as it is reported. The Service property maintenance engineers also inspect the site regularly, carry out an analytical risk assessment and make reparations as soon as damage is identified. This ensures that the personnel do not have to wait up to 12 months before a review is carried out as suggested by the external contractor in the previous report.

7. It was reported that the thermostat on the heating at Blaina station has been broken for a number of years causing a waste of money.

The thermostat that is defective only controls the mess room, not the heating to the whole station.

The thermostat has not been repaired due to it having a minimal effect on gas consumption. A station survey was undertaken in January 2011 and recommendations made to upgrade

8 the boiler plant and control systems. To date, the recommendations have not been implemented due to a low risk rating of failure to the plant when compared with plant installed at other stations and the complications of asbestos in the fabric of the building. Property Services address boiler plant replacement across our estate on a risk to failure basis.

8. What are the financial costs of closing the station and disposing of it.

During the re-build/refurbish estimates, the provisional costing used to demolish the site and remove the asbestos is planned around £100,000 out of a total cost of £1,315,000 for refurbishment and £1,445,000 for re-build.

The operational equipment and appliances on station could be re-distributed across the Service and alleviate on-costs for new replacement items

9. There was an incident in the last few weeks where 3 pumps were called and there were alleged errors in the Vision system.

The Service has a 5 minute response time for all its RDS stations which is the time from alerting to the time of booking mobile, this was agreed by both Service management and representative bodies.

Discussions between the Service and representative bodies have identified a number of issues which arise from this situation. While the use of average response times does in some circumstances allow for slightly more accurate utilisation of appliances, it also introduces a number of issues which have the potential to increase risk to firefighter safety and also risk to the public.

There is the possibility that in an effort to reduce turnout times, personnel may be encouraged to respond to the station with undue haste and in contravention to SOP 1.1 Emergency Response & Arrival at the Scene, putting both themselves and members of the public at risk.

The emphasis by some stations to reduce average attendance times may encourage the officer in charge of an appliance to book mobile before the appliance is in fact ready to respond.

There is clear evidence which indicates that the above situations have occurred. These issues will be addressed at a local level. Whilst we cannot in any way say that this was an issue in this instance at the moment we are carrying out internal investigations to establish the cause of the alleged errors in mobilizing the fire appliance to the incident at Roundhouse Close, Nantyglo on the 19August 2013.

It must be recognised that road conditions and traffic congestion are considered by responding crews.

10. Have we taken account of the planning permission that was passed last week to build a new race track in BG and the anticipated 250,000 tourists a year this would bring in

9 A venture such as this would be subject to principal Fire Safety legislation when in its planning and development stages applied by the Local Authority Building Control departments.

The site owners would also have to conduct a Risk Assessment in case of fire and liaise with SEWTRA and Gwent police to plan for the arrival of prospective large numbers of people on race days.

SWFRS have wide experience in dealing with major events in its area ranging from; _ International Rugby events – that attract up to 300,000 visitors to Cardiff on match day. _ The Ryder Cup – that attracted a large number of visitors to South East Wales over the week _ Premier League Football – Cardiff attracts 25,000 plus fans to the City stadium every two weeks, -Swansea attracts a similar number, many of whom travel through SWFRS area. _ National Eisteddfods – most recently in Llandow. _ Olympic football – Cardiff hosted a number of football events during the biggest sporting event in the world last year. _ FA Cup Finals _ Major live Concerts

The numbers of persons quoted as a potential issue for SWFRS over a year is little more than the numbers that Cardiff attracts on a Wales Rugby Match day.

Any B+Bs in the area are subject to Fire Safety legislation and regularly inspected to ensure that they are safe for any occupants at any time and SEWTRA and Gwent Police would be consulted for traffic management measures at any large events.

Our experience at current large events does not indicate that the risk in the area is significantly increased because of the control measures applied at the planning stages and Fire Safety Legislation.

However, as part of the technical response review there will be 16 additional posts placed in Ebbw Vale fire and rescue station to crew the Rescue Tender.

11. Can we utilise the Councils newsletter that goes out to every householder in BG to get views on the proposal

Unfortunately the alignment of publication does not assist with our consultation, however, we have given BGBC information to place on their public consultation web page which links to the Service’s ‘’Have your Say’’ web page.

12 What local knowledge did we use to assist in the report and proposals?

The FCR for Blaenau Gwent contains all the local data for the UA area and for each station required to make an informed decision. We have looked specifically at;

The population, current and future (2021 – LDP limits) The numbers of domestic properties The growth and changes indicated in the LDPs Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation MOSAIC target groups of vulnerable persons The incident rates for each station

10 The average attendance times The major sites of risk Numbers of incidents attended both inside and outside the UA area Postcode response time Fire Service Emergency Cover modelling for each station Professional judgment

The FCR is carried out by experienced and professional Operational officers with many years of service who have managed the stations in Blaenau Gwent and have worked in the area through their career. They have been supported by the Service’s Performance Management Team with accurate statistical data.

The current consultation period will capture the views of the local personnel and members of the public, which combined with the Review document, will be given to the FRA to allow them to make a final informed decision.

13. Daily figures for September 2013 of the availability of the stations in Blaenau Gwent, Blaenavon, Abercarn and Rhymney.

The daily availability figures for the stations identified above are shown below. Please note that the times reported are the times where an appliance has been unavailable for emergency calls due to staffing issues. As per normal procedures times are excluded from the figures when crew are on exercise/training, the appliance has a mechanical defect and when the crew are on community safety activities (e.g home fire safety visits).

The times reported below are the times where an appliance has been unavailable for emergency calls. Times are excluded from the figures below as per normal practice when the crew are on an exercise/training, the appliance has a mechanical defect and when the crew are on community safety activities (e.g home fire safety visits).

The 25th September includes the times where industrial action was taken by the Fire Brigades Union between 12pm and 4pm.

14. Provide a list of the Community Fire Safety (CFS) Statistics for each of the stations (All Blaenau Gwent, Blaenavon, Abercarn and Rhymney).

The figures shown below indicate the CFS statistics for the identified stations. Please note that the activity counts are taken from our local Performance Management System (OWL’e) and reflect the activity entered by the attending crews.

12 Home Fire Safety Checks Carried Out by Station Personnel

13 Key Stage 2 Visits Carried Out by Station Personnel

Arson Vulnerability Visits Carried Out by Station Personnel

14 Third Sector Home Fire Safety Check Activity 2012-13

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 14 October 2013 09:28 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Missing Information

Hi Huw,

Many thanks for the information you have supplied, but I am afraid to inform you, that some of the information that I have requested was not included in what you have sent to me, can you please address the following.

1. I asked for a detailed costing of the vehicles that the brigade purchased/leased for 2012-2013, and only an overview has been sent to me. 2. I asked to see the detailed quotation for the refurbishment of Blaina Station, all that was sent was the amount it would cost to refurbish. 3. I asked to receive the annual asbestos report since the initially report that was compiled, this was not sent. 4. I asked to receive a copy of the minutes taken at the meeting in the civic, this was not sent to me. 5. I asked yourself and Sally for the details of the information gathered to form the proposals, so this would enable me to have the relevant facts and figures that went into the proposals and for me to make an informed decision, this also was not sent to me. I will be writing to you shortly with a response to the information that you have already sent, but could you please address the above.

Yours Sincerely

Lisa Winnett

County Borough Councillor

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 16 October 2013 11:44 To: Cllr. Davies, D.T Subject: Re Blaina Fire Station

Cllr Tudor Davies, Many thanks for addressing members in the Chambers of BGCBC on the 7th October 2013, and I am witting to you as the Chairperson of SWFRS. During this meeting you asked to see the LDP figures of BGCBC and for them to be sent to yourself. I have attached two reports to this email which I have presented to the Chief Fire Officer Huw Jakeway, in these reports I have documented BGCBC's LDP figures, and I have also higlighted many flaws which I have found, these are significant items that I wish to draw to your attention.

In the 2nd report, the blue writing is the response's I have received from SWFRA, and my reply to their comments are in bold and underlined.

I look forward to your response in these matters which I have brought to your attention. Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

To Whom It May Concern, This report has been compiled by Cllr. Lisa Winnett.

During the meeting that was held in the Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council Chamber’s on the 7th October 2013 with the Chief Fire Officer Huw Jakeway, Deputy Chief Officer Sally Chapman, Chairman of the Fire Authority Tudor Davies, plus two other members of the Fire Service. The Chairman of the Fire Authority Tudor Davies, requested to see the housing figures from our LDP, and the up to date figures from our LDP if we wished them to be considered in their decision regarding the proposals to close Blaina Fire Station.

I have several concerns; surely the Chairman should have been aware that these figures had been used by the fire authority to form their proposals? As the Fire Authority states this on their website, also the Chairman was also answering member’s questions relating to the proposals, and he stated ‘if you want us to include your LDP then send it to us’.

As you will see from the information that I enclose below (Appendix 1) the statement shown on the Fire Services page (above) is inaccurate for two reasons.

Firstly Blaina is part of the Upper Ebbw Fach Valley and the report states that ‘The Local Development Plan for Blaenau Gwent does not identify a significant number of new homes in the lower Ebbw Fach area, which means risk is unlikely to increase in the area over the immediate future.

Secondly, regarding this statement you will see that the updated figures 2013 for the Upper Ebbw Fach area are 340 new homes expected, which projects a population increase of 714 residents (ratio 2.1 residents per house), as you will see this is a significant increase to the immediate area to Blaina Fire Station, and the information that you have produced is very misleading to the public, I have asked to see the figures you have obtained to form the proposals, as the evidence that you have published is incorrect.

Therefore you cannot proceed with this proposal as you have publically informed people that you have used inaccurate information to come to your recommendations, and it took weeks for the SWFRS to correct their mistakes on the website, even though I had informed them of the error, therefore this has misled many residents who have already filled in the application form.

Factual information and local knowledge should have been gained for this information, I asked the representatives in Chambers last Monday (08/10/2013) if

17 local knowledge had been used to form these proposals several times, and each time they failed to answer this question, I will show you why local knowledge should have been gained, as from the lack of an answer to my questions several times, it can be assumed that no local knowledge was used, but yet they have since stated that they have, from the information that I provide below I will let you decide if they have or not:-

Information from BGCBC's Electoral Division which is Factual information, not assumption.

2001 Blaina Number of people on the electoral register 3598. 2013 Blaina Number of people on the electoral register 3608 2001 Nantyglo Number of people on the electoral register 3217 2013 Nantyglo Number of people on the electoral register 3489

As you will see from these figures there is an increase in numbers, therefore if local knowledge was used there would show an increase predicted in population to our local area of Blaina Fire Station, and it would not be assuming that there would be a decrease. Therefore I cannot personal see how factual local knowledge was gained to form these proposals.

Response to the information that I have been supplied by the Chief Fire Officer Huw Jakeway (currently, not all the information that I have asked for has been sent to me) and my responses are bold and underlined. Can you please advise me on what SWFRA definition of the phrase ‘Not A Significant Increase’ is? As you will see in the attached appendix 1 a copy of the figures from BGCBC LDP showing 550 new homes due to be built which equals an expected 1155 residents in the Upper and Lower Ebbw Fach, and I regard these figures as a significant increase.

Can you please advise me on what SWFRA definition of the phrase ‘Not A Significant Increase’ is? As you will see in the attached appendix 1 a copy of the figures from BGCBC LDP showing 550 new homes due to be built which equals an expected 1155 residents in the Upper and Lower Ebbw Fach, and I regard these figures as a significant increase.

It was never stated that the LDP was adopted last week, it was stated that it was updated last week, and as above a copy of the LDP that was endorsed by full council in November 2012 and the updated figures from our LDP officer are enclosed in appendix 1.

As I have stated previously. This is quite a controversial statement, as the omponent of statistics is just assumption, and it is very hard to assume what is going to happen in 10 years’ time.

This shows one way to save money, and I will give you an example how you can saved. Social Workers in BGCBC have to travel the borough and also out of the borough to deal with many cases, be it neglect of a child, to assessments of the elderly, but they use their own PERSONAL car for these duties, and they received a mileage allowance of 45p per mile.

SWFRS spends money leasing vehicles for personnel at a cost of £33,840 pa, plus due to the lack of information that you supplied which incidentally I asked for a detailed breakdown, I have since been informed that SWFRA also supply the fuel for these cars.

19 These cars are not sign written telling people that they are Fire Authority cars, so why does the Brigade feel the need to waste money on leasing cars when a personal allowance could be given for personnel to use their own vehicles?

As the Pump are Plant Machinery, why aren’t they run on Red diesel, which would also save monies?

I have asked to see the detailed quotation to substantiate the refurbishment figures, as I have excellent construction knowledge, and I cannot justifiably see why it is so high, even with the asbestos removal which incidentally is approximately £200 per tonne for disposal, plus after reading the asbestos report on the station the majority of the asbestos is in the light weight tiles, also the asbestos in the building is low- very low risk.

I have contacted Huw Jakeway to see the detailed quotation as previously requested. Also in today’s Argus newspaper (14/10/2013) Huw Jakeway states that repairs are needed on Brynmawr’s Fire Station and the cost is between £80,000 and £160,000, how can this possibly be valid as I would think it is either one or the other, as there is a huge gap between the two figures, how is this?

As if you were going to build a new home, and you contacted a builder and they gave you a quotation saying it would cost between £80,000 and £160,000 to build, would you accept his quote? I certainly wouldn’t. This statement made by the Chief gives me even more concern regarding the figures given to me for a refurbish of Blaina’s Station.

Sunday 13/10/2013 a 999 call was made of persons trapped in a house on fire, Blaina attended, they aided the rescue of the residents, they performed 1st aid, the residents were then addressed by ambulance crew on an ambulance (14/10/2013 1 resident still in hospital, and 1 residents released from hospital today 14/10/2013) and brought the fire under control all of this happened before the 2nd appliance was in attendance.

The homeowners kitchen is gutted, but the delay if Blaina Fire Station was N/A or had been closed down could have been catastrophic. 8/10/2013 a car leaves the A467 in Blaina , launches into the air, and lands in a street approx 20ft below the A467, it crash’s into several cars, and lands just feet from the window of the homes on this street, debris has smashed through the roof of one home close to the crest of the roof, petrol can from the car left the car, this car could have exploded, but thanks to the quick attendance of Blaina Fire Station, the area was made safe.

Please see the photo below :-

Also I enclose what I feel is a another significant Flaw with the Vision System that I have found

The Postcode above is for Windsor Road, Brynmawr, as you can see below, Brynmawr Fire Station is the Yellow pin point, & the red marker is Windsor Road, only ½ mile from Brynmawr Station, but yet the Vision system send’s the Ebbw Vale Pump First to Brynmawr which is over 3 miles away, this highlights the significant flaws in the Vision system and demonstrates inaccuracy’s to the information gained to form these proposals

So how can you guarantee that the information you are using to form the proposals Is Correct?

It is 750,000 anticipated visitors not 250,000 as you will see in my previous report! This significantly raises the risk of RTC’s, it was stated to members of BGCBC in Chambers that RTC’s are on the decrease, please, have a look at the Fire Services graph below.

This states the opposite to what the Fire Officer informed us members, and this will place an extra strain on Fire Stations. Also the duelling of the Heads Of The Valley will also create an extra strain of RTC’s.

So how could you tell us that RTC’s were on a decrease?

Have the Fire Authority Researched the impact of extra Factory’s & Homes after the racetrack is built? as Silverstone had a huge impact on it’s area once it was built, and the racetrack in Ebbw Vale is going to be a World Class Track, so we can expect more homes being built and more business’s coming to the area following the completion of the racetrack, obviously this will not have formed part of our LDP, as this has only recently been placed before our planning committee, so this wouldn’t have been able to be written into the LDP.

Yes the racetrack will have its own personal fire crew based at the racetrack, but as I have already stated, this will have an impact on RTC’s, more homes being built and new business’s coming to Blaenau Gwent.

SWFRA are assuming what is going to happen in 10 years to our population, but this is a new factor which needs to be fully explored by SWFRS, as this will have a significant impact on our Borough.

Please see appendix 1 regarding the LDP figures.

I have previously stated regarding some of the sources you have used to gather information, that the component of statistics is just assumption, and it is very hard to assume what is going to happen in 10 years’ time, and most statistics will not predict over 5 years due to how unstable the information is. I have also previously highlighted several flaws in attendance times since the change of the vision system on the 01/01/2013 and I have also stated to the Chief and Sally how this does not give a true picture, you can also see this from what I have already raised above regarding Windsor Road/Brynmawr Fire Station there are serious problems with the system.

I was quite shocked to find out that the proposals have not taken into account the N/A -‘Off The Run’ of Fire Stations when forming the proposals which is a significant factor, this yet again shows that factual information has not been used to form these proposals, and you will see what HIGH risk’s this applies to the proposals you have brought forward.

Below are September’s 2013 figures of stations availability, and I would advise you to see the last 2 years figures for availability of Blaenau Gwent’s and surrounding Stations figures.

2008 census predicted an increase in population to Blaenau Gwent, 2012 it predicts a decrease, this just shows how unstable census predictions are, so it is always better to gain factual information rather than gaining assumptions when you are making life changing proposal that could cause loss of life to people.

The times reported below are the times when an appliance has been unavailable for emergency calls. Times are excluded from the figures below as per normal practice when the crew are on an exercise/training, the appliance has a mechanical defect and when the crew are on community safety activities (e.g. home fire safety visits).

The 25th September includes the times where industrial action was taken by the Fire Brigades Union between 12pm and 4pm.

Also as stated in today’s Argus newspaper (14/10/2013) by Huw Jakeway, Blaina’s Station has ‘Phenomenal Availabilty of 100%’, so how can you logically take the best performing station from an area, when the other stations have long term availability problems, due to training, sickness and a lack of retained fire fighters?

Also another little fact, there is a list of people waiting to join the crew of Blaina to become a firefighter, but I have been told this is not the case for any other retained station in Blaenau Gwent.

So why close the best performing station? As surely this is going to place an even bigger strain on the remaining 4 stations which are already under considerable strain of N/A, plus Blaina’s crew won’t be able to be located to these stations, as they live too far from them.

14. Provide a list of the Community Fire Safety (CFS) Statistics for each of the stations (All Blaenau Gwent, Blaenavon, Abercarn and Rhymney).

Home Fire Safety Checks Carried Out by Station Personnel

Key Stage 1 Visits Carried Out by Station Personnel

Key Stage 2 Visits Carried Out by Station Personnel

Arson Vulnerability Visits Carried Out by Station Personnel

In addition to the HFSC’s carried out by Station Personnel out partners in the Third Sector conduct HFSC’s on our behalf. Their processes and attendances are more difficult to apportion directly to station admin areas but the map below shows the spread of Third Sector visits in the Blaenau Gwent Unitary Authority for the period 2012-13.

Third Sector Home Fire Safety Check Activity 2012-13

How can you say from these figures above that by closing Blaina station possesses 0% risk to the community? As this proves that 44 people have been rescued by Blaina Fire Crew, 2 were rescued by another station, but Blaina might have been assisting another station on a call at the time.

This factually proves that there will be a risk to the people of Blaina if Blaina Stations closes, as I have highlighted in my 1st report the 3 min difference it can make while waiting for the 2nd appliance, also please think of the incident that I have written about above that happened last night 13/10/2013!

29 I have emailed the Chief Fire Officer today 14/10/2013 as much of the information that I have requested has not been forwarded to me, and I am awaiting this significant information before I will write part 3 of my report. I ask that all this information contained in this report be taken as part 2 of my representation for my ward of Blaina, and I ask that this and my previous report is given IN FULL to all the committee members of SWFRS board.

This information that I have provided is all factual and it has totally discredited the information that has been released into how SWFRS have formed this proposal, this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and this information must be presented to the committee members.

There appears to be many factual inaccuracies which go to the heart of the consultation proposals therefore further scrutiny of the factual data should be carried out before the consultation procedure progresses any further and mistakes are made by SWFRS which causes innocent people’s lives.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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Appendix 1 BGCBC’s LDP’s Housing Figures & Updated 2013 Figures

This has been taken from:- http://www.blaenaugwent.gov.uk/documents/Documents_Environment/LDP_ Written_Statement.pdf

P82 MU1 Ebbw Vale Northern Corridor. In accordance with Policy SP1 land is allocated north of Ebbw Vale Town. Centre for the construction of approximately 805 homes, a commercial leisure hub, road side services, employment, a strategic mixed-use employment site and a network of green links.

P84. MU2 ‘The Works’ In accordance with Policy SP1 land is allocated at the former steelworks site for mixed use including; the construction of a new hospital, learning zone, leisure centre, playing pitches, arts centre, approximately 520 homes, business hub, family history & genealogy visitor centre, environmental resource centre and wetland park.

P86. MU3 NMC Factory and Bus Depot. In accordance with Policy SP1 land is allocated at the NMC Factory site and Bus Depot for mixed use including; 60 homes and commercial/leisure/ community facility opportunity to act as an active link between the Town Centre and Lakeside Retail Park.

H1 Housing Allocations and HC1 Housing Commitments In accordance with

30 Policy SP5 land is identified for residential development in the following locations P89-91:-

H1 Housing Allocations and HC1 Housing Commitments In accordance with Policy SP5 land is identified for residential development in the following locations P89-91:-

Policy Number Site Name Area (Ha) Units Ebbw Vale H1.1 Willowtown 0.63 22 MU1 Ebbw Vale Northern Corridor 23 805 HC1.1 North of Cwmyrdderch Court Flats, Cwm 1.18 16 HC1.2 Road Letchworth 0.93 16 HC1.3 Old 45 Yard, Steelworks Road 3.49 82 HC1.4 Adjacent Pant-y- Fforest 1.63 21 HC1.5 Heol Elan 1.2 43 HC1.6 Land at College Road 1.04 41 HC1.7 Adj Sports Ground, Gwaun Helyg 2.92 69 HC1.8 Higgs Yard 0.99 29 HC1.9 Mountain Road 0.47 22 HC1.10 Briery Hill 0.94 33 MU2 ‘ The Works’ 520 Total 1719

Policy Number Site Name Area (Ha) Units Tredegar H1.2 Cartref Aneurin Bevan 0.38 13 H1.3 Greenacres 0.50 18 Land adjacent to Chartist Way 2.89 101 HC1.11 Derelict Bus Garage, Woodfield Road 0.36 11 HC1.12 Former LCR Factory, Charles Street 0.25 14 HC1.13 Former Factory Site, Pochin 0.65 28 HC1.14 Land at Poultry Farm, Queen Victoria Street 0.84 3 HC1.15 Upper Ty Gwyn Farm, Nantybwch 1.44 38 HC1.16 r LCR Factory, opposite Tredegar former Comprehensive 0.62 47 HC1.17 Peacehaven 4.81 147 HC1.18 The Goldmine, Sirhowy 0.17 16 HC1.19 BKF Plastics, Ashvale 1.83 54 HC1.20 Sirhowy Infants School Site 0.84 23 HC1.21 Corporation Yard 0.75 23 HC1.22 Park Hill 13.09 160 Total 696 Upper Ebbw Fach H1.5 Garnfach School, Nantyglo 0.81 28 H1.6 Crawshay House, Brynmawr 0.71 25 H1.7 Infants School and Old Griffin Yard, Brynmawr 1.04 36 H1.8 Hafod Dawel Site, Nantyglo 0.74 44 H1.9 West of the Recreation Ground, Nantyglo .42 15 H1.10 Land to the East of Blaina Road, Brynmawr .72 25 H1.11 Land to the North of Winchestown, Nantyglo .43 15

31 MU3 NMC Factory and Bus Depot 60 HC1.23 Recticel and Gwalia Former Factory Site, Brynmawr 0.96 45 HC1.24 Land at Clydach Street, Brynmawr 0.64 12 HC1.25 Noble Square Industrial TSA Woodcraft Estate, Brynmawr 0.71 25

Policy Number Site Name Area (Ha) Units HC1.26 Roberto Neckwear, Limestone Road, Nantyglo 0.74 19 HC1.27 Cwm Farm, Blaina 9.01 78 HC1.28 Salem Chapel, Waun Ebbw Rd & Pond Rd Junction 0.26 11 Total 438

Lower Ebbw Fach H1.12 Six Bells Colliery Site, Six Bells 1.47 40 H1.13 Warm Turn, Six Bells 0.93 32 H1.14 Roseheyworth Comprehensive, Abertillery 0.95 33 H1.15 Former Mount Pleasant Court, Brynithel 0.52 18 H1.16 Hillcrest View, Cwmtillery 0.83 22 H1.17 Quarry Adjacent to Cwm Farm Road, Six Bells 0.64 22 HC1.29 At Cwm Farm Road 0.68 20 HC1.30 Former Swffryd Junior School 0.41 18 HC1.31 Land at Penrhiw Estate, Brynithel 1.02 23 Total 358

Total New Sites (H) 1,374 Total Housing Commitments (HC) 1707

TOTAL ALLOCATIONS 3,081 (H) New sites that have been identified as suitable for residential development or for a mix of uses including housing as a result of a robust candidate site assessment process; and (HC) Sites with planning consent for housing or for a mix of use incorporating housing as of 1st April 2009 (in some cases subject to the signing of a section 106 Agreement).

HOUSING SITES INCLUDED IN THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (UPTO 2021) (UPDATED TO REFLECT APRIL 2013 POSITION)

Policy Number Site Name Area Units (Ha) Remaining Ebbw Vale H1.1 Willowtown 0.63 22 MU1 Ebbw Vale Northern Corridor 23 805 HC1.1 North of Cwmyrdderch Court Flats,Cwm 1.18 15 HC1.2 Letchworth Road 0.93 17 HC1.3 Old 45 Yard, Steelworks Road 3.49 0 HC1.4 Adjacent Pant-y-Fforest 1.63 21 HC1.5 Heol Elan 1.2 0 HC1.6 Land at College Road 1.04 0 HC1.7 Adj Sports Ground, Gwaun Helyg 2.92 69 HC1.8 Higgs Yard 0.99 29 HC1.9 Mountain Road 0.47 0 HC1.10 Briery Hill 0.94 33 MU2 ‘The Works’ 516 Total 1527 Tredegar H1.2 Cartref Aneurin Bevan 0.38 13 H1.3 Greenacres 0.50 18 H1.4 Land adjacent to Chartist Way 2.89 101 HC1.11 Derelict Bus Garage, Woodfield Road 0.36 0 HC1.12 Former LCR Factory, Charles Street 0.25 12 HC1.13 Former Factory Site, Pochin 0.65 28 HC1.14 Land at Poultry Farm, Queen Victoria 0.84 3 Street HC1.15 Upper Ty Gwyn Farm, Nantybwch 1.44 38 HC1.16 Former LCR Factory, opposite Tredegar 0.62 0 Comprehensive School HC1.17 Peacehaven 4.81 162 HC1.18 The Goldmine, Sirhowy 0.17 16 HC1.19 BKF Plastics, Ashvale 1.83 54 HC1.20 Sirhowy Infants School Site 0.84 23 HC1.21 Corporation Yard 0.75 23 HC1.22 Park Hill 13.09 160 Total 651 Upper Ebbw Fach H1.5 Garnfach School, Nantyglo 0.81 28 H1.6 Crawshay House, Brynmawr 0.71 25 H1.7 Infants School and Old Griffin Yard, 1.04 36 Brynmawr H1.8 Hafod Dawel Site, Nantyglo 0.74 0 H1.9 West of the Recreation Ground, 0.42 15 Nantyglo

33 Policy Number Site Name Area Units (Ha) Remaining H1.10 Land to the East of Blaina Road, 0.72 25 Brynmawr H1.11 Land to the North of Winchestown, 0.43 15 Nantyglo MU3 NMC Factory and Bus Depot 60 HC1.23 Recticel and Gwalia Former Factory 0.96 45 Site, Brynmawr HC1.24 Land at Clydach Street, Brynmawr 0.64 8 HC1.25 TSA Woodcraft, Noble Square Industrial 0.71 25 Estate, Brynmawr HC1.26 Roberto Neckwear, Limestone Road, 0.74 19 Nantyglo HC1.27 Cwm Farm, Blaina 9.01 28 HC1.28 Salem Chapel, Waun Ebbw Road and 0.26 11 Pond Road Junction, Nantyglo Total 340 Lower Ebbw Fach H1.12 Six Bells Colliery Site, Six Bells 1.47 40 H1.13 Warm Turn, Six Bells 0.93 32 H1.14 Roseheyworth Comprehensive, 0.95 33 Abertillery H1.15 Former Mount Pleasant Court, Brynithel 0.52 18 H1.16 Hillcrest View, Cwmtillery 0.83 22 H1.17 Quarry Adjacent to Cwm FarmRoad, Six 0.64 22 Bells HC1.29 At Cwm Farm Road 0.68 20 HC1.30 Former Swffryd Junior School 0.41 0 HC1.31 Land at Penrhiw Estate, Brynithel 1.02 23 Total 210 New Sites (H) Total Sites with Planning Permission (HC) TOTAL ALLOCATIONS 2278

The LDP was adopted by the Council in November 2012. In accordance with the WG Housing Projections of 2008 the Plan made provision for 3,500 dwellings between 2006 and 2021.

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From: Cllr. Davies, D.T [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 16 October 2013 16:09 To: [email protected] Cc: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer); Chapman, Sally (Deputy Chief Officer) Subject: RE: Re Blaina Fire Station

Cllr Winnett,

I wish to confirm my receipt of your correspondance. Huw Jackeway C.F.O. will be formerly responding to your comments.

Thank You,

Best Regards, Cllr Tudor Davies, Chairman,S.W.F.R.S.

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Hi All, This is Report Part 3 into the consultation of Blaina's Fire Station.

This report is not going to made public on the Internet, but it will be made available for residents to read, and sent to certain people, you will understand why I have chosen not to release this on the internet when you have read the report, but I ask that this report is also presented along with Part 1 & Part 2 of the reports that I have previously submitted, along with further reports that I will be submitting to SWFRS and also releasing publicly.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

35 THE BLAINA INCIDENT AS A CASE STUDY

The following is taken from :- http://www.firetactics.com/IFE98.htm

Whilst the Health & Safety Executive recognised certain deficiencies as being major contributing factors to the tragic outcome of this incident, their inclusion in the issue of improvement notices were isolated, as there were in fact several tactical considerations that needed redressing if real lessons were to be drawn from the experience.

Similarly, the 1997 update of the manual of firemanship (compartment fires) failed to take such an opportunity and in reality, the circumstances that prevailed at Blaina are still likely to occur over and again, perhaps in your very own community in the not too distant future! The point is, I am far from convinced that our firefighters are fully prepared for another 'Blaina'. I certainly don't believe that our fireground philosophy is effectively advanced or proactive enough and I feel that our tactical approach is strongly susceptive to traditionalist influence - we are still' 'reactive' in our approach.

The objective of any firefighting operation is surely 'containment'. The restriction of fire spread and the protection of exposures are major factors in terms of fire control and a fire will only remain compartmental until a natural opening is available in the boundary or an element of structure is breached by the flames. In terms of property conservation the ideal of containment is obvious.

However, its relevance in the context of firefighter 'awareness'' is that once a fire progresses beyond the compartment of origin, to become 'structural' (as was the case in Blaina), the potential for backdraught increases greatly. So, if our overall objective is 'containment' exactly what factors, applications and options should we be looking at, as on-scene firefighters, that might influence our strategic approach? I would list them as follows –

1. Capability (manpower, equipment, water supply). 2. Awareness. 3. Reaction Time. 4. Search & Rescue Time. 5. Tactical Ventilation & Air Control. 6. Water Applications. 7. Training.

Take time to review the seven factors above and evaluate your own brigade's approach under similar circumstances. To do this requires a complete philosophical analysis of your fireground strategy - is it structured and planned?

If you were the OIC at such an incident what would be your primary objectives? - Rescue? Ventilation? Firefighting?; and, would such a decision be based on personal opinion or is your brigade's approach effectively proactive in having incorporated such ethical decision making into a carefully structured programme of fireground strategy.

If left to formulate their own decisions on such matters fireground officers will inevitably provide variable outcomes - some of these may prove controversial whilst others may not be effectively risk analysed.

36 3. Reaction Time. The time that elapses from the moment an initial response of firefighters leaves the station to the instance extinguishing media is applied to the fire is termed the reaction time.

Its relevance is a key factor in high-rise firefighting operations and Fog Attack lists case- histories demonstrating reaction times ranging from nine to forty minutes in several tall buildings! At Blaina the reaction time was ten minutes. With less than half a mile to reach the incident this is an unacceptable time.

4. Search & Rescue Time. Deborah Wallace detailed a number of case studies in her book and developed the notion that modern plastics play a far bigger part in causing fire fatalities than is currently realised. A close study of fires in New York, Dallas and Las Vegas (she referred to several others) suggested that short term exposures to 'modern' fire gases resulted in long term effects for survivors. The toxicity of such gases, coupled with the presence of corrosive irritants, asphyxiants, and organic chemicals are most likely to increase the fatality rate from fires and damage the heart, brain, kidney, liver, and respiratory tissue of survivors. These gases have an immediate effect on the survivability rate of trapped occupants and Fog Attack demonstrates the direct correlation between survival rate and performance time - ie; 'time to rescue'. Tests on rats had shown a 46.6% survival rate if rescue was effected within a 12 to 15.5 minute time scale, but the survival rate dropped to 5.5% when rescue occurred between 15 and 17.5 minutes. I suggested that a realistic estimate for achieving 'rescue to the exterior' at structure fires should be within 10 minutes of arrival and whilst the success achieved in any rescue situation is likely to be in direct proportion to the risk as run by the rescuers, this proposal is again subjected to risk analysis on scene prior to actioning. In Blaina, it wasn't that the firefighters took this 'rescue' option as the priority over 'fire attack' - but simply that they may have achieved both in unison with effective assignments.

Reaction times will be delayed by the closure of Blaina’s Station & the availability of neighbouring fire stations will cause un effective assignments due to the delay in attendance, and as you see in this report, the delay in reaction time had catastrophic effects, and by closing Blaina’s Station, you will be delaying a pump attending a fire and thus delaying the reaction time and thus risking lives. What if the nearest station is not available? I have previously highlighted the problems that we have in Blaenau Gwent & Surrounding areas with the lack of availability of our stations; this raises the risks even higher again

Here are the 01/04/2013 – 01/10/2013 Not Available figures (Excluding E/Vale) & Including 4hrs Strike Action For All Stations

Blaina – 4hrs Not Available Brynmawr- 284hrs Not Available Tredegar-503hrs Not Available Abertillery-8hrs Not Available Abercarn-312hrs Not Available Blaenavon-389hrs Not Available

37 AND THIS INFORMATION HAS NOT BEEN USED TO FORM THE PROPOSALS

The Following is taken from :- http://paulthorn.co.uk/healthandsafety/RPE/TB%201- 97.pdf

This document was updated in 1998 & 2001, but I am sure if it has been updated since, either way this is relevant information to the decision making regarding the proposed closure.

38 In item 4 it states about the urgent nature of some situations may require decisions about fire-fighters deployment and tactics to be made immediately. Fire-fighter’s work to Standard Operating Procedures for safety reasons, it takes a certain number of fire-fighter’s to complete a task safely. If there are not enough fire-fighters for the fire, they have to wait for their back up or break the standards and risk their lives to save others. How far away will their back-up be coming from when they have closed the only station in BGCBC and surrounding area’s that is 100% operational? And the Chief’s words, Blaina is a phenomenal station!

Attendance Times Are Very Important

In a fire or emergency, it is seconds that count. Having an appliance with a full crew and equipment arriving early can be the difference between life and death. In the early stages, a fire doubles in size every minute. Delays in attendance cause greater risks of Flash Over and Backdraft.

Having enough firefighters there to deal with the incident in the early stages can change the outcome considerably, and the delays that will be caused by the closure are considerable. Serious availability problems of surrounding stations have not been factored into the proposals

You cannot seriously tell us that closing fire stations won’t put people’s lives at risk, as I have reported numerous facts in my previous reports that WOULD cause this risk.

I will give you an example that I gave two Fire Officer’s during the consultation in Blaina Library. The incident that I refer to below was an actual fire that took place, and the details included are factual except I will use the scenario of what could have happened if Blaina Station was closed by SWFRS.

A fire that took place on the 13/10/2013 in Alexandra St Blaina, a passer-by went into the property to help the residents, she managed to aid the lady down the 1st two steps of her home, but due to the lady’s disability’s she was unable to assist her further, so the rescuer stayed on the 2nd step below the exterior door with the elderly lady. The Fire was contained in the kitchen and this door was shut. The front door was open 3ft. Due to the delay in a pump attending as Blaina station was closed, the firemen from a neighbouring station arrived and there was a delay in attendance times as they can’t get to the property as quickly as Blaina could have (over 3 minutes delay).

The firefighters go to help the rescuer & the lady due to here not being able to move any further from the house, and the firefighter, rescuer and residents start to exit, but due to the delay, a backdraft or flash over occurred, and innocent lives were lost.

You may think this sounds farfetched, but it is not, as the fire was contained in the kitchen, the front door wide open (3ft), the time delay in the response time as Blaina had been shut

39 down was 3 minutes longer, Flash over or Backdraft could happen. The fire officers agreed with me this could happen, so why take this risk by closing the station.

Yes, the Fire Service in the UK learnt lessons from the death of two of Blaina’s firemen and moved forward (so did the French Fire Service move forward from what occurred in BLAINA) with their safety procedures, but by closing Blaina’s station, the Fire Service will be moving backwards and risking the public and the firefighters lives.

Blaina is a valley, and the mountains that surround our village has seen many a landslide in its time, with rows of houses wiped out, & houses knocked down because of the threat of landslide over the years. Millions of pounds (approx. £50 million on just the one side of the mountain) have been spent trying to stabilise our mountains, and the last landslide was approximately 10 years ago on the West Side Mountain above Glan Ebbw, Blaina after these monies were spent. In the picture below, which is the lower end of Blaina you will see an area marked in red and several scars in this area, these are very recent fissures that have been filled in by the coal authority, and the remaining fissures are fenced off, and they carry out monthly inspections to check the integrity of the fencing surrounding them. At the moment the long term monitoring has shown no significant movement, but with climate change and excess rain this could alter quickly.

40 The next two photos are the mountain side opposite the one above (these are the mountains either side of Blaina), and you will see two separate and very significant landslides that have taken place, the last significant landslide being around the late 70’s which caused homes to be evacuated and demolished, and you will see from these photos the close proximity they are too homes. Abertillery Road/Bournville, Blaina, Slip :-

What information has been gathered regarding the instability of the mountains surrounding Blaina? Has this risk factor been taken into account in forming your proposals? This is a very unusual risk factor to our and this must be taken into account, and this will always be a risk to the community of Blaina.

Part 3 :-This information must be presented to the committee members of SWFRS and included in the consultation process.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

41 ************************************************************************

Hi All, Can this please be added to my Report Part 3 that was submitted on the 19/10/2013.

I have spoken regarding the risk of landslide to our area in my report. Today 22/10/2013 a landslide has occurred on the mountain side near Blaina. In my report you will see the Google Map picture with the red ring around the mountain top, the landslide happened on this mountain but approx 2 miles North of the location indicated on the map, luckily there was no homes located near the landslide, but this also proves what fear we are constantly under from landslide on our local mountains.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 23 October 2013 22:01 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re Quotation for Blaina's rebuild Hi Huw, I have just been scrutinising the quotation that you sent me, and I have many concerns with this document. 1. Is it an actual quote for Blaina's Station, or is it just figures pulled from elsewhere (previous quotes for other work on other builds)? 2. I have never seen a detailed quotation that doesn't have details, and what is contained in this report doesn't add up. For example they give a total price for two items:- Space Heating & Air Conditioning, Electrical Installations, but yet this also figure also covers the cost of the other items listed from 5A-5N. How can this be possible? as I never knew that Sanitary Appliances fell into the same category as Electrical Installations and Heating & Air Conditioning! as I am very used to construction quotations, as my husband has his own building firm, and I have been very involved with my Uncle's business as well, as he used to be a Managing Director of a large Civil Engineering Firm, which built many industrial buildings and estates in South Wales.

There are many anomalies in this report you have sent me, too many to list here, and I have just highlighted one to you. These figures that you have sent me seem very unrealistic, and incorrect especially regarding the refurbish, can you please clarify this for me, as these also do not seem to be for Blaina's Station. Please Can You Clarify If This Is A Factual Quotation Written Specifically For Blaina's Re-Build/Refurbish?

I Await Your Response.

Lisa Winnett

CountyBoroughCouncillor *************************************************************************

75 Hi Lisa,

These are only indicative costs for Blaina based on professional experience of recently completing fire and rescue refurbishments and new builds. As you know from your local authority council role we are bound by public sector procurement and tendering legislation.

Kind regards

Huw

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 22 October 2013 11:23 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re 6th Decembers Meeting

Hi Huw, Is the meeting regarding the proposals to Close Blaina's station open to the public? for people to oversee the meeting in a public gallery?

Best Wishes Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

************************************************************************ Hi Lisa,

The meeting of the Fire and Rescue Authority is actually on the 16th December at 10:30. The paper considering the Fire Cover Review phase 2 proposals will be presented at an open meeting, however, there will be other agenda items where the press and public are excluded. The room of the meeting has limited capacity for the public and on-site parking is limited, so if you could give an indication of numbers it would be gratefully appreciated.

Cheers Huw

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 24 October 2013 13:24 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re: Re 6th Decembers Meeting

Hi Huw, Many thanks for your email, can we please provisionally book 15 seats please (and I haven't asked Paul Morris). Many Thanks Lisa Winnett

76 ************************************************************************

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 25 October 2013 13:50 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re: Re 6th Decembers Meeting

Hi Huw, Paul Morris is the person who wears the cowboy hat and has been very vocal to you, both at the station and the civic, and he is also the author of the blog that the fire service is monitoring. I have been asked for a copy of the list which shows what crew members and time distance they are from the nearest fire station who would be able to transfer to other stations, as I would like to see if this would cause an increase in attendance times if they were moved to the next nearest station to their homes.

Thanks Lisa Winnett

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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 29 October 2013 12:18 To: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Subject: Re: Re 6th Decembers Meeting

Hi Huw,

I can understand your reluctance to send this, so can you please send the information directly to the Crew of Blaina, as it is them who is requesting this information, and there should be no issue with the information if it is sent directly to them.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

************************************************************************ In a message dated 29/10/2013 12:05:13 GMT Standard Time, h- jakeway@southwalesfire.gov.uk writes:

Hi Lisa,

With regards to your query and information you have requested this includes the personal details of our crew members. This information is held by SWFRS for employment and operational purposes only, and disclosure for any other purpose could represent a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. I am therefore unable to provide this to you. I hope you understand

Kind regards Huw

From: Jakeway, Huw (Chief Fire Officer) Sent: 31 October 2013 07:41 To: '[email protected]' Subject: RE: Re 6th Decembers Meeting

Hi Lisa,

The station maintain records for all crew members and if they want specific information in addition to that not held on station they can request it through the normal channels that they have used to date. I must stress that we have not and will not review who could or who can be transferred to another station, this work would be premature given a decision has not been made on the proposal to close Blaina fire and rescue station. However, following my station visit last week the crew know who could make turn in times to other stations as I was asked not substantively fill vacancies at Brynmawr until we know the outcome of this proposal, and I can confirm this has been actioned.

Kind regards

Huw

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Hi Huw,

Can this attachment please be taken as part of the consultation regarding Blaina's Fire Station and also given to all members of the committee, can you also please forward it to Claire Piper.

Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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79 In objection to the proposal to close Blaina Fire Station

Cefn Fforest’s Fire Station is due to be relocated to Britania. This has implications on Blaina’s neighbouring station Abertillery (Blaina is North of Abertillery)

Abertillery’s call out area is has been widened in a southerly direction (As stated to me by SWFRS), and it now includes Crumlin, Swffryd, & Croespenmaen, which will result in more call outs for Abertillery in a southerly direction away from Blaina.

Therefore if Blaina closes, our area will be at a significant greater risk, as Abertillery will be covering a larger area south of Blaina, coupled with the significant N/A of Brynmawr’s Fire Station it will cause delays in response times to the Upper & Lower Ebbw Fach area, a whole valley without fast support! Yes this may happen now if there is an incident, but currently this is only occasionally, but there will be a greater risk of this happening if Blaina closes due to it being the only station available 100% of the time.

When the proposals were formed, did it take into account the wider southerly area that Abertillery are now covering? This is a MAJOR change in procedure and WILL have catastrophic consequences if this has been omitted from the proposals. This shows how it will significantly alter response times, and it gives credibility to residents’ fears regarding delayed response times that would be caused by the closure of Blaina’s Fire Station.

The proposals didn’t take into account the N/A of stations (as highlighted in previous reports)

There has been a very significant change in the availability of Brynmawr’s Station this year, plus if you add the level of cover Brynmawr’s Station provides Abergavenny’s Fire Station, for example:- If Abergavenny’s Stations Pump is called out to an incident, Brynmawr’s Pump attends Abergavenny’s station (CFO confirmed this to me) too man this station while they attend an incident; this is a very important issue which should have been used to form the proposals, which means that they are not immediately available to the area (Brynmawr) that they are based at!

Did you know using the Critical Attendance Standard methodology, the maximum LAG for Standard Operating Procedure purposes is: - arrival of first fire appliance to arrival of second fire appliance 3 minutes, arrival of second fire appliance to arrival of third fire appliance 2 minutes. How will this be possible if Blaina closes, due to the unavailability of neighbouring stations?

(Informationgainedfrom:- http://www.fbu.me.uk/workplace/irmp/irmpdoc/irmp_section_4.pdf )

Did you know that there are 15 schools in the Ebbw Fach Valley? Which have a total capacity to educate 5,659 children and 3 schools in the immediate location to Blaina’s Station which have the capacity to educate 1,020 children?

What would happen if there was an incident at one of these?

The factual evidence that I have supplied to you in my 3 previous reports, PROVES that there would be a significantly HIGH RISK to our area and these children’s lives. How

80 would you feel if you closed Blaina’s Station and the unthinkable happened at one of our schools?

Did you know there are 3 Sheltered Housing Complexes in Blaina? Did you know there is a Nursing Home in Blaina? Did you know that there are numerous supported living homes in Blaina? Did you know there is a NHS Learning Disability’s Residential Home in Blaina? Did you know there is an ICC (Integrated Children’s Centre) in Blaina (located in a former school)? Did you know that Community’s 1st will soon be back based in Blaina?

What would happen if the unthinkable did happen, and a fire broke out in one of these establishments? And as I have previously highlighted an increased call out time of 3m 33 seconds to my home IF the 2nd nearest appliance is available, this still takes the arrival over the acceptable response time of 10 minutes, and will put residents and firefighters lives at risk.

How long will it take for the 2nd appliance to arrive to give the 1st crew in attendance support, approximately 12-13 minutes?

This makes the risk factor to lives exceptionally high, which is also highlighted strongly in the report ‘The Blaina Incident As A Case Study’, and No-One can argue the facts highlighted in this report to being irrelevant or incorrect, or what longer than 10 minutes before hosing a fire can do to people’s or Firefighters lives.

So How Can SWFRS Say That Attendance Times Will Not Have An Impact On Lives?

As the computer system may say 0% Risk, but the Factual Real Life Case Study’s, says that there will be substantial risk to lives.

The following information is taken from an email that I received from the CFO 11/10/2013:-

The Service has a 5 minute response time for all its RDS stations which is the time from alerting to the time of booking mobile, this was agreed by both Service management and representative bodies. Discussions between the Service and representative bodies have identified a number of issues which arise from this situation. While the use of average response times does in some circumstances allow for slightly more accurate utilisation of appliances, it also introduces a number of issues which have the potential to increase risk to firefighter safety and also risk to the public.

What information do you trust:- Real Life Factual Predictions or a Computer Generated Prediction?

Other changes since 01/01/2013 which have out dated the proposals put forward by SWFRS.

81 As I have previously highlighted to you, the Vision operating system was changed on the 1st January 2013, and has altered the geography of Fire Stations call outs and I will highlight how this has effect the call outs stations in our area attend, and compare them to last year’s figures, and you will be surprised how significant this is, and how it also out dates the information that was used to form the proposals. You state on the SWFRS website: - (http://www.southwalesfire.gov.uk/English/newsandevents/Documents/Fire%20Cover%20 Review%20Proposals%20Stage%202%20-%20final.pdf)

‘The extra workload generated by closing Blaina station can easily be absorbed by the surrounding stations’. How can this possibly be possible?

Brynmawr has a significant Staffing Problem (Not factored into the proposals plus SWFRS have significant problems employing Retained Fire Fighters in its whole area!). Abertillery Station is having a larger area due to the re-location of Cefn Fforest, without the extra area of Blaina (Not factored into the proposals). Brynmawr covers Abergavenny’s station also Off The Run 284hrs between 01/04/13 – 01/09/2013 (Not factored into the proposals).

Tredegar has significant N/A problems Off the Run a total of 39.9 days 2011/2012 & 37.125 days 2012/2013! (Not factored into the proposals). Blaenavon has significant N/A problems this year between 01/04/2013 – 01/09/2013 it had already been Off the Run for 389 hrs (Not factored into the proposals). So how can SWFRS service honestly say that it can easily be absorbed by surrounding stations? And be able to keep the turn out to less than 10 minutes to reach the incident?

You need to have water on the flames within 10 mins, over this time is an unacceptable time, and this has been highlighted in the report ‘The Blaina Incident As A Case Study’ http://www.firetactics.com/IFE98.htm

As I have already showed you in my 1st report, the timings that SWFRS show for my post code for the 2nd appliances attendance is over 10 mins. If Blaina closes, and the other station is available this is still over 10 minutes! What if the 2nd closest station is not available? It shudders to think.

By spreading the fire cover more thinly you will be increase the danger to the first firefighters on the scene, as surely their resources will be halved. This I believe has happened in other areas where one fire engine turns up well before its back-up leaving firefighters without sufficient support to safely enter a building. Blaina was, I feel sure a case in point and as we all know ended in tragedy. Please don’t lets travel that path in Gloucestershire. The reason I have ticked the definitely disagree boxes below is because my concern is more safety and effectiveness-based rather than location.

Extract Taken From http://www.glosfire.gov.uk/downloads/contact_consult_newstns.pdf

82 FACT: - You will be significantly raising the risk factor to residents and fire fighters lives, as it is not possible for other stations to absorb the work load due to their longstanding N/A problems If you compare the call outs that Blaina and Brynmawr Station have had that have been used to form the proposals of the same time period, and compare them with this year’s figures since the changes made with the Vision system, you will also see how this factor has altered significantly, which has outdated the results that were used to form the proposals.

You will see from this table that since the changes made to the Vision system 01/01/2013: -

Blaina has had a decrease of 2.58% in calls (4 calls) Brynmawr has a decrease of 32.5% in calls (104 calls) Ebbw Vale has had an increase of 56.5% in calls (216 calls) Tredegar has had an increase of 1.5% in calls (3 calls)

Before the change in the Vision system this year the calls were fairly stable, but since the change in the system 01/01/2013, Brynmawr has had a significant decrease in calls over the same times frame to the previous year’s 32.5%, and Ebbw Vale has had a significant increase in calls of 56.5% with 71 calls into Brynmawr which is 11.8% of its totally calls, and this is due to the boundary changes that occurred with the change of the Vision system, and

83 Brynmawr only having 78 calls 36% in Brynmawr and 35 calls 16% into Blaina. Tredegar having 112 or 57% of its calls in Tredegar. Blaina having 83 calls or 54.9% in Blaina, and this has been based on the same time period for the 4 years.

As you can see this change has significantly altered the information gathered to form the proposals and proves that this out dates the information used to form the proposals due to the changes that have been made by SWFRS with the Vision system and boundary changes to the local stations, especially as it is due to change the boundary’s again for Abetillery’s station and take this station further South away from Blaina.

It has been said numerous times by Officers of SWFRS that Blaina is in-between Abertillery & Brynmawr that is why they are proposing its closure. Brynmawr is located between Blaina and Ebbw Vale. Ebbw Vale is located between Brynmawr and Tredegar. So why does this factor into the proposals, as all these stations are approximately the same distance (mileage) apart? Plus as I have previously stated from information held by the Welsh Assembly with 635 people per square kilometre, the area of Blaenau Gwent is more densely populated than Wales as a whole.

I have highlighted to you some very relevant major changes in the system since SWFRS gained information from previous years to form these proposals, and this totally discredits the information that you are using to form the proposals. This information is now outdated and irrelevant in forming a decision to close Blaina’s Fire Station, and this now raises the risk factor to residents, and also delays response times, which could cost people and Firefighters lives.

Taken from the Office for National Statistics: - Population (2011) statistics, Blaenau Gwent has 69,814 residents.

84 The amount of people Aged 60+ that are living in Blaenau Gwent is 17,096 which equates to 24.5% of our population. Blaina’s Population is 4,808 residents. The amount of people that are Aged 60+ is 1,135 which equates to 23.6% of Blaina’s population. The amount of people that are in the age bracket of 45-59 is 21.3% Since April 2007 there have been a total of 17 fatalities within the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service area attributed to Accidental Dwelling Fires. Of those, 12 were in the 60+ age bracket and 9 of these were known to other agencies but not the Fire Service. In the year leading up to April 2010 there were a total of 801 Accidental Dwelling Fires within the SWFRS area alone. The Fire Research Series Paper 13/2008 has identified the most vulnerable groups as follows: - Older persons (60 +) Individuals living in Deprivation Extracts Taken From: - http://www.southwalesfire.gov.uk/ENGLISH/YOURSAFETY/HOME/Pages/HighRis kandVulner ableReferrals.aspx As you will see from the information above Blaenau Gwent’s population of people 60+ is quite high, almost a quarter of its entire population, plus as I have highlighted previously, in Blaenau Gwent 21% of areas fall in the 10% most deprived areas in Wales.

With 635 people per square kilometre the area is more densely populated than Wales as a whole. Extracts Taken From:- http://www.assemblywales.org/10-016.pdf So how has this been factored into your proposals? High Deprivation, almost a quarter of the population 60+

I have asked on the 07/10/2013 for the detailed information used to form the proposals, to date I haven’t received this, and to date this is not available on the SWFRS website.

Blaina’s Rebuild

As I have previously stated SWFRS has £500,000.00 ringfenced

85 for the rebuild/refurbish of the station. In 2010 it was stated in the South Wales Argus that the rebuild cost was £500,000 and was due to start early 2011 In 2013, the CFO has quoted me in writing; it would cost £1,445,000 to rebuild Blaina’s Station. The DCO Sally Champman stated to members in Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council Chamber 07/10/2013 that the re-build on site would cost £1,200,000.00. I do fully understand that inflation has gone up, but not at the rate that is quoted here! George Osborne hasn’t inflated it that much. I wrote to the CFO asking to see a detailed quotation for the rebuild on the 07/10/2013, on the 23rd of October I received a quotation report from the CFO (Appendix 2), and through my construction experience, I was quite concerned regarding this document. I emailed the CFO to have some clarity of what had been sent to me, and this was his reply via email 25/10/2013: - “These are only indicative costs for Blaina based on professional experience of recently completing fire and rescue refurbishments and new builds.” Works on the Ebbw Vale fire station refurbishment project are progressing well, with an expected completion date of May 2012. Under the £1.2m scheme, the fire station will be completely refurbished and a two-storey extension will be added to the existing building

Extract Taken From: - http://premierconstructionnews.com/2011/11/22/ebbw-vale-refurbishment-project-firesahead/ Blaina’s station is currently 279m2 which is approximately a ¼ of the size of Ebbw Vales Fire Station.

It has been published that the refurbishment of Ebbw Vales Station was £1.2 Million but I think there might have been an overspend on this project. Ebbw Vale’s Fire Station approx. 1200m2 Blaina’s Fire Station 278m2 Therefor Blaina is only approximately 23% of the size of Ebbw Vales Fire Station SWFRS is quoting £1,315,000 for the refurbishment of Blaina’s Station. This does not add up to me due to the difference of size between to two stations? And considering that Ebbw Vale also had an asbestos problem these figures do not seem logical. Yes Blaina has asbestos, but so did Ebbw Vale’s Station. Blaina is approx. ¼ of the size of Ebbw Vale

86 The Following extract was taken from:- http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/8168945.Blaina_fire_station_rebuild_to_c ost___500 _000/ “A VALLEYS fire station will be rebuilt next year at a cost of £500,000 after asbestos was discovered in the building. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) says it will be impractical to reinstate Blaina Fire Station after removing asbestos because the deadly substance is in the main fabric of the building. It plans to begin rebuilding the station in February next year and crews will use temporary accommodation during building works. Last year the service also found asbestos at 42 other stations, including Abergavenny, Abersychan, Abertillery, Blaenavon, Brynmawr, Chepstow, Caldicot, Cefn Fforest, Cwmbran, Ebbw Vale, Monmouth, Malpas, Maindee, New Inn, Tredegar and Usk. Removal will cost between £1,000 and £35,000 at each station. The information was obtained under a Freedom of Information request by South Wales Central Assembly Member Chris Franks. SWFRS was unavailable for comment when the Argus went to print.” The quotation I received from SWFRS we know is just indicative figures, not a factual quote I decided to speak with an ex-proprietor of a large Civil Engineering firm (sold his well-established company several years ago, very highly experienced, only retired from construction last year, and he is my Uncle), as I was quite alarmed at the quotation that I had been sent. His C/V includes many buildings on industrial estates, and he has even built industrial estates in South Wales (Rassau, Trethomas, Van Road, Caerphilly ect), and I asked him if he would be willing to give me his overview, so I sent him the asbestos report (includes full details of the building plus photographs) and the quotations that were sent to me by the CFO, I also included photographs of the current station. When I received his email reply, I was very alarmed at the difference in the figures that he came back with to the ones supplied me by SWFRS. I would also like to state that he would not be tendering for this work as he has retired from construction.

87 Yes, I do fully understand you have to follow procurement, but I was very alarmed by the difference in amounts, as even with taking into account procurement, they are very inflated compared to his! This is extracts of the response that I received from him: - “This is not a very large building whatsoever, without calling to site, talking to the Architect / Engineer, or looking at new build drawings, these figures are based on what is there now and replacing it with 279m2 new building. Top End Figures.” Asbestos Removal = £33,480.00 Demolition and clearance of site = £55,800.00 New Build = £69,750.00 Extra over and above Airconditioning, upgrade services = £41,850.00 Building accommodations, and safety = £40,000.00 Total Rebuild = £240,880 As you can see from this, there is a huge difference; the CFO’s indicative figure of a rebuild on site is £1,445,000.00 An ex proprietor of a Large Civil Engineer Firm quotes a Top End Figure of a rebuild on site of £240,880.00 A huge difference of £1,204,120.00 Now even taking into account procurement and we all understand how prices become inflated, this just doesn’t make sense, even though the drawings for the rebuild haven’t been seen and say we add £100,000.00 onto his quotation for any items that might have been missed in the quotation, this still does not add up correctly, and this places a huge shadow in my mind over the information I have been supplied by SWFRS.

As you will see from the Freedom of Information request above, SWFRS said between £1,000 & £35,000 for asbestos removal. The quotation from the CFO does not state the figure for asbestos removal, just £100,000 for demolition. The quote I gained states £33,480.00 for the asbestos removal (he was not party to the information from the Freedom of Information request). So this is in line with what has been stated in the Freedom of Information request. Monies Ring-fenced £500,000.00 also the quotation that I gained along with £100,000.00 added to the amount (for extras missed) still comes in under the allocated monies that SWFRS have ringfenced.

88 A Factual not an Indicative Quotation needs to be gained, as different amounts have been stated by SWFRS, plus the huge difference between the quotations SWFRS supplied and the one I gained, it differs too substantially for comfort for me, and decisions certainly cannot be made on an indication of something. It must be taken on FACTS not INDICATION’S, otherwise, serious mistakes could be made, and these mistakes could result in people Losing Their Lives! If I was going to demolish my home and rebuild, I most certainly would want factual figures before taking such drastic actions, and I would most certainly not rely on an indication of how much it would cost, would you? Blaina fire station was built in the early 60’s and requires a complete re-build due to the quantity of asbestos contained within the structure. The significant cost of re-building the station will be saved if the proposal is agreed. Above Extract Taken From: - http://www.southwalesfire. gov.uk/English/newsandevents/Documents/Fire%20Cover%20Review%20Proposa ls%20 Stage%202%20-%20final.pdf

How will a significant cost of re-building be saved as these monies are Ring-Fenced? As we all understand the implications of ring-fenced monies. That virement of £500,000 in the 2009/10 capital budget for station refurbishments to a re-build of Blaina Fire Station be approved together with any necessary slippage into 2010/11. That officers pursue the potential of securing alternative funding for operational proposals and for service transformations initiatives via WAG specific grant support and the WAG Invest to Save scheme and the levels of success be reported and the capital budget revisited as necessary. Extract Taken From: -http://www.southwalesfire. gov.uk/English/aboutus/FA/Documents/2009-12- 14%20Fire%20Authority%20Full%20Papers.pdf

Is there going to be a Claw Back if SWFRS do not use the monies for the purpose they were ring-fenced for, especially as SWFRS pursed alternative funding from WAG for operational purposes? This item needs to be addressed, as if there is Claw Back, what

89 will the cost of this be to SWFRS? If you close Blaina’s Station, there will still be a cost to the SWFRS of demolition and asbestos removal. You might not want to take any notice of the quotation I have received for an exact rebuild, but please remember these facts:- Blaina is not even a ¼ of the size of Ebbw Vales Station, there is not the potential on the land to even build a station of the size of Ebbw Vales, plus they also had an asbestos problem. These refurbishment figures DO NOT add up:- Blaina’s Refurbishment (quotation supplied by SWFRS) £1,315,000.00 Ebbw Vale’s Refurbishment cost £1,200,000.00 (before overspend), Blaina is a quarter of the size of Ebbw Vales Station! Another thing that I find quite alarming is the CFO stated to members in the Council Chambers (07/10/2013) that he was totally unaware regarding the map of land that BGCBC had produced offering SWFRS land to build a new Fire Station in Blaina (As shown in my previous reports). Yet during the meeting on Thursday night (31/10/2013) in West Side, Blaina with Andrew Davidson, he stated that he knew all about the map, as he had asked approached BGCBC when he considered merging Blaina and Brynmawr’s Fire Stations. I am quite alarmed that the CFO knew nothing about this as he stated to members in our Chambers in BGCBC, when his officer was quite aware and had approached the council regarding possible locations of land!

90 Consultations: - During the consultation process conducted by SWFRS, they attended a venue in Blaina Library for two days to conduct consultations. 99.9% of the residents that I have spoken to following the consultation, were quite deflated with the consultation they had with officers that were present, they felt that their views were not being taken as valid, and also resident’s stated that they ‘Felt like they were talking to Double Glazing Salespersons’ not consulting with officers regarding the proposals. I was party to an upsetting incident during the consultations, Mrs. Margaret Griffin and Miss Tina Griffin (widow and daughter of the late firefighter Mr. Stephen Griffin) were consulting with two officers, and they became so frustrated that they views were not being heard, and not being taken as valid reasons why not to close the station, that they both emotionally broke down in tears. If this consultation had been better handled by SWFRS, it would have saved great distress to these residents, especially as this has opened a very raw wound in the community, as I explain to the Deputy Chief Officer, the incident in 1996 is like an abscess to our community, on the surface it appears healed, but these proposals have reopened the wound, not just for the family’s, but also for the crew (some of who were present on the night of the incident, and others were colleagues of the two fire-fighters)and the residents of our area. I do fully understand that this is not normal practice for SWFRS having to consult with the public regarding proposed closures, but I feel that this should be brought to the committee’s attention, and I hope that it is taken as constructive criticism so that SWFRS can learn from this consultation feedback and move forward in more constructive consultations in the future with residents. I wrote to the CFO asking for evening consultations, as residents of Blaina were annoyed that they were not going to be held, only day time consultations had been arranged. The CFO did arrange for an evening consultation to take place. But I cannot understand when I had offered the CFO a venue in Blaina (Salem Chapel) in the warm, was the evening consultation held outside Asda’s which is located right by Brynmawr’s Fire Station (less than 1 minute drive away). This really does not make sense to me, as the offer was given so that it could be held in the community of Blaina, who are the residents who will be directly affected by the closure and had asked for the evening consultation. The Chapel would also have

91 been a warm venue both for the residents and SWFRS officers, but yet SWFRS chose to hold it in another community outside in the cold. I would like to know what valid logic there was in this, especially as I had contacted the CFO on behalf of the residents of Blaina? Crew of Blaina’s Station: - On Thursday 17/10/2013 during the consultations days in Blaina Library, I spoke with the DCO regarding the lack of support the crew of Blaina had received from SWFRS since they were informed of the proposals to close Blaina’s Station on the 23/09/2013. I have personally watched the moral of the crew decline very significantly; I have witnessed malicious comments to members of our crew posted on a social media site and I have also witnessed our Station Manager Glyn Griffith who is a very formidable, professional person, become emotional on stage in front of the community of Blaina during the event that was held ‘An evening with the Crew of Blaina Firestation’, incidentally our Station Manager was the Officer in charge on that fateful night in 1996. An officer that is in charge of the Brynmawr, Blaina & Abertillery stations whose name is Glen, was asked by SWFRS to base himself at the Blaina Station. I attended the station and Glen was present with our Station Manager Glyn Griffith. Glen indicated to our station manager to ask two members of the crew who were also present if they would leave the room. Glen and I had a short conversation and he then asked me ‘How does the Crew feel about me being based in the station? I hope that they don’t think that I am here to spy on them’. This officer shouldn’t have been asking me what the feelings of the crew were; he should have been asking the Crew and supporting them. I informed our DCO on the decline of the moral of the crew, and I outlined her on a multitude of issues the crew had been facing. I asked her if SWFRS could please support their crew, and if the CFO could please address the crew. I have to thank the DCO, as at the close of the consultation that evening she visited the station and spoke with crew members, she also addressed problems they were having regarding obtaining printer ink cartridges and heard for herself the decline of moral in the crew, she also visited the next day, and arranged for the CFO to visit the crew on drill night (23/10/2013), as I also asked her to do this. Yes the officer named Glen had attended the station a few times, but it would certainly have been more productive if senior officers could have attended

92 the station on drill night as then, they would have been able to address a large majority of the crew at one time, as usually there might only be 1 or 2 crew members at the station when the officer had attended to see the crew. Why did it take me asking SWFRS to support their crew for them to then try and offer support to their crew, even offering time off for some of the members of the crew, as this situation of moral was so serious? This should not have had to be initiated by a County Borough Councillor; this should have been initiated by SWFRS as standard procedure! I am very concerned regarding this matter, and I hope by bringing this to the attention of the committee, this stops a reoccurrence of this happening in future. Finally, many of our residents are not just concerned regarding the lack of availability of the neighbouring stations and the risk this will have on lives (incidentally the long standing management problems in neighbouring stations has been in place for many years and this should have been addressed long before proposals to close the only 100% station were taken), but also regarding the memorial that is in situ at Blaina Fire Station for our lost firefighters Steve Griffin and Kevin Lane. Following the tragic deaths of Steve & Kevin in 1996, a memorial was unveiled inside Blaina’s station to remember them, by closing and demolishing the Station, you will also be destroying their memorial, and resident’s feelings are very high regarding this as they feel it is sacrilege if this happens. It has also been stated by the community that SWFRS have no respect for the

93 memory of these firefighters, and great disgust is being felt regarding SWFRS by the huge majority of my constituents and also neighbouring constituents.

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Hi Huw, Can this attachment please be taken as part of the consultation regarding Blaina's Fire Station and also given to all members of the committee, can you also please forward it to Claire Piper. Yours Sincerely Lisa Winnett County Borough Councillor

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In response to your letter date 01/11/2013

Firstly I would like to correct you that I have not made my report available via Twitter, my report was only made available to all councillors during the meeting as I planned to refer to it and this would then aid councillors for ease of reference, also residents have asked me to make my report accessible for them to read, and I have always strived to be open and transparent with any writing I write on their behalf, and this report is on their behalf as my representation of the views of my residents.

I stated in my report:- All retained Fire Stations have a Turn Out time of 5 mins (Vision System). So how have I failed to recognise this? Also why would I refer to why you changed the system, as I was showing you the known flaws that are in the system which does not enhance firefighter safety or the publics, and I also gave you valid examples of how it does not enhance safety?. What you are stating is the opposite too the points I was raising. Also regarding an issue that I raised regarding the fire in Roundhouse Close, Nantyglo of the immobilising of the Pumps, I have received this response from your CFO via email on the 11/10/2013:- There is clear evidence which indicates that the above situations have occurred. These issues will be addressed at a local level. Whilst we cannot in any way say that this was an issue in this instance at the moment we are carrying out internal investigations to establish the cause of the alleged errors in mobilizing fire appliance to the incident at Roundhouse Close, Nantyglo on the 19th August 2013. It must be recognised that road conditions and traffic congestion are considered by responding crews.

I have also highlighted to you a significant problem which is now under investigation.

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