Sparks fly as Hulme accused of ignoring facts

A SADDLEWORTH parish councillor has slammed his parish council colleague for ignoring the facts over changes to the fire service.

Parish Councillor Ken Hulme claimed lives would be put at risk by proposals to extend 999 response times from seven to 17 minutes at Mossley Fire station.

The changes are part of a the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) corporate plan 2012-15, which has been drafted by fire chiefs in response to expected cuts of £23 million over four years.

However, Councillor Derek Hefferan, Oldham representative on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority (GMFRA) and councillor for Saddleworth North, said parish councillor Hulme had ignored the facts in the plan, and doing so would result in a hike in council tax charges.

He said: “He ignores the facts that the number of 999 calls to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have fallen by 50 per cent over the last decade.

“The number of lives lost in fires in Greater Manchester is at an all-time low because of the excellent work carried out by the dedicated firefighters of GMFRS.”

Councillor Heffernan said response times for the fire service were better than other emergency services as fire crews arrived well within the response time in 90 per cent of calls.

He added that all of Saddleworth was covered by at least two fire stations, not just Mossley.

Councillor Heffernan said: “Councillorr Hulme’s misguided statements would cost a huge amount of money for firefighters to sit around for much of their time.

“The council tax payer would have to pay that bill.

“If parish councillor Hulme took the trouble to read the corporate plan he would see how that service is delivered to the public.

“His attitude is, of course, that a headline is much more desirable that the facts.”