Welsh fire chief says 20mph will hit some response times

A senior fire officer has said some response times will be affected by Wales' new 20mph speed limit.

Assistant chief fire officer Stuart Millington said that while fire engines can exceed the speed limit, private vehicles driven by on-call staff could not.

Those using their own cars to get to stations during a call-out would be impacted, he said.

And as a result firefighters' attempts to attend a blaze could be delayed.

The claim came during a meeting on Monday with North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Conwy council.

The Welsh government said the new speed limit would not affect legislation allowing police, fire, and ambulance services to exceed speed limits when responding to emergencies.

Mr Millington was speaking to the council's finance and resources overview and scrutiny committee regarding controversial proposals to close or scale back operations at several North Wales Fire stations.

"In terms of the 20mph speed limit, that's a complex subject in its own right with lots of opinion and debate that we are already aware of," he said.

"We did provide a consultation response in relation to the 20mph response, and it was debated, and we provide information on what that would mean for reduced response times for on-call firefighters."

On-call firefighters are members of the community who are paid to respond to emergencies.

They do not staff the fire station 24 hours a day like full-time firefighters, who are exempt from the new law when on duty.

"When we are in a fire engine, we can exceed speed limits," Mr Millington added.

"But when our staff are responding from their home address or from work to the fire station, then they do have to apply to those 20mph restrictions.

"So we did provide feedback and make our representations, but ultimately we have to apply the law, and you are quite right - it will have an impact on response times."

The fire service is currently reassessing its resources and how it can get to rural areas sooner, but the proposed reorganisation could mean reducing cover in other areas by cutting 24-hour service in favour of day cover and reducing equipment.

Fire officers presented three different options to councillors, including one which would see Conwy's fire station closed together with those at Llanberis, Beaumaris, Abersoch, and Cerrigydrudion.

A public consultation on the matter has now ended, and a final decision is expected in December.

A Welsh government spokeswoman said: "On-call firefighters live or work at various locations, so not all of them travel by car or on 20mph roads.

"However, we will continue to work closely with all fire services on road safety, including monitoring any impacts of the new speed limit."