Outside company to supplysafety gear for firefighters

Paul Whitehouse

FIREFIGHTERS in South Yorkshire are to get new protective clothing after service bosses authorised the brigade to negotiate a new contract with an outside supplier.

The helmets and protective uniforms used at present meet all existing safety requirements but because the equipment has been assembled over a period of years from a variety of sources, some items were not designed specifically to be used together.

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Initially the brigade had planned to replace all the equipment, which protects firefighters in dangerous conditions, itself but that would have meant spending 1.3m as a lump sum, with further costs in subsequent years.

Now the service’s ruling Fire Authority has decided it would be better to spread the cost over a period of several years by using an outside organisation to supply and maintain the clothing, even though that will appear a more expensive way to buy it.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Steve Swarbrick told authority members the difference in costs between the brigade organising its own supplies of protective clothing and getting an outside company involved was “like comparing apples with oranges”.

“It is expected an outside contractor, when appointed, will provide training for firefighters and introduce a regime to maintain the clothing and equipment.

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“It will always look, at face value, as a more expensive option but there are hidden costs in the way we do it now,” he said.

The new arrangements are expected to cost around 440,000 a year, with a contract likely to run between five and seven years.

That compares to 350,000 spent on protective clothing last year and the expectation of having to spend another 400,000 next year, just to maintain the existing arrangements.

One advantage to the new arrangements is that it transfers some of the risk of unexpected future expenses away from the service.

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It also means that when the new clothing is issued, firefighters will be using identical equipment across the brigade rather than the current situation where they have a collection of different items acquired at different times.

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