'We did it' - Ashfield to have full-time fire station again from November

Ashfield Independent councillors have thank residents and readers of your Chad for the support and say the move will save lives.

After a six-year campaign, Ashfield Fire Station will be finally open full-time from November.

In a £600,000 investment, 12 new full-time fire officers will be based at the station on Sutton Road, following today’s decision by Nottinghamshire Fire Authority.

Coun Tom Hollis, Ashfield Council deputy leader, read out a statement on behalf of Coun Jason Zadrozny, council leader and fire authority member, thanking residents for backing their campaign.

He told the meeting: “We would like to thank the thousands of residents who joined the Ashfield Independent campaign for a full-time fire station. We always said the decision to move to a part-time station in 2018 was the wrong one.

“The Ashfield Independents instigated the Fire Service review, led Ashfield’s response to the consultation and never gave up. It’s another example of working with communities to deliver positive results that makes lives safer. This is why we do this job – I am delighted.”

In 2018, the fire authority decided to take away full-time crew cover from Ashfield in favour of on call-only cover at night – a move heavily criticised by local politicians and residents and which has now been reversed.

Speaking after the meeting, Coun Hollis said: “I feel quite emotional – this is a decision that will save lives. Coun Zadrozny has led the campaign since the decision was made in 2017 to close our station at night.

“Like me, like residents in Ashfield, he never gave up and it was only a family emergency that stopped him being at the meeting himself. Everybody told us this was a fight that couldn’t be won. We did everything we could to make this happen.

“The reality is that we did. Ashfield will be a safer place to live from November and residents backed us signing petitions, turning up for protests and in the ballot box. That is why we won.”