SUFFOLK firefighters responded to 2,814 automatic calls last year and found just 36 blazes. Now, in the wake of that stunning statistic and last year's national dispute, the county's fire service is facing its biggest shake-up in 57 years.
By Paul Geater
SUFFOLK firefighters responded to 2,814 automatic calls last year and found just 36 blazes. Now, in the wake of that stunning statistic and last year's national dispute, the county's fire service is facing its biggest shake-up in 57 years.
Work practices and national standards that were established in the immediate post-war period are to be swept away.
And a new era based on standards set by individual fire authorities is being introduced.
In Suffolk, this means changes in the way the fire service deals with some call-outs and new standards of cover in some of the larger towns in the county – including Felixstowe.
No fire stations will close and there will be no wholesale job losses – but there will be a switch of emphasis to fire prevention. And some of the basic fire callout rules will be changed.
FULL STORY IN TONIGHT'S EVENING STAR
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