News / Avon Fire and Rescue
Fire service plea as bad parking in Bristol puts lives at risk
Fire chiefs have revealed they need to buy smaller fire engines because badly-parked cars in Bristol are putting lives at risk by blocking crews from reaching emergencies.
Bosses at Avon Fire and Rescue Service are considering purchasing slimmer 10-ton trucks to join their existing 12-ton and 18-ton fleet, while issuing a plea to motorists to park more considerately in the city.
is needed now More than ever
Assistant chief fire officer Simon Shilton has issued a plea to drivers to park considerately in residential streets
Assistant chief fire officer Simon Shilton said: “Minutes really can mean the difference between life and death when we are responding to an incident.
“Firefighters have to be able to navigate tight roads with large trucks when necessary.
“We appreciate that people want to be able to park outside their homes and don’t do this deliberately but they have to help us to help them.
“We ask residents to please be considerate of how they park and to consider whether they could be putting lives at risk.
“We would like drivers to just think a little bit more about the space they are leaving, allowing enough space for us to pass.
“This really can be life or death, so minutes of delay can make a big difference.”
Shilton said motorists did not always appreciate the size of a fire truck and parked with only enough space for cars to pass.
“When we manoeuvre through tight streets, we can rarely travel at speed, if at all,” he said.
“As a service, we have a range of vehicles to deal with the risk and a variety of incidents.
“We are exploring the options of a greater range of vehicles that will continue our commitment to keeping our communities safe, while ensuring we have the right equipment, with the right number of firefighters at an incident, at the right time.
“Our fire engines are equipped with some of the best equipment available but we are unable to use that equipment if we can’t get a fire engine to an incident due to road restrictions.
“Therefore looking at the options of slimmer and slightly smaller fire engines in some areas will help us to continue to provide the best service available.”
Shilton was speaking after an Avon Fire Authority meeting where the issue of large fire trucks struggling in narrow city streets because of inconsiderate parking was raised.
Chief fire officer Mick Crennell told members: “We have 12-ton and 18-ton vehicles driving around in the centre of Bristol with really difficult access problems.”
At the meeting last week, Shilton said the organisation was seeking a new supplier for its fleet and considering 10-ton fire engines to address the problems in Bristol.
He said: “No orders have been placed with our previous supplier this year because they have declared that they’re not building fire engines any more, so we have to go through a new framework of procurement.
“We will be making orders of appliances in this coming year.”
Members heard some of the money which had not been spent on new fire trucks over the last year would be invested in new technology.
Crennell said: “We need to modernise our organisation.
“There are areas of the organisation where we have outdated processes and we need to digitise our organisation.
“We need to invest. Investment in digital is not just for business, it’s also for keeping our firefighters as safe as they can possibly be with the best kit and equipment that they can possibly have.”
Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Read more: Call for Bristol to ban pavement parking
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