North Wales firefighters 'feel forced to sleep in their cars'

Firefighters in north Wales have felt forced to sleep in their cars outside work as they fear being moved stations at a day's notice, it has emerged.

Some full-time crew members had not taken proper lodgings because of this, whistleblowers claimed.

North Wales Fire Service's assistant chief fire officer has admitted that "we haven't got everything right".

Richard Fairhead also accepted crews faced difficulties in covering the largely rural north Wales region.

"There are concerns, but there's a balance to that," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), in response to the anonymous claims of firefighters at North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

"I do believe we are an organisation that has demonstrated we do care for our staff."

But one firefighter said he was relocated and then given just a month to find accommodation for him and his family.

"They won't give people permanent positions and you can be moved the next day," he told the LDRS.

"With most digs you need to sign up for a certain amount of time but you can't say how long you're going to be there now.

"Because of this some people sleep in their cars or vans outside stations when they're on call. It's extremely common."

Mr Fairhead denied anyone would be relocated at a day's notice, saying: "They would be given two or three months notice if they were moved."

He accepted there were also issues over recruitment of retained {part-time) firefighters, coverage of North Wales' largely rural areas and concerns over temporary promotions.

He was also "disappointed" and "upset" after hearing firefighters did not feel they could approach their managers.

The service - which employs more than 1,000 members of staff - has 44 fire stations, covering an area of 2,400 square miles (6,200 km2) and about 670,000 people.

The nature of deployment means full-time crews are being sent right across North Wales and this was hitting response times, whistleblowers also argue.

For example, crews are often sent from Llandudno and Colwyn Bay to wait at Betws-y-Coed until the evening because of difficulties in covering that area.

Firefighter coverage on Anglesey and around the Llyn Peninsula also caused similar issues.

Another issue raised by whistleblowers was around promotions, with many appointments classed as temporary, some for as long as four years.

Staff in these positions, they argue, feel unable to raise issues with senior officers for fear of being stood down to their former roles with immediate effect.

Mr Fairhead said it was "not uncommon" for fire services to use temporary promotions, but said he was "committed" to reducing their number.

However, with staff leaving and vacancies needing to be filled straight away, he said appointing all roles as permanent was a perpetual task.