Real fears over fire cover
As a resident of Pett Level I am becoming increasingly concerned about the attitude of the local Fire Authority towards the provision of services to the villages east of Hastings towards Rye. A meeting was held in Pett for local people to discuss the proposed downgrading of the Ridge Fire Station. In this meeting strong opposition was expressed but the Fire Authority representative insisted that the changes would produce an overall improvement of the service to the area served by the Hastings fire stations but admitted that the villages east of Hastings and some parts of Hastings would have to wait at least five minutes longer for a fire appliance.
I cannot accept that an overall improvement can be achieved at the expense of increased risk for a large area housing a high proportion of elderly vulnerable people.
It is important that continuing pressure is applied to the Fire Authority by signing the various petitions and in particular making comments on their website www.esrf.org. The only official consultation meeting has been organised by the Fire Authority at The Hastings Centre on the Ridge near The Conquest on November 7th at 6:30. This is our chance to question the managers face to face.
Bob Ball, Pett Level