Health and Safety Too Much ?

THE fireman’s pole at Southport Fire Station has been boarded up after 60 years of life-saving service -because health and safety officials deem it too dangerous for firefighters to use.

Crews on their way to tackle blazing buildings must now use the stairs at the Manchester Road station instead.

Retired Southport firefighter John Law said: “It is crazy. It’s legislation gone mad. Poles are traditional - if they can’t go down a pole safely what can they do?”

John, who was awarded an MBE for his services to Southport Fire Station, described the fire service as “the only true emergency service that’s left”, and said that in his 29 years of working at Southport Fire Station he had witnessed one broken ankle as a result of the pole.

He added: “If a firefighter going out to a fire is to follow health and safety to the letter of the law they won’t go on the job and they won’t go into the fire.”

Councillor Jack Colbert, a Sefton representative on the Merseyside Fire Authority, branded the move “ridiculous”, saying: “It is health and safety gone mad.

“They have always used the pole, and there has never been a incident or an accident.

“If you ask any firefighter they will tell you it is quicker to go down the pole.

“Running down the stairs you could trip over, especially at night - it could be more dangerous than the pole.”

The fire station is one of hundreds across the UK to have their poles removed amid health and safety fears, prompting an outcry from Fire Authority representatives.

Although firefighters maintain that the changes will not affect response times, there is growing concern that removing the poles may contribute to safety hazards rather than prevent them.

Health and safety consultant John Lyon Taylor, who runs JRT Consultants, said: “With the stuff you see and read in the newspapers it doesn’t surprise me that somebody has suddenly decided that a pole is dangerous.

“I would suggest that a group of men running down the stairs is more dangerous than sliding down a pole.

“You can miss your footing quite easily if you are coming down the stairs in a hurry - if the person at the front trips then everyone ends up in a heap.

“These are fit, agile men who are well-trained - they know all the risks, they have been doing the job for years.”

“I would suggest that to go from a pole to the stairs is a backwards step.”

A Fire Service spokesman said: “All fire stations undergo regular health and safety reviews and the pole drop at Southport Community Fire Station is one issue that is currently under consideration