The Leeuwarder Courant reports that planned changes to fire departments across Friesland include getting rid of some emergency vehicles in Heerenveen and Drachten and formalising policy for crews to aid fire fighters from neighbouring districts.
The plans were approved by mayors across Friesland in October, but discussions between the national Volunteer Firefighters Trade Union (VBV) and Veiligheidsregio Fryslân failed to assuage VBV’s concerns.
VBV sees the proposal as a cut back dressed up in different words: mutual aid has always been a policy, and the province will have 11 fewer fire engines and 8 fewer emergency vehicles. Response times would be impacted as a result: in some areas, it could take up to 15 minutes for a second engine to arrive at the scene of an emergency.
