BOTH the fire service and the firefighters union have defended the huge number of fire engines on standby, branding them necessary in the case of emergencies.

Figures have revealed that even during peak times of the day, at most there is a average demand for ten fire engines across Essex, but up to 65 extra are sitting on standby in fire stations.

To many, the gulf between the number of engines needed and the number available presents a huge waste in resources, but the Fire Brigades Union defended the figures, stating the fire service is risk-led, rather than demand-led.

Being risk-led means all those fire engines are needed because of the risk of a large-scale incident, such as the warehouse fire in Basildon in August which saw 12 engines on site.

Riccardo La Torre, FBU Eastern Regional Secretary, insists that if anything, more engines and firefighters are needed with the Essex service regularly relying on crews from London and Suffolk for assistance.

Mr La Torre said: “Outside of the industry it looks like a big number, but actually we need more in terms of both fire engines and firefighters.

“We are risk-led at the moment, rather than demand-led.

“We could have the engines in central Essex, but it can take two hours to get to the north or the south.

“If we have a big incident, like the warehouse fire in Basildon, you need 10 to 12 pumps on the scene straight away and they will be there for several hours.

“It takes us off the run.

“At the moment, we will have fire engines coming in from London and Suffolk to help us, but then they are in the same boat battling cuts too.

“We are risk-led because we need to arrive to save lives.”

Figures from the fire service detailing the demand versus availability of engines from 2010 to 2014, show that at a peak time such as 6pm, their is a demand for eight fire engines, but more than 60 are available.

Figures also revealed that in 2016/17, the fire service was attending on average 16 false alarms a day. Mr La Torre insisted the number of false alarms the service attend now is much lower than in the past, but this can have a negative effect, delaying the time they arrive at an incident.

Mr La Torre added: “We used to attend a lot more false alarms, because we would respond to alarms.

“Now we wait, say at the warehouse fire, we do not attend until security confirm there is a fire.

“But in those incidents, the fire has developed and spread by the time we arrive.”

While Alan Chinn-Shaw, Essex Fire Brigades’ Union secretary, claimed that a huge number of fire engines are required, in case of multiple major incidents coinciding, despite that meaning many are left on standby for large periods.

He said: “Not long ago we had a 15-pump incident, as well as a 10-pump incident at the same time, alongside the smaller one or two-pump incidents. We need that amount of appliances to go to wherever is required.

“If you have an average of 10 for demand, you still need at least 30 available, just in case.

“It’s the response time that matters, not just the amount available or the amount at a fire. By having more available, response times are lower. Compare it to the armed forces - how often are we fighting a war during a year? Very rarely, but if a conflict breaks out, they are ready to act.”

An Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) spokesman said: “Following extensive public consultation in 2015/16, the Essex Fire Authority approved changes to reduce the amount of fire engines in Essex by four.

“In doing so, the number, location and crewing system of fire engines has been implemented to allow ECFRS to provide sufficient countywide coverage and, even in the event of major incidents, to be there for the people of Essex within target timeframes.”