Cover in place during latest fire strike periods
The next nationwide scheduled periods of industrial strike action over a national dispute between the union and central government over pension reforms are for 24 hours from 9am on Thursday 12 June and from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 21 June.
A mixture of non-striking full-time personnel and on-call staff will provide cover locally. This is the same arrangement that has been successfully utilised locally during other recent strike periods.
There is again an agreement in place with the local Fire Brigades Union (FBU) branch which would see striking members return to duty if a serious incident which required significant Fire and Rescue Service attendance happened during the planned strikes.
Help keep county safe
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Nathan Travis said: "I want to reassure the county's public that every emergency call made to their Fire and Rescue Service during these scheduled strike periods will be responded to.
"We have a cover plan in place which we have utilised well during previous FBU-called strike periods and there is an agreement with the FBU locally that striking firefighters will return to work if an incident occurred which required a significant amount of firefighters to attend.
"There are also some simple, practical steps which residents in their home or on the road can take at any time to help me keep Oxfordshire as safe as possible.
"These include checking that smoke alarms work; ensuring electrical sockets are not overloaded; making sure vehicles are road-safe by checking tyre pressures to help guard against a potentially accident-causing blow-out.
"These are all easy but significant tasks that people can do to help ensure safety and I would encourage residents to carry them out."
Safety messages and advice can be found online via 365alive, an Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service initiative which aims to promote a safer community through safety education and preventative work.
Read video transcript
The national fire brigade union have called another strike, details of which are below. This strike will affect Oxfordshire, however I would like to absolutely reassure you that Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service will be making a response to every 999 call we receive.
However there are things you can do to help us. For those of you at home, please make sure you test your smoke alarm so that you know it’s working. For those on the road driving cars, please make sure you drive slower to give yourself more thinking time.
But we’re also here to help you. Should you wish to receive any advice please either go to our website www.365alive.co.uk or contact us on 08000 325999.
Thank you for helping me make Oxfordshire safer.
A national dispute
County Council Deputy Leader Councillor Rodney Rose said: "These strikes are the result of an on-going dispute between the FBU and central government and locally there is little we can do to help resolve things.
"We do locally have robust contingency plans in place that have worked successfully to cover previous strikes and we will continue to use these arrangements to cover the latest scheduled periods of industrial action."