COMMUNITY leaders in Bingley have welcomed a fire service investment of more than £200,000 to help cope with future flooding.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority has pledged to spend £230,000 on water rescue equipment and training for firefighters across the county.

It follows a detailed review which followed the unprecedented flooding on Boxing Day 2015.

The improvements will include:

  • Transforming Todmorden Fire Station into a skilled swift water rescue station and providing appropriate equipment and training to crews. During the Boxing Day floods, the Calder Valley was badly affected and Todmorden Fire Station effectively cut off by flood water.
  • Converting Todmorden Fire Station’s wildfire vehicle into one which can also carry water rescue equipment. This provides a cost effective way of ensuring Todmorden crews have the correct equipment to respond to flooding.
  • Replacing the current powered boats, which are based at Bingley and Rastrick, with boats which have more powerful engines.
  • Increasing the number of coxswains from one to three per shift at fire stations which have a powered boat.
  • Increasing the number of rescue sleds held on swift water rescue stations from one to three. These stations are Leeds, Rothwell, Ossett, Bingley and Rastrick.
  • Replacing all flood response radio units. New radio equipment will make it easier for crews communicate in difficult weather conditions.
  • Providing smartphones for swift water rescue and flood rescue teams. These will allow crews to use GPS and mapping applications during search and rescue operations and assist in tracking resources.
  • Providing all fire engines with additional flood suits and provide additional water rescue dry suits.

Bingley Flood Support Group chairman Michelle Chapman welcomed the investment.

"It is absolutely fantastic that Bingley has been featured as one of the key stations," she said.

"A lot of people in the community wanted to know what was being done and the extra things being put in place, so this is great news.”

The chairman of Bingley Town Council Terry Brown said: “Bingley residents will only be too pleased that something is being done because it is getting towards Christmas when they are worried something will happen again.

“This is only a small part of what needs to be done but is a step in the right direction. Hopefully there will be other initiatives.”

Jim Butters, area manager for Operations Support at the fire and rescuse service, said: "West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has always been at the forefront when it comes to training and equipping crews for water rescue. 

"However, on Boxing Day large areas of the county experienced flooding on a scale never experienced before and our firefighters worked in extremely challenging conditions.

"We are attending an increasing number of rescues from fast flowing water and flood water, which has prompted a full review of our capacity. 

“This investment by the Fire Authority demonstrates our commitment to both public safety and the safety of our own staff."

Councillor Bryan Smith, chairman of the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority's finance and rescources committee, added: "Extreme weather events present a very real threat to public safety.

"This investment sends a strong message that we will do all that we can to provide the best possible rescue service to deal with these challenges, even though there is no direct government funding to provide this service."