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Firemen to appeal after "unauthorised rest facilities" incident

07/08/2007

Several Greater Manchester firefighters are expected to appeal against disciplinary action they received after being accused of "involvement in the use of unauthorised rest facilities" during night shifts.

At a disciplinary hearing at Bury Fire Station on June 14th, two firefighters and a watch manager were rebuked for failing to rest in the £400 reclining chairs that were installed as an alternative to beds in the region's stations.

A dawn inspection by a team of fire chiefs at the end of May revealed that the officers had been resting in sleeping bags on the floor, which is contrary to health and safety regulations.

The appeal against the decision is expected to take place at the fire brigade's headquarters in Pendlebury, Salford, according to the BBC.

Tim Fensome, chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, said there were no witnesses that the firefighters had done anything wrong and he criticised managers for pressing ahead with punitive action.

"We expected a small degree of British common sense. Instead we have been served up another dollop of management nonsense," he remarked.

Greater Manchester firefighters are permitted three hours of rest during a 15-hour night shift when they are not on emergency call-out, but they are not allowed to fall asleep.

Last year it was reported that after the regional force spent £130,000 on the reclining chairs, fire crews were banned from sitting on them until a four-page manual had been studied.


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