Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has proposed creating 20 new wholetime firefighter posts across the county, with plans to establish 24/7 wholetime cover at Grantham Fire Station. The proposals follow a year-long review of the service's emergency response arrangements.
Grantham Fire Station would become Lincolnshire's second 24/7 wholetime station, following Lincoln South on South Park Avenue, Lincoln. The service describes Grantham as a strategically important location.
How the new shift system would work
To achieve round-the-clock cover at Grantham, new firefighter posts would operate a 2-2-4 duty system. Firefighters would work two day shifts, followed by two night shifts, followed by four days off.
Other stations unchanged
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue's seven other wholetime stations in Boston, Gainsborough, Lincoln North, Louth, Skegness, Sleaford and Spalding would continue to operate a seven-day, day crewed system. Wholetime firefighters would remain available throughout the day, seven days a week. These stations would continue to be supported by on-call firefighters at night.
The service's 29 on-call stations would not be affected by these proposals. On-call personnel would remain in place to provide support at all wholetime stations during the day and overnight.
How the proposals would be funded
The 20 new posts would require additional investment but would mostly be funded by removing an uplift previously paid to wholetime firefighters providing overnight on-call cover on a voluntary basis. This arrangement became outdated after national changes to crewing arrangements in 2019, which made the voluntary overnight cover difficult to rely on for consistent availability.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said redirecting these resources into the 20 new wholetime positions would guarantee firefighter availability when demand on the service is highest.
