Portsmouth left without high-rise fire rescue truck as safety fears grow

Lives could be at risk in Portsmouth as the city’s fire stations are without an specialist truck used for rescues in high-rise buildings.

The leader of Portsmouth City Council has raised concerns over the city having no operational aerial ladder platform (ALP), which is used to tackle fires in multi-storey buildings.

Councillor Steve Pitt has written to Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, chief fire officer of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service, raising urgent concerns.

An ALP is a specialist fire engine fitted with a hydraulic arm, rescue cage and ladder. It can typically reach between 30-40m, allowing firefighters to rescue people from tall buildings.

In his letter, Cllr Pitt said there are currently no ALPs on Portsea Island. “In fact, the nearest one available to attend an incident is based at St Mary’s in Southampton. The only other one in mainland Hampshire is in Basingstoke.”

He said the ALP at Southsea Fire Station is out of service at 19 years old and that “parts are no longer available” to repair it.

He added: “As you will be very aware, the city has a large number of high rise buildings. The ALP is a key piece of equipment for tackling a fire in a high rise.

“We also host major events, have a number of nationally and internationally important historic buildings and the naval base. Southsea Fire Station cannot be without its ALP.

“You will also be aware that on Saturday, there was a road traffic accident which caused the M275 to close. The city was gridlocked. If an ALP had been required, it would have been extremely challenging to get it onto the island and through traffic.

“The normal travel time in good traffic from St Mary’s to Southsea is 44mins. On Saturday, that would have easily exceeded an hour. That is not acceptable.”

He suggested replacing Southsea’s broken ALP with one based in Basingstoke, which he said would be better suited to Portsmouth’s narrow streets, and replacing Basingstoke’s with an ALP from the Isle of Wight that has been effectively “mothballed”.

Cllr Pitt added that equipment is normally replaced every 15 years and warned there appears to be no plan to replace Southsea’s 19-year-old ALP.

The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We routinely manage the availability of our assets due to ongoing incidents, training exercises taking place or maintenance, putting in place arrangements to ensure fire cover across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

“We have four ALPs currently in operation across the service area and the location and any movement of these is based on risk. An aerial ladder platform is a specialist vehicle and does not impact our immediate response to incidents.

“We are currently reviewing the points Cllr Pitt has raised and will respond to him directly shortly.”