YORK’S fire engines are too wide to fit down dozens of the city’s narrow streets, it has been claimed.

Three new engines – costing a total of about £750,000 – have been bought which are more than seven inches wider than the old ones.

The extra width has exacerbated existing problems in getting down York’s Victorian streets with cars parked on both sides – and means engines now struggle to get through Micklegate Bar from Blossom Street, claimed Steve Howley, of the Fire Brigades Union.

However, fire chiefs say wider engines with more equipment are more beneficial to the community and worth the risk of a slight delay to some areas with already difficult access.

They say they have not identified any new streets that the service is unable to get down, and claim engines can still get through Micklegate Bar if they go slowly.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said if an appliance could not get down a street due to a single vehicle, firefighters could move the vehicle if it was safe to do so.

When a fire engine could not get down a street, it was parked up and a larger hose run down the street to the burning property. “Running out larger hose does take a little more time, but we are talking about ten to 15 seconds if it is more than about 60 metres,” he said. Mr Howley said he believed this would take longer and require more firefighters.

He said a fire service survey had identified 46 streets across the city, which were inaccessible to engines, before the survey was halted due to alarming results.

He said firefighters had been told they would have to park their engines at either end of inaccessible streets and run hosereels along the pavement to fires, but the recent decision to cut the number of fire engines in the city centre from two to one could compromise this arrangement.

He said the service should have ordered bespoke engines that were better able to fit down narrow streets in a city like York.

York Green councillor Dave Taylor claimed the engines’ purchase was a “potentially catastrophic mistake”.

The service’s spokesman said that over the years, vehicles had got larger due to the changing role fire and rescue services were expected carry out and the requirement to carry more equipment.

He said a smaller bespoke engine was likely to cost more and carry less equipment, and this would compromise its ability to respond to all incidents.

He said the service would not seek to pursue a ban on parking on one side of narrow streets to make access easier, but would do some proactive work in the area, highlighting the need to maintain access and offering home fire risk assessments and smoke alarm fitting.

Streets the new, wider fire engines may not be able to drive down

THE Fire Brigades Union says the following streets have been identified by the service as being inaccessible to the new fire engines:

• Abbotsford Road, Albermarle Road, Alma Grove, Arthur Street
• Brunswick Street
• Chaucer Street, Cornwall Street, Crosslands Road
• Danum Road, Deangate
• Endfield Drive
• Fontayne Street, Fulford Cross
• Garrow Hill Avenue, Garths End, Grange Garth, Grange Street, Granville Terrace, Greenfields
• Hambleton Terrace, Herbert Street, Hilda Street
• Kensington Street
• Lansdown Terrace
• Maida Grove, Markham Crescent, Markham Street, Milton Street, Montague Street
• Neville Street, Nevison Grove, New Walk Terrace, Nicholas Street
• Prospect Terrace
• Queen Victoria Street
• Rose Street
• St John’s Street, Sandringham Street, Stanley Street, Sterin Grove, Sutherland Street
• Vyner Street
• Welwyn Drive, Westfield Drive, Westwood Terrace, Wolsley Drive.