Brigade chiefs have unveiled a ground-breaking plan to create a 50-strong network of community fire stations.

Every station in the county is to become more pro-active and will be given guidance by the community fire safety team at Bradford's Nelson Street fire station.

As part of the scheme, the CFST will be boosted from 14 to 26 officers, at a cost of £230,000. The aim is cut down on less productive inspection work, putting the extra hours into fire safety campaigns, school visits, provision of free home risk assessments and smoke alarm installation.

David Gardiner, Assistant Divisional Officer at the CFST, said: "We will be advising and lending our experience to fire stations.

"The aim is to move away from fire safety inspections of commercial properties, who already have safety measures in place.

"It is in the home were fire tragedies are more likely to take place."

The fire service believes that tragedies can be avoided with a more aggressive approach to fire safety.

Chief Fire Officer Jim Manuel said the plan is a development of the good practice fostered in West Yorkshire over recent years. This is a coordinated and targeted blitz on needless tragedy, unnecessary destruction and wasted effort," he said.

"In the past, brigades have churned out fire safety leaflets by the ton and lectured every home safety organisation under the sun but to minimal effect. The time has come for more direct action."

Councillor Lawrence Conlon, chairman of West Yorkshire's Fire Authority, said: "Community fire safety has been the Cinderella service for far too long because it has never attracted Government funding. That situation will change, but we can't afford to sit on our hands when there's critical work to be done. We have to re-cast our own priorities and make things happen."

* Coun Conlon was re-elected as chairman at the West Yorkshire Fire & Civil Defence Authority's annual meeting. Councillor Ray Mitchell was re-appointed deputy chairman.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.