UPDATED: U-turn over number of firefighters who crew Tactical Response Vehicles

The authority has voted to have a minimum of four firefighters on four of the TRVs, rather than three.

It follows a campaign by the FBU over staffing of TRVs, which are smaller than traditional fire engines. Crew numbers had been reduced from four to three, leading to claims the public and firefighters were less safe.

Steve Howley, brigade secretary of the FBU in North Yorkshire, said: "I am very pleased the new chairman of the fire authority, [councillor] Andrew Backhouse, listened, considered and acted upon our concerns, as well as those of other authority members, that having just three firefighters on a vehicle was a threat to public safety and to the safety of our firefighters.

"This is a ground-breaking decision and one that clearly changes the direction of travel for this fire authority. It is an enormous accomplishment and has only been made possible as a result of the relentless campaigning by FBU members over the last few years. Together we have acted as a united and determined union who have refused to give up the fight on an issue which placed the public and firefighters of North Yorkshire at greater risk."

He added: "The authority also took the decision to provide the FBU with a seat on the authority. This position will allow for greater transparency, a balanced debate and the employees having equal input on important decisions at future meetings. This is something we are very pleased with and have been requesting for some time."

Six TRVs have been introduced to replace six standard fire engines at stations across North Yorkshire.

In September this year, Cllr Backhouse asked officers to produce a report to consider increasing the crewing of the TRVs at four stations - Malton, Tadcaster, Northallerton and Ripon.

This report was presented to the fire authority yesterday who made a decision to crew those four TRVs with four firefighters.

A spokeswoman for North Yorkshire fire service said: "There are no current plans to change the crewing of TRVs with three at Scarborough and Harrogate, as they have a second appliance immediately available crewed by wholetime firefighters."

Cllr Backhouse added: “It is my duty as chair of the authority to listen to all sides of argument and manage out the risk, to the best of my ability. In this instance, serious concerns were raised with me about the crewing of the TRVs with three members of staff.

"We as an authority have made the decision that the TRVs at these four stations should be crewed with four firefighters. I appreciate the efforts and hard work of officers on this project over the last few years."