FIRE service strikes across South Yorkshire will not affect West Yorkshire brigades, the service said yesterday.
Hundreds of South Yorkshire firefighters walked out at 6pm yesterday as part of a long-running dispute over senior officers’ plans to change shift patterns.
But West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) said it would not be providing extra cover for its South Yorkshire counterpart.
The West Yorkshire service said it would continue to assist at incidents near the border between the two ridings.
A WYFRS spokesman said: “The planned strike action in South Yorkshire will not affect West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service or the residents of West Yorkshire in any way.
“All four watches and our retained duty staff will remain on duty throughout any industrial action.
Yesterday South Yorkshire’s chief fire officer, Mark Smitherman ‘beseeched’ the Fire Brigades Union to call off a 24-hour strike and return to the negotiating table.
