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The fire chief in Fredrikstad launched a proposal for a new fire station some time ago.
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Former firefighter and shop steward in the fire service Odd Ragnar Evensen was on the same topic in an article in Fredriksstad Blad a short time ago. This shows that there is a need for new thinking about the organization of the fire service, or fire and rescue as it is now called.
Not enough of that. In the chairmanship it was recently adopted a proposal that the fire system should be investigated.
This shows that there is a need for new thinking about the geographical organization of fire protection. This has also been realized elsewhere.
In Trøndelag, Trondheim municipality together with the neighboring municipalities of Malvik, Indre Fosen, Frøya, Oppdal and Rennebu have established Trøndelag Fire and Rescue as an inter-municipal organisation. It covers a population of approx. 250,000. For comparison, it can be stated that “new” Østfold has approx. 310,000 inhabitants.
The fire brigade in Østfold is currently partly organized locally and there is an obvious need to see this matter in a wider perspective. The areas in Østfold where there is a regional body of some size are in the Mosseregionen and Indre Østfold. Here, an inter-municipal fire and rescue service has been established which includes Moss, Vestby, Våler and Råde (Mosse region inter-municipal fire and rescue) with a coverage area of approx. 85,000 inhabitants, as well as the equivalent in Indre Østfold municipality, Skiptvet and Marker with a coverage area of approx. 55,000 inhabitants.
The time is now more than ripe to establish a common fire and rescue service for the whole of Østfold. Few parts of the country are better suited to such a reorganization. The county is relatively flat, is small in extent and has few geographical barriers. A four-lane motorway runs through almost the entire county. Something that is very valuable in connection with emergency calls.
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Considering splitting the fire service to get more space at the fire station
A main station with common functions located near Rygge airport will not have more than approx. 60 kilometers to the outer edges of the county. The location at, possibly within, Rygge airport will also provide opportunities for cooperation on the fire and rescue services at the airport. As is known, activity at the airport will now be stepped up significantly.
Østfold today has local fire stations in the old city municipalities of Moss, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg and Halden. These will still be able to function as before under a joint management. In addition to better opportunities for training and further development of the crews, there should also be potential for savings in a new organisation.
“Someone”, in this case it should mean Moss, Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg and Halden municipalities, should now take an initiative together with the already established joint organization for Indre Østfold to learn from their experiences. It would surprise me if such a discussion would not lead to a proposal to establish an Østfold Fire and Rescue Service.
The four old city municipalities have now all got mayors from the same party. Who, to use an Eastfold expression, will take the first kick at the ball?
NB! We are on the border and why not invite Strømstad municipality to the discussion? Strømstad has approx. 12,000 in builders with a relatively new and modern fire station. But it is almost twice as far from Strømstad to Uddevalla as from Strømstad to Rygge. Good cross-border food cooperation is already well established.
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