A big thank you to Kent Fire & Rescue Service

Who could forget the sterling work Kent & Fire Rescue Service did during the Folkestone earthquake in April 2007. Then just recently on Nov 8th at 7.30am, 50 Kent Fire & Rescue fire-fighters  were called to Morrisons Folkestone, after a fire in the cafe kitchen spread causing the partially destruction of the store.

Kent Fire & Rescue Service (KFRS) do an amazing job 24/7 -365, anywhere and everywhere in the County – including Medway.

The average response time for all life threatening fires in Kent & Medway have remained solidly under eight minutes.

16/17 – 7 Mins 38 Secs

17/18 – 7 Mins 26 Secs

18/19 (up to 27/11/2018) – 7 Mins 48 Secs

In 2017/18 KFRS saved 48 people from fires throughout Kent & Medway. From April 1st through to 26th Nov 2018 they’ve saved eighteen people. These are not just statistics they are real living people. Mums, Dads, Grandmothers, Grandfathers and children. These are astonishing figures and each time a fire-fighter rescues a person, they too put there own lives at risk. For this we are truly grateful to them.

They attend fires in our homes and in 17/18 they attended 765 fires and between Apr 1st – Nov 26th 2018 they have attended 443.

Kent & Medway currently have more motorways by distance than any other county in the UK, with sections of the M2, M20, M25 and M26 totalling 241 miles of Motorway, 7,293 miles of highways and 60 miles of Highways England roads overcapacity, within the boundary of the county. Every time there is a road traffic collision (RTC) KFRS attend.

In 2017/18 they attended 1,199 RTC’s across the entire road network in Kent & Medway  and from the 1st April to 26/11/2018 they have attended 866. Again these are real people rescued in the vast majority of cases

Now the cost to a Band D Council Tax payer in 2017/18 & 2018/19  was and is as follows:

2017/18 Band D property £73.35

2018/19 Band D property £75.51

We suspect that everyone one who has been saved by KFRS, be it from their home or from a road traffic collision think this amount of Council Tax is worth every penny. And do remember they receive a lot of emergency phone calls as well. In 17/18 it was nearly 20,000 and since Apr 1st through to 26th Nov 2018 they have received in excess of 15,000.

Kent Fire & Rescue Service are just one of our emergency services who do a fantastic job in keeping us all from harm, as best they can, with what they have at their disposal. The others, Kent Police and the South East Coast Ambulance Service also do a marvellous job and we thank them too.

We the Shepwayvox Team and no doubt you to wish to thank them for their dedication for keeping us as safe as they can throughout the year.

We hope you dear reader will join with us and thank all those who will be working over Christmas. This  includes but is not limited to, nurses, doctors, care workers, meals on wheels  and everyone else who will keep the country running safely and securely, so that we who will not be working can have a safe and wonderful time.

The Shepwayvox Team – Journalism for the People NOT the Powerful.