July 15, 2011 3.36 pm This story is over 152 months old

Fire service unaffected by AssetCo administration

Safe: Despite the company in charge of fire engines going into administration, the Fire service in Lincolnshire is unaffected.

The company in charge of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue’s (LFR) equipment is facing administration, however it’s not thought that it will affect the county.

AssetCo agreed in April 2006 with LFR to be in charge of supplying equipment, response vehicles and other operational equipment.

However, AssetCo has been facing financial problems for the past few months, as it owes between £117 million to £140 million to various creditors.

On Monday, July 10, the company was granted a two-week delay from liquidation to give them time to discuss with businesses and find someone to sell the company to.

LFR say that no matter what happens with the company, even administration, it will not be affected as it is in the terms of the contract for LFR to keep all equipment and appliances.

Lincolnshire’s Chief Fire Officer, Dave Ramscar, said: “We have robust agreements in place in case of any changes to AssetCo as a company, so we can assure people that there will be absolutely no impact in our ability to continue providing our services.

“Our contracts mean we will continue doing this with the appliances and equipment we currently use, and maintenance, is carried out by a local company so will also be unaffected.

“In the event of the company going into administration, we will continue with business as usual until we have more information to make any longer term decisions.”

AssetCo also supply equipment to London Fire Brigade. A spokesman told the Guardian in May that it did not “anticipate an impact on London’s fire engines”.

It has been claimed by the Fire Brigades Union that more than 20 fire stations in London are having to use minibuses equipped with hoses whilst some fire engines are being updated to fit current exhaust emissions legislation.