Changes to the way Spalding fire station is staffed have been ratified, ending the use of full-time firefighters on voluntary overnight shifts and placing greater responsibility for night-time responses on nearby part-time crews.
The decision was backed by Lincolnshire County Council’s Executive after a consultation. Spalding’s full-time crews will no longer be available at night under the revised arrangements. Instead, part-time firefighters who live within five minutes of the station are expected to respond to calls between 5pm and 9am.
During the day, full-time firefighters will be able to work from 9am to 5pm every day of the week. That provision follows concerns about an earlier version of the proposal, under which Spalding’s full-time firefighters were told they would also stop working weekends.
Why the staffing system is changing
Spalding is South Holland’s only fire station served by whole-time crews. Historically, full-time staff working the daytime shifts also covered overnight periods voluntarily. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said that arrangement had been ruled illegal several years ago, although it continued in practice.
The council says ending the voluntary night shifts will create a more sustainable staffing model and bring the service into line with working-time requirements. It also says money saved by no longer paying overtime to full-time staff will help fund 20 new full-time firefighters across Lincolnshire.
At least one of those new full-time firefighters is expected to be based at Spalding. However, no confirmed number of new posts for the station or start date has been provided.
Assurances about overnight protection
The change has raised questions about how Spalding will be covered overnight. The council said a fire appliance would remain available at each location with whole-time crews, supported by on-call firefighters.
Coun Alex McGonigle said the purpose of the changes was “about making the right resources in the right place at the right time”. In a statement to the meeting, he said: “Our previous duty system was not compliant with working time regulations.”
He said the council had a responsibility to protect firefighters’ health, safety and wellbeing, adding: “We cannot expect our crews to provide an emergency service to the public while operating under arrangements that potentially compromise our own health, safety and well-being.”
McGonigle acknowledged that concerns had been raised about night-time cover. He said the service would retain a fire appliance at each whole-time location with support from on-call crews, and argued that the county was not withdrawing from local communities.
He said the decisions were intended to address not only the fire and rescue service Lincolnshire has now, but also the service it will need in five, 10 and 20 years.
Review examined over more than a year
Coun Rob Gibson asked whether the review behind the proposals had been thorough. Ryan Stacey, assistant chief fire officer, said the proposals had been developed over more than a year with assistance from an outside consultant.
Stacey said not all the data could be shared because a complete report would be “too unwieldy”. The source report does not provide detailed response-time modelling or explain the precise overnight deployment arrangements beyond the stated on-call system.
The revised plan was reported by The Voice on October 8, 2026.