CONTROVERSIAL plans to reform the county fire service were rejected by councillors yesterday.

Fire service managers had devised proposals to modernise the service according to Government guidelines.

These included using the same crews to man regular and aerial ladder appliances, enabling staff to drive six first response vehicles, and using retained firefighters to provide night cover in Harrogate.

The proposals have been strongly opposed, with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) saying the consultation was inadequate.

Yesterday, the plans went before the county's fire authority for approval. Members passed parts of the plan but said decisions on night-time crewing provision in Harrogate, and dual crewing of aerial appliances, should be deferred and alternative options explored. They also said first response vehicles should be introduced to only one area as a trial, to assess their impact.

The FBU, which withdrew from the consultation on the proposals, had planned a 200-member rally outside the meeting at the fire training centre in Easingwold, but it was called off.

The FBU's North Yorkshire secretary, John Mitchell, said: "A risk assessment showed that it would be unsafe to hold the rally. Secondly, in relation to the geography of the site, it is such that even a dignified protest may well be perceived as confrontational."

Mr Mitchell made a plea to the authority not to accept the plan in its current form.

He said: "It is based on a strategy which lacks compassion and understanding and it will fail miserably."

After the meeting, he said: "I think that common sense has won the day. There has been recognition that the consultation hasn't been carried out sufficiently well."

Harrogate MP Phil Willis, who attended and spoke at the meeting, said: "This affects the fire and rescue service in the whole of North Yorkshire. The real target is that there is conversation between management and the firefighters."