Fire service cuts spark safety fears

A new row has broken out over fire service cuts after it was revealed staffing levels across England have plunged by more than 2,500.

More than two dozen fire stations have also been closed, with the prospect of more to follow.

Critics insist the dramatic reduction in numbers is putting lives at risk and placing a huge strain on resources.

However the Government claims the number of emergency call-outs has almost halved over the same period.

The revelations come as unions battle Government plans to increase the standard retirement age for firefighters to 60.

The row has already seen fire crews walk out on strike twice and more action is planned.

Last night Paul Fuller, President of the Chief Fire Officers Association, warned the Government that funding must be sufficient to maintain standards.

He added: “Fire and rescue services are facing significant financial challenges.

“Our members are working hard to reshape the way they work so that they can continue to provide a vital service to the public. But the Government needs to consider a new funding relationship with the service.

“Westminster should work with communities and the relevant fire and rescue authorities to understand what roles and functions the services should undertake, and then fund those areas appropriately.

“It is thanks to the fantastic prevention and protection work of fire and rescue teams that incidents have reduced as dramatically as they have over the past decade.

“This work is now a key part of a firefighter’s job and it is clear that this needs to be maintained.”

In 2002 there were 42,374 full-time equivalent firefighters employed in England but by 2012 that number had reduced to 39,869. During that period the number of fire stations was also reduced by 27 to 1,422 nationwide.

Following that trend, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority have just announced plans to shut ten more fire stations in January 2014 and cut 550 firefighters jobs.

Those plans which will save £28.8 million over two years are seen by many critics as a sign that safety services across the country will be sacrificed in order to balance budgets. But Government officials say that, across England as a whole, the number of incidents firefighters attended decreased from 990,793 in 2002 to 606,704 in 2012 with a total of 519, 907 call-outs so far this year.

Lyn Brown, Labour’s shadow minister for communities and fire, said: “The preventative work we accomplished during our 13 years in office saw a welcome drop in the number of fires.

“Clearly prevention is the best way of keeping people safe and firefighters are key to ensuring this happens. The safety of the public might be put at risk because of the way the Tory-led Government has slashed fire service budgets.

“David Cameron pledged no cuts to front line services. But we can see, with regard to firefighters and the fire service, that this is just another broken promise.”

Firefighters across the country are locked in a dispute with the Government over plans to increase firefighters’ retirement age from 55 to 60, which has seen a series of walk-outs in England and Wales.

The Fire Brigades’ Union fears firefighters will be sacked if they fail fitness tests and are unable to find other work within the service.

But the Government claims firefighters were offered a similar deal to the one accepted by the union in Scotland, They say it would be one of the most generous pension schemes in the public sector.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: “In the last decade there has been a 40 per cent reduction in call-outs and incidents and deaths from fires are now at an all time low, yet expenditure and firefighter numbers have remained broadly the same.

“In May an independent review by Sir Ken Knight concluded that fire and rescue authorities need to transform themselves to reflect the different era they now operate in.

“The report found differences in operational practices, including minimum crew levels, show savings can be made without reducing the quality of outcomes for the public.”

I Cumbria controversial plans are being considered to slash the number of fire engines operating across the county and shut a station in a bid to save £540,000 a year.

Among the controversial plans being considered is removing one of two fire engines based in Workington, Whitehaven, Maryport, Penrith and Kendal.

The proposal would see an automatic vehicle location system introduced to send cover at fires which need back-up. They would also move one of the engines from Barrow-in-Furness to Ulverston which would enable bosses to close Dalton station.

But the plans have been met with stiff opposition including from campaigners worried about the effect it could have on safety.

In Penrith, home the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service headquarters a campaign has been launched to stop the removal of a pump from the base which was opened in 2012 at a cost of £6m.

In Sunderland worried campaigners are also battling to avert the threatened closure of a major station. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service announced it needs to save more than £5m from its frontline budget.

It has revealed Sunderland Central Fire Station could close with the loss of 130 jobs. It would also mean numerous stations containing one fire engine would reduce their workforce from five to four.

The Fire Brigades’ Union claimed the move would be dangerous but during a public meeting assistant chief fire officer John Baines said it was still focused on having “one of the fastest response times of any fire service in the UK.”

A campaign to save the station has amassed 7,000 follows on Facebook.

The Chief Fire Officers Association has welcomed a key new report which examines how the emergency services can work together better when responding to incidents.

The Transforming Urgent and Emergency Care Service in England by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of the NHS, examines how emergency services should be re-shaped in the future.

Mr Fuller said: “A vision of better networked health systems, which will see information and expertise, shared more widely and rapidly, will be vital and we believe it is important that these extend to the FRS.

“We have already learned from our experiences of working with NHS Trusts locally that by sharing information we can provide a better service.”