Firefighter numbers down in Warwickshire
THE number of firefighters serving Warwickshire has been cut by six per cent over the past 14 years according to figures released this week.
In 2010 the county had 457 serving officers but this has dropped to 429 in 2014, a drop of 28.
Union bosses claim that nationally one in five firefighter jobs have been cut as well as one on three control room staff, leaving the UK without the resilience needed to guarantee public safety.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said: “Fourteen Years of austerity have devastated the fire and rescue service. Every region has been hit, with 12,000 firefighters lost to cuts across the UK.
“With flooding, wildfires and storms on the rise as a result of the climate emergency, firefighters are being asked to do more with less. 999 response times are slower than ever before, putting homes and lives at risk.
“To protect the public, Labour must invest in the fire and rescue service as a matter of urgency.”
Earlier this year Warwickshire County Council’s cabinet approved plans by Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) to change the way it provided cover.
This led to the removal of on-call firefighters, thereby reducing the number of individuals available at any one time.
The fire service claimed that the new operating model would provide better coverage across the county, a claim which was disputed by Fire and Rescue Association and members of the community who responded to a public consultation.
Under the new model WFRS claims that 14 engines will be available during the day when activity is highest, and 13 at night when the risk is lower.
However this would be a reduction of engines available according to opponents who claimed that Shipston, Gaydon and Fenny Compton stations would effectively close and be dependent on resilience teams which could be deployed in two hours.
With no on-call firefighters at Stratford, Fenny Compton, Shipstonm Kenilworth, Bedworth, Coleshill and Atherstone they would now be facing redundancy,
