"We are already on our knees after 15 years of austerity" - plea to defer £1.6 million frontline cuts to firefighters amid crisis
A desperate plea has been made to defer £1.6 million frontline cuts amid a crisis which the union means could see some areas without adequate cover if there is a serious incident.
The Fire Brigades Union and concerned members of the public are calling on Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire authority to defer a decision to make cuts at its meeting this Friday and itself use its reserves to fund the service while it asks the government for extra cash.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS) has already lost one in four firefighters since 2010, and recent inspections reveal the service is struggling to meet its own emergency response standards, the union said. The latest HMICFRS report rated the service as inadequate in staffing and skills, requiring improvement in emergency response and resource management.
The union said that on Sunday (August 24) the service entered its degradation plan for a reduced service, operating with just 19 fire appliances across the region—only three on the Isle of Wight. A day later, a tragic helicopter crash near Shanklin claimed three lives and left one critically injured prompting a huge response from the island’s firefighters.
The union said that the service ‘responded effectively’, but had the incident occurred just 24 hours earlier there may have been no available response on the island as a result of the reduced numbers.
It said that despite these challenges, HIWFRS holds £23.9 million in usable reserves and it is urging the fire authority to use these funds to plug the gap while it campaigns for more funding from central government. The service is yet to make a formal appeal to central government which funds the service alongside council tax contributions.
Jamie Kelly, Fire Brigades Union brigade secretary for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: “This decision does not need to be rushed. The Fire Authority has the power to defer these cuts, use reserves temporarily, and fight for the funding our communities deserve. Once frontline services are cut, they are rarely restored. We must act now to protect lives.
“We urge the public to contact their local Fire Authority representatives and demand a deferral of the proposed cuts. A united voice can help preserve this vital life-saving service.”
Mark Chapman, Fire Brigades Union regional secretary for Southern, said: “Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire and rescue service is on the edge of critical failure if these proposed cuts go through.
“The service is seeking to make £2.5m cuts over the next two years. That would mean losing dozens more firefighter posts. We are already on our knees after 15 years of austerity – there’s nothing left to give.
“Tragically, on Monday the Isle of Wight saw a helicopter crash which sadly claimed three lives and left another person critically injured. The fire service was able to respond, but if this incident had happened one day beforehand, we would have been left without fire cover on the island.
“Our ask of the fire authority on Friday is simple: don’t make these cuts. The service has a reserve of £23m – and this is an emergency. They must use that reserve to cover the shortfall while we fight for better funding from central government.”
Previously the fire service has said that it was prioritising ‘the safety of our communities and of our firefighters’ and that without an increase in government funding, fire and rescue services have no choice but to find ways to make savings.
It also praise the response of firefighters following the helicopter crash on the Isle of Wight, and said that in times of major incident it can call for cover for the island from the mainland.
Rob Cole, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, said: “Our crews from local stations on the Isle of Wight provided a professional and swift response to the tragic helicopter crash on Monday. This was a traumatic incident, and I know that our Firefighters from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will always respond professionally when called upon.
“At this time focus should remain on the people involved in this tragic incident, and on being respectful that this is a distressing time for those who have sadly lost their family members. It was a difficult incident for all those involved in the emergency response, and we are currently offering support to all the firefighters who attended.
“Our priority will always be the safety of our communities and of our firefighters. I would like to reassure the public that whenever reduced availability is forecast, which includes due to attending other incidents, we immediately put in place measures - such as recalling people to duty or moving some appliances to standby locations other than their usual base station - to ensure sufficient cover is achieved across the Isle of Wight and the mainland. Firefighters from across the whole service worked hard to deal with numerous incidents over a busy bank holiday weekend.
“HIWFRS is facing financial challenges as are all fire and rescue services across the country and as part of the NFCC we are pressing Government for change. Without an increase in government funding, fire and rescue services have no choice but to find ways to make savings, but we will always seek to do that in a way that ensures we can continue to reduce risk and respond to emergencies as quickly and as effectively as we can.
“In developing these long-term plans for change we have carried out significant data analysis, carefully reviewed risk levels, and carried out engagement with our staff and the public. The results of this work and the changes being proposed are set to be scrutinised by the Fire Authority on Friday.”