Plans to cut number of firefighters in Hereford and Worcester condemned by union
The Fire Brigades Union says it would put the public 'at serious risk'
There are concerns potential cuts to fire engines and on-call firefighters across Hereford and Worcester will put the public at 'serious risk.'
On Tuesday, the fire authority discussed a proposal to remove 8 fire engines across the region, downgrade fire cover in Wyre Forest, and axe 45 on call firefighters.
The move has been slammed by the Fire Brigades Union - who say that reducing fire engines by 20%, from 41 to 33, will put the public and firefighters at serious risk.
Neil Bevan, FBU Hereford and Worcester brigade secretary said:
“These proposed cuts present a serious threat to public and firefighter safety. Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service is already stretched dangerously thin. Response times have hit a ten year high due to lack of resources. Meanwhile, we continue to respond to high numbers of flooding incidents year on year.
“The fire authority should be investing in the service, but instead they are proposing cutting it to the bone. Firefighters will not sit back and allow homes and lives to be put on the line. We will fight to save our service.”
We contacted Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service for comment on this matter. Their Chief Fire Officer, Jon Pryce, said:
“No decision on the proposals in the HWFRS Resource Review have yet been made, and the proposals are due to undergo full consultation in the New Year.
“These proposals are NOT cuts, as every penny saved will be reinvested in the staffing on the remaining fire engines to make them more resilient, and for some fire engines to have larger crew sizes. This would mean more Firefighters on the busiest first fire engines, and better availability of our remaining On-Call fire engines, something which the Fire Brigades Union and staff have been asking for repeatedly for many years.
“The review does not propose closing any fire station, or removing or reducing any first fire engine, at any of our 25 fire stations. This review is focused on those fire stations with more than one fire engine where that additional fire engine is not used very often, and can suffer from low levels of availability of On-Call Firefighters.
“The removal of the 8 fire engines proposed in the review would provide much needed resources to improve staffing levels and resilience of those first fire engines that are usually the first to attend many thousands of serious incidents each year.
“These proposals for changes in how we use some of our resources are also additional to the investment in the 'front line' of over half a million pounds in improving staffing and resilience at Malvern, Evesham and Droitwich Fire Stations (first fire engine), that is already planned to be implemented in the New Year.
“It is somewhat disingenuous to portray these proposals as cuts to the 'front line' as 2024 will see a significant investment in our fire engine staffing, alongside the Resource Review proposals which are a way of changing how we use some of our underused available resources for better long term sustainability, by employing more full time Firefighters at five other locations.
“The Resource Review carefully explains the challenges, data, and rationale for these proposals which are proportionate and carefully considered, and I would encourage anyone interested to read the review and respond to the consultation in the New Year.
“Hereford & Worcester Fire Authority agreed to go out to the public for consultation on 12th December 2023, which will begin in early January 2024."