Fire service cuts threaten time it takes to respond

FIRE service chiefs have warned that any more funding cuts will mean people have to wait longer for help in an emergency.

Phil Loach, Chief Fire Officer of West Midlands Fire Service, and Councillor John Edwards, Chairman of West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority, said fire engine response times would increase if the service was forced to continue making savings.

They said fire and rescue services were approaching a “tipping point” which could mean:

People having to wait longer for fire crews to arrive in an emergency;

Less community-based prevention work with vulnerable people including the elderly and schoolchildren;

Less fire safety work Midlands businesses; More fires. Government figures showed the number of West Midlands firefighters has fallen by more than 600. They’re down from 2,035 in 2002 to 1,408 today.

Mr Loach said: “The money we get from the Government dropped by £28 million between 2011/12 and 2015/16. We’re expecting further cuts of £10 million by 2020.”

“The public need total confidence in their fire service to be able to deliver,” he said. “It’s essential that with West fire and rescue services are resilient, adequately resourced and can respond quickly to a wide range of emergencies. This all needs to be based on risk, not demand.”

The two fire chiefs met MPs at Westminster to highlight their concerns.

And they urged the government to support the fire service in the Budget, when the Chancellor sets outs his spending plans, due on November 22.

Mr Loach said the fire authority should be allowed to increase the precept added to council tax bills by more than the current limit of two per cent. Current rules state that any increase higher than this must be approved by a referendum of local voters.

The current precept is year for a band D property.

Cllr Edwards, a Labour councillor in Sandwell, said: “The latest figures from the government itself expose the impact of unprecedented cuts on the fire and rescue services nationwide. Thousands fewer firefighters mean less prevention and protection work and a negative impact on response times.”

Labour MP Jack Dromey (Erdington), who attended the meeting, backed calls for more funding.

He said: “The longer it takes for firefighters to reach a blazing fire, the greater the risk that someone trapped inside will die. So too will businesses burn if firefighters cannot get there on time.” £57.14 a