Ting brave crews and public they serve at risk
Rest at last for 52yr hero Chas
ER OF THE LABOUR PARTY
eople for the better. The FBU the heart of the Labour Party e for most of its existence. d to lead a party that is y the FBU and its members campaigning for workers’ rights, social justice and defending our public services.
You cannot keep the public safe on the cheap. We must make sure the fire service is funded properly and that these brave and dedicated public service workers are treated with respect. Firefighters have lost faith in this Tory government. Austerity is putting the public at risk and damaging an essential service.
Firefighters dealt with more incidents, more fires and saw more fire deaths last year than for most of the last decade in England, CAMPAIGN Union slogan mug yet Tories continue to starve fire authorities of central funding. Cuts have consequences and we cannot afford to cut these vital public services. Since 2010, one in five firefighter jobs has been cut. That means slower response times, so austerity is putting public safety at risk. Chas and, below, his helmets BRITAIN’S longest-serving firefighter has finally hung up his seven helmets.
Charles McGill, 68, has retired 52 years and a day after joining Hampshire Fire and Rescue.
Chas – as all his colleagues call him – said: “The service is my family and I’ve loved my job. I’ve seen many, many changes, in equipment – as my different styles of helmets show – and attitudes.
“But the greatest improvements have come from emergency services working together and, of course, from more women joining.”
At the age of nine, Chas would rush to watch crews going out on calls.
In 1970 he fought the fire aboard the Pacific Glory oil tanker in which 13 crew members died. In 2016 he was awarded an MBE for his 50 years’ service.