Responding to the decision by Cleveland Fire Authority to close Marine fire station and cut 114 full-time firefighter jobs, Davy Howe, Fire Brigades Union secretary for Cleveland, said: “Local firefighters are deeply upset, angry and frustrated by this decision which we believe will put lives at risk.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions that need addressing, and this is not the end of our campaign to put public and firefighter safety first.
“We will leave no stone unturned in our ongoing fight against these cuts.”
Ahead of the meeting, 130 firefighters and their supporters demonstrated outside the meeting and lobbied councillors to protect fire services from the cuts.
74 firefighters were allowed into the meeting, with Howe making an impassioned appeal to the authority to consider the alternative proposals the FBU had put forward and retract the dangerous cuts.
