Firefighters in East Sussex are currently trying to fend off massive cuts to local fire services.
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service have started a public consultation over cuts that will reduce fire cover across the county and put lives and businesses at risk by slowing the amount of time it will take for firefighters to get to emergencies.
Plans include:
- Removing a fire engine that attends over 1,000 calls in Hove and 2,000 in Brighton every year.
- Replacing Brighton and Hove’s ariel ladder platform (similar to this) with an inferior appliance, leaving high rise properties at risk without sufficient resources to attack high rise fires quickly
- Reducing the number of home and school fire safety visits
- Cutting 24 jobs
Firefighters are currently trying to encourage members of the public to sign a petition against the cuts and are out in force at the weekends on Brighton seafront. You can watch a video showing some of the campaign work here. You can sign the petition and find out more here.
