In response to former Labour Party special adviser John McTernan’s ill thought out comments onBBC Newsnight (20th July) on how massive savings in government spending could ‘easily’ be achieved by merging the fire and rescue service with the police, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said: “McTernan has no idea how ill advised and dangerous his glib proposal actually is.
“Firefighting is a profession, as is policing, with a completely different set of skills – the two can’t just be slung together to save money. The public love firefighters because of the selflessness of what they do and their professionalism, and they offer their trust when they allow them into their homes for fire prevention and rescue work.
“This would be jeopardised severely by merging their work with police. The falling number of fires is a direct result of firefighters assessing risks and taking appropriate preventative action before there is any risk to human life. As part of their everyday work firefighters also carry out flood, road traffic accident and lift rescues. McTernan should look at the reality of the work our members do before spouting off such misguided ideas.”
UPDATE 24.7.15 – FBU responds to “Idiotic” fire prevention comments
The FBU have responded to a message on social media by former New Labour special advisor John McTernan who said: “Fire prevention is a massive waste of precious public money”.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Fire prevention has saved countless lives and is a key part of the work firefighters do every day. Fire prevention and the various inspection and enforcement activities by firefighters have dramatically improved public safety in schools, hospitals and other public buildings; on trains and in railway and underground stations; and in factories and other workplaces.
“More recently, similar work has helped to significantly reduce damage, deaths and injuries as a result of fires in the home. For McTernan to dismiss this vital work as a “waste” is crass, ignorant, offensive and, frankly, idiotic.
“At this point in his career McTernan would be better engaged examining his own role in Labour’s recent spectacular failure in the general election in Scotland.”
