The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in Gloucestershire will be stepping up their campaign against cuts to the local fire and rescue service this weekend. Gloucestershire County Council are planning a series of cuts to the frontline fire service which local firefighters say are dangerous and will compromise public safety. Firefighters will be in Cirencester High Street this Saturday 21 November from 11.30am – 2pm, taking their message to the public, distributing leaflets and asking local people to sign a petition against the cuts.
The cuts, which are out for public consultation, include the closure of Painswick fire station and the removal of all whole-time firefighters at Cirencester station. Firefighters believe these cuts will increase response times to emergencies and will compromise their ability to deal with large scale incidents, such as the recent massive fire at Gloucester docks.
Firefighters have already distributed 1000s of leaflets to their local communities and hundreds of people have signed up to an online petition against cuts at:
Scott Turner, secretary for the FBU in Gloucestershire, said: “Once again we see proposals to cut frontline firefighters and once again it is left to firefighters to defend their fire and rescue service. No firefighter can agree to any proposal that will increase the risk to the public and to themselves. We urge Gloucestershire councillors to think again and withdraw these dangerous proposals.”
Trevor French, regional secretary for the FBU, said: “Firefighters know every second counts when we are called upon to respond to emergency incidents. These cuts will lead to slower 999 response times meaning the safety of firefighters and the public will be compromised. Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has already cut eight watch managers from frontline firefighting duties and these proposed cuts are a step too far.”
