Recommendations by senior managers at Gloucestershire’s fire service to shut down Painswick fire station and cut all the full time firefighters at Cirencester fire station have been slammed as ‘disgraceful’ by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
The decision by managers at Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service to back the cuts comes despite thousands of people objecting to the plans during a recent three month consultation. Objecting to the proposals, the FBU wrote in their response to the consultation that the cuts “will compromise the safety of the public and communities in Gloucestershire”.
Scott Turner, secretary of the FBU in Gloucestershire, said: “Firefighters in Gloucestershire are shocked and deeply concerned at these recommendations that will put the safety of the public and firefighters in the county at greater risk.
“Thousands of people shared the concerns of firefighters and signed petitions calling for the plans, which will lead to slower responses times across the county, to be dropped. These plans will lead to fewer firefighters and fire stations which will compromise our ability to respond to large scale incidents such as flooding.
“We urge the county council to put public safety first and reject these cuts at their full cabinet meeting next week.”
Trevor French, regional secretary of the FBU in the South West, said: “The public have made their thoughts clear on these recommendations and if the consultation means anything, these cuts must be rejected. Firefighters in Gloucester just want to serve the public and protect people from harm, and these recommendations if implemented, will make our job harder. Firefighters are calling on Gloucestershire County Council to reject these dangerous proposals."
