• Emma Kennedy latest Surrey celebrity to call for reversal of fire cuts.
• Nine fire engines unavailable today (Thursday 20) and seven unavailable yesterday. Today is the sixth day in the last week with at least six fire engines unavialble due to short-staffing.
Surrey firefighters have welcomed a new petition campaigning against cuts to their fire and rescue service.
More than 2,300 people have signed a petition from writer and actor Emma Kennedy calling for a reversal of cuts to Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.
The author and Surrey resident has called fire cuts “terrifying for us local residents”, warning that it’s “madness” to close fire stations and that Surrey County Council “has its priorities all wrong”.
It comes after Queen star Brian May spoke out about the “criminally under-supported” fire service during August’s wildfires which highlighted the impact of cuts on the service.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has thanked residents for their support and says the service and fire authority must now listen.
NIne fire engines are unavailable today (Thursday 20) and seven were unavailable yesterday. Six fire4 engines were unavailable on Tuesday (18 August) due to understaffing, after the same number were unavailable at any one time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There were just two on-call fire engines available for the entire county on Sunday.
Firefighters battling a wildfire in Chobham Common last weekend reported dangerous conditions without proper welfare measures, working long hours with insufficient numbers of personnel. Crews worked for extended periods in beating heat without food, relief or toilet facilities.
The major incident left just one fire engine available to cover fires for Surrey’s 1 million residents over a radius of 1,663 square kilometres. In one case, it took 24 minutes for the first fire engine to arrive at a fire.
In another incident, it took 22 minutes for the first fire engine to reach a house struck by lightning last Thursday (13th August).
Four fire engines were cut from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service in April, while changes to shift systems have slashed the availability of firefighters. The brigade plans to cut another three fire engines in October.
Last year, more than 13,000 people signed a petition opposing the cuts, but Surrey County Council ultimately decided to vote them through.
The county had already cut 175 firefighters and control staff since 2010, a 31% reduction in emergency response personnel.
Emma Kennedy, author and Surrey resident, said:
“In the past few weeks, I’ve seen how woefully overstretched our firefighters in Surrey are. For five consecutive days in August, our firefighters had to battle heat, dehydration and exhaustion to bring wildfires on our heathland and commons under control.
“You might think our firefighters have everything they need, but they don't. In Chobham, local volunteers stepped up to provide food and drink for firefighters in dire need of support.
“Surrey County Council has slashed our fire service. Chobham fire station, the nearest to the Common, will no longer be permanently crewed, leaving it only able to respond at night and weekends. This is madness.
“We’re losing another three fire engines in October and it’s terrifying for us local residents to know that Surrey, one of the wealthiest counties in the country with one of the highest council taxes, has inadequate fire cover. Our council has its priorities all wrong.
“In the face of cuts, our fire and rescue service is under further threat. It is time we residents repaid our firefighter's commitment and stand with the Fire Brigades Union against these brutal cuts."
Graham Whitfield, Surrey firefighter and FBU brigade secretary, said:
“We’ve spent over a year campaigning against dangerous cuts to our service. More than 13,000 people stood with us last year, but recent weeks have shown even more people just how exposed our county now is when a major fire or flood breaks out.
“We want to thank Emma Kennedy for starting this new petition and figures in our community like Brian May and Anne Brummer for speaking out against fire cuts. Unless reversed, these cuts are going to prove deadly.
“The council bulldozed through cuts last year, leaving firefighters completely demoralized. Another three fire engines are due to be cut in October, but we are barely able to keep people safe as things stand.
“Surrey councillors ignored our warnings before, but the evidence from just the first round of cuts is clear. It’s led to multiple close call incidents where a fire engine took too long to arrive. Unless cuts are completely reversed, it’s only a matter of time until someone is seriously hurt or dies because we can’t get enough firefighters there in time to save them.”
