Submitted by SWFBU on
The local FBU in Cornwall has written a letter to County Councillors demanding that they deliver a budget settlement which provides for a "sustainable, effective and resilient Fire & Rescue Service". Amid fears that the forthcoming budget settlement will be seriously inadequate, the Union has outlined the "severe implications" that further cuts to the Service will bring including increases to response times which will endanger public and firefighter safety.
Read the text of the letter below and look out for future posts and updates as they arrive!:
14 October 2013
Dear Councillor
FURTHER BUDGET CUTS - SEVERE IMPLICATIONS FOR EMERGENCY COVER
I am writing to you in my role as the elected Brigade Secretary for the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in Cornwall and in reference to our deeply held concerns regarding the implications for emergency cover should further budget cuts be forced on Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service.
Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service provides emergency cover to the public via the provision of emergency appliances and other resources placed strategically throughout the County at 31 Fire Stations.
These appliances are crewed by highly trained Firefighters who provide cover via a number of different duty systems which, together, provide an integrated, efficient and resilient emergency response to the public within our County.
Since 2010 Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service (CFRS) has seen its budget reduced. So far this has had a limited impact on frontline emergency response. This is due to the Services management of budget reduction by investing in new build schemes to relocate and combine resources. The plans to further reduce the budget for 2014-2015 and the proposed changes to how CFRS operates in not responding to automatic fire alarms in the County will clearly impact on frontline response. No response or a delayed response to automatic fire alarms has the potential to put public and firefighter safety at risk. CFRS already operates a value for money service and so it is clearly the case that future cuts to the budget will impact on our ability to respond to members of the public in emergency situations and damage the resilience of the Service to resolve long term and large scale incidents.
The recent large scale floods, some of the worst in living memory, saw the Firefighters of Cornwall work around the clock, for days on end and in the most difficult of circumstances, in order to serve and protect their communities before, during and after the floods. The highly effective teamwork within the Service was there for all to see, from the Emergency Fire Control Staff who received and co-ordinated extraordinary high levels of calls to the Fire Crews on the ground carrying out numerous rescues and assisting their communities in every possible way.
As the very serious weather situation developed, plans were initiated by the Fire & Rescue Service which provided crews and equipment from other areas of the UK who arrived in the region in order to assist with the situation. This co-ordination increased our capacity but was only possible because no other region, at that time, was affected to the same extent. It should be clear that, even with this extra assistance, the Service had been pushed to the limit with enormous demands placed on the capacity of the Service at every level.
This is one very high profile example of the necessity for the Fire & Rescue Service to ensure proper plans and resources are in place, not just for our day to day emergency response work, but to ensure resilience in the face of large scale and protracted incidents. It is against this background that we raise our serious concerns, not just regarding recent budget cuts, but also the potentially highly serious consequences of any further cut.
It is the professional view of the Cornwall FBU and our Members in the Service that, if further budget cuts are implemented, they will result in serious cuts to the front line which will dramatically reduce the operational effectiveness of Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service. Further cuts to the frontline will:
• Increase response times;
• Reduce resilience;
• Compromise fire cover;
• Place unsustainable pressure on remaining staff;
• Increase risk to communities;
• Compromise the safety of Firefighters and the public.
Cornwall County Council has a responsibility to ensure that the financial pressures being created by central Government do not impact on the ability of the service to keep our communities safe and protect the infrastructure, properties and businesses within our County.
Our experience tells us that in economic downturns we can expect to see an increase in the work of the Service as properties become empty (and so become more at risk from fire and arson) and people who are struggling to afford basic necessities look to find short cuts in household bills and use potential fire risks such as candles more often.
This together with numerous plans being put in place for new housing projects, roads and buildings etc will obviously increase the risks faced by the Fire & Rescue Service.
To deal with this properly the County Council must place its responsibility for the people and places it represents at the very front of the decision making process.
On this basis the FBU calls on Cornwall County Council to ensure that the budget settlement for the Fire & Rescue Service provides for a sustainable, effective and resilient Service.
I would like to meet with you in order to discuss this further and, if you are willing to do so, I will contact your office urgently to arrange an appointment.
Yours sincerely,
STUART PULLEY
CORNWALL BRIGADE SECRETARY
