Submitted by SWFBU on
“ITS TIME TO START LISTENING & STOP CUTTING!” – FIREFIGHTERS TELL AVON POLITICIANS
Firefighters in Avon have sent an uncompromising message to local Politicians demanding that they scrap plans to cut the frontline fire service. The plans, which have been the subject of a public consultation that has just closed, would see 49 Firefighter posts removed from frontline stations and the downgrading of Yate fire station at night where fulltime cover is being removed.
The plans also include cutting the immediate response of vital aerial appliances at Bath and Weston Super Mare fire stations that are used for rescues and firefighting in high rise buildings and would also see the end of 24/7 availability of specially trained firefighters to crew a heavy rescue appliance at Avonmouth – used in serious road collisions on the motorway network.
Firefighters have been campaigning against the planned cuts, raising their concerns with politicians and seeking public support public by taking to the streets of Bristol. Bristol MP’s Kerry McCarthy, Thangam Debbonaire and Karin Smyth have come out against the planned cuts, writing to the Home Office demanding that the cuts stop and that the Government “give our firefighters the resources they need to keep us safe”. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU), who organised the campaign against the cuts, have made a formal response to the consultation telling politicians that the planned cuts represent “an unacceptable and dangerous cut” to the frontline fire & rescue service in Avon. In their response, the FBU demand that politicians sitting on Avon Fire & Rescue Authority reject the plans saying that “it is time to recognise the dangerous impact these cuts would have on public safety if they are voted through.
Bristol Firefighter and FBU rep Gary Spindler said: “Firefighters in Avon believe these cuts would seriously compromise our ability to deal with emergency incidents and keep the public safe. They are a step too far and it’s time for politicians to start listening and stop cutting. Firefighters have been out on the streets asking the public for support against these cuts and the response has been overwhelming. Members of the public took the time to listen to our concerns and offered us their support, signing our petition and expressing their alarm at these proposed cuts. These cuts have been rejected by professional Firefighters and members of the public. If the consultation process is meaningful the politicians who are proposing these cuts need to think again. The Fire & Rescue Service is a lifesaving emergency service which requires investment – not cuts.”
