Plans to cut number of Tyne and Wear firefighters "go too far"

Plans to cut the number of firefighters at Tyne and Wear fire stations go "too far" - and put public safety at risk.

That's according to the Fire Brigades Union - they say going from 5 to 4 firefighters per fire engine creates delays when tackling fires.

Over the next six months, nine fire stations will see their number of crew per fire engine cut.

Russ King, brigade secretary for the FBU in Tyne and Wear said:

"In December, a fire crew from Marley Park station rescued a child from a house fire and carried out lifesaving first aid until the arrival of paramedics. Without the fifth firefighter, the rescue would have been delayed until backup arrived from other stations. If this incident had occurred after the reductions came into effect then the outcome could have been tragically different."

“This incident clearly demonstrates the importance of the fifth crew member - four firefighters are not able to provide the full range of firefighting and rescue tactics in a safe controlled manner that a crew of five can. Tyne and Wear Fire Authority need to immediately reverse the decision to reduce the number of firefighters in a crew."

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Alan Robson said:

“At the last Fire Authority meeting it was agreed to approve the implementation of the previously agreed proposal to change the level of crewing from 5 to 4, on fire engines at 9 stations. This was an essential decision for the Service in order for us to balance our available resources against risks to our community and firefighters. Following extensive public consultation, consideration of the technical advances in our firefighting equipment, our successful approach to fire prevention, additional research and analysis – including information from 6 other fire services who currently operate this level of firefighter cover – we are confident that this decision does not present any risk to our firefighters and the professional and dedicated service that they provide to our community.

"Should the financial position of the Fire Authority improve significantly through the coming Local Authority Financial Settlement, or in future years, this and other decisions implemented through our Integrated Risk Management process will come back to the Fire Authority for review.

"We will begin implementation from January 1st 2018, on four stations and on all pumps dependent upon overall staffing availability, followed by a further roll out to the other 5 stations on 1st June 2018."