Concern raised about impact of cuts to local Fire and Rescue Services

Tuesday, 7 November 2017 11:30

By Grainne Connolly @grainne555

by Gráinne Connolly

A meeting was held yesterday with members of the Fire Brigades Union to discuss concerns raised regarding the £2 million cuts to the budget for the Fire and Rescue Service.

As a shortfall of the budget, the Northland and Crescent link stations have already been affected in Derry-Londonderry.

It's been highlighted that there's crew shortages, lack of annual leave management and changes to the overtime situation and to the aerial equipment staffing.

Foyle Sinn Féin MP Elisha McCallion says lives could be at risk with the cuts:

"The loss of this vital service could put the lives of the public and members of the Fire and Rescue service at risk.

"Firefighters provide a vital, life-saving service day and night, often in very challenging circumstances to keep the entire community safe and they should have our full support in doing so."

Q Radio spoke to Foyle MLA Gary Middleton who says he spoke directly with members of the fire service who are worried about the impact of the cuts to local services.

Shaun Harkin, representative of People Before Profit also met with Fire Brigades Union regional official Davy Nichol and local fire fighters at the weekend.

He says:

"The planned reductions will harm the ability of fire fighters to deal with high-rise fires, water rescue emergencies but also the day-to-day challenges they face.

"These cuts have been described as 'low-risk' but the concerns of local fire fighters don't reflect this at all. The cuts will impact services across the entire North but will hit Derry and the North West most severely.

"Funding for the Fire Service has been slashed over the last decade by tens of millions of pounds. As a result, our fire fighters are already understaffed, under-resourced and underpaid.

"The Grenfell Tower fire in London, the large-scale fire at the Mandarin Palace and the recent North West floods all put emergency services to the test. The planned cuts are more likely to make unnecessary tragedies in situations like these inevitable.

"We join with the Fire Brigades Union in demanding these disastrous cuts are immediately reversed. We call on everyone who stood up for the health service to stand up for our fire service."