'Savage' fire and rescue cuts put lives at risk

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is raising the alarm over unprecedented risks to public safety posed by 'deep and dangerous' cuts to the fire service. Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, is urging the public to join firefighters in defending stations threatened with closure. 'The public has already lost around 1,500 frontline firefighters since 2010, despite David Cameron's hollow eve-of-election promise that there would be no cuts to the firefighting frontline,' he said. The FBU leader warned a continuation of the government's 'reckless austerity drive' could see frontline firefighter jobs slashed by 20 per cent. 'People deserve to have their lives, homes and businesses protected. As firefighters, we have a duty to spell out to the public the risks of ever-deepening cuts,' he said. 'More cuts will mean slower response times to emergencies, putting lives, homes and businesses at greater risk. Response times are almost two minutes slower on average than a decade ago. If there is no local fire station, response times will be even longer. Delays cost lives. That's why people should make sure they join with fire-fighters to campaign to keep stations threatened with closure open. '