COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Further cuts and job losses among firefighters in Coventry will impact on the service the public receives, warn union chiefs.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) says West Midlands Fire Service has announced that 18 firefighters posts will be axed in the city in the latest round of cuts, which will see a total of 34 firefighters’ posts lost across the West Midlands.

The union also warns that in Coventry two traditional fire engines will be decommissioned and replaced by one smaller fire vehicle which will attend a more limited range of emergency incidents with less equipment and fewer firefighters.

And while the service has promised to keep its current fire stations open, Birmingham will also be affected with 16 job losses and two traditional fire engines set to be decommissioned and replaced with smaller fire vehicles.

Paul Cockburn, FBU brigade secretary, said: “Fires and other emergency incidents can have a catastrophic effect on the communities we serve.

“The public rightly expect an efficient and effective fire and rescue service to be able to deal with a multitude of emergencies.

“The West Midlands fire service have committed themselves to keep the current 38 fire stations open.

“The public may be relieved to hear that and reassured when they see the lights still on.

“But they must be made aware that behind the fire station doors, the service they receive is changing: fewer traditional fire engines, more small fire units with limited capacity, fewer firefighters, less capacity to cope with large incidents and less resilience.

“Claims that fire services can fall back on each other and pool resources don’t stand up when the cuts are widespread.

“The overall pool of frontline resources, stations, fire engines and firefighters throughout the country is being drained away and it will get worse year after year.

“Pre-election promises not to cut frontline services have proved worthless.

“You don’t get much more frontline than a 999 response and we’re being cut to pieces.”

A West Midlands Fire Service spokesman said they would be commenting in full on their plans in due course.

Coventry could lose its chemical decontamination unit in the latest series of fire service cuts



Leaked government documents have claimed that Coventry is set to lose its only Incident Response Unit (IRU) that would be deployed in the event of major contamination incidents.

The IRU based at Canley Fire Station could be axed in days according to a national resilience information note issued by the Chief Fire Officers Association.

The IRUs provide decontamination facilities at incidents where crowds have been exposed to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials, including ‘dirty bomb’ attacks by terrorists.

The units kitted out with protective clothing, showers and detectors and the only other one in the West Midlands is in Walsall.

The leaked document claims that 22 of the emergency vehicles across the country will be axed since 43 IRUs are sufficient enough “to meet the scale of event identified within the national resilience planning assumptions”.

The IRUs highlighted for decommissioning will supposedly be removed by December 31 as their power respirator protective suits are about to pass their expiry date.

A set of the one-piece gas-tight chemical protection suits will be supplied for the remaining appliances.

The decision has been condemned by the Labour party, with councillors saying it creates a serious security risk.

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham complained that the decision had been made without consultation and should be put on hold until ministers explained the implications.

He said: “It cannot possibly be the right time to cut, by a third, our ability to respond to serious terrorist incidents.

“Not only is it the wrong time, but it is even worse that these plans are being hatched in secret, without any public information or consultation.

“Ministers must put these plans on hold immediately and make a statement to Parliament as soon as it returns. It is disgraceful that we’re days away from this happening without any debate.”

A government spokesman said: “Research and experience shows that speed is of the essence in dealing with major incidents, which is why it is better to issue all front-line responders with the training to begin decontamination rather than wait for specialist services to arrive.”