Jobs to go as cuts see two Stafford fire engines axed
Two specialist fire engines are being axed in Stafford, with the loss of 16 jobs, as part of £3.7 million cuts to the county's fire and rescue budget.
Fire service bosses insist cover in the town will not be compromised and promise that all frontline appliances are now being upgraded to compensate.
They said they had no choice but to cut jobs to make savings. Stafford was a base for one of two county rescue tenders equipped with cutting machinery, animal rescue gear and other specialist equipment.
It was also home to one of three machines with aerial ladders and extendable platforms. This will now be used as a reserve appliance.
The two machines had to go from the same base in order to make savings on specialist crew to man them, chiefs said. Stafford was preferred to the more populated north of the county.
The 8.8 per cent cut in funding for 2013/14, equating to £1.7m, followed by a further 6.2 per cent cut, or £1.3m, in 2014/15, was announced just before Christmas. The service will also see the loss of £700,000 this year from the council tax freeze grant.
But Chief Fire Officer Peter Dartford said the figures were in line with, even fractionally lower than, what they expected.
"Our service to the town will not be affected," he said. "The specialist machines operated across the county, not just Stafford, and the frontline fire engines at Rising Brook and Stafford will all now be upgraded to provide, arguably, a better service.
"Most importantly, there will be no compromise to the safety of our communities or our firefighters. "Compared to other authorities, the budget has been quite positive for Staffordshire."
He said there would be no compulsory redundancies, with all 16 firefighter posts being lost through natural wastage as part of a total 60 jobs to go by 2015.
It will leave the Stafford station with 24 crew members instead of 40.
