Fire service axes technical rescue unit

SOUTH Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is to save £700,000 by scrapping a specialist rescue unit only two years after it opened.

The technical rescue unit at the new Dearne Fire Station has a 28-strong specialist crew trained to deal with major incidents such as rail and plane crashes.

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It was decided last year to merge the unit with other Dearne crews, but now it has been decided to close it altogether and redistribute its skills and equipment across South Yorkshire.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has been carrying out a consultation on plans to trim £10m off its budget by 2015.

A spokesman for the Fire Brigade Union said it did not like to see cuts, but the the unit was hard to justify in the current climate.

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