"Unthinkable": Union dismay at plans to cut South Yorkshire fire crew numbers

South Yorkshire Fire Service is proposing to cut the size of fire crews in what it admitted was a cost-cutting measure, saying it had to find up to £4 million in annual savings.

Fire chief James Courtney said fire services in 17 other areas used four-person crews as standard and SYFR regularly resorted to them during periods where staff numbers were stretched.

But these areas include only one — Tyne and Wear — of similar profile to South Yorkshire.

The fire service’s Draft Integrated Risk Management plan will go out to consultation next month after being discussed at a meeting of South Yorkshire Fire Authority yesterday.

Councillors said they hoped the consultation would throw up alternative cost-saving ideas, with Wath councillor Alan Atkin saying none of the options on the table was “palatable”.

Cllr Tony Damms said: “I hope what we can get from the consultation process is reassurance and perhaps some new ideas.”

The FBU said it considered five to be the minimum number of firefighters needed to safely tackle a blaze and to rescue a member of the public trapped inside a burning building.

SYFR said the only alternative to making the change to four-person crews — which had already been adopted by many UK fire services nationwide — was to reduce the speed of its 999 response from up to half of its fire stations, by replacing fully-staffed stations with night-time retained crews.

Mr Courtney told the meeting it was hoped advances in technology could help smaller fire crews, but he acknowledged that “riding” four instead of five would mean each crew member would ultimately have to do more.

The fire service was given a financial headache after being barred from using a controversial shift arrangement known as Close Proximity Crewing — which saves SYFR £1.4 million a year — and by the potential need to meet a national shortfall in pension contributions.

Neil Carbutt, FBU South Yorkshire brigade secretary, has described the plan to cut crew numbers as “unthinkable” and said it would “leave fire engines short-staffed, damaging the ability of firefighters to keep the public safe”.

He added: “Central government has consistently underfunded our fire and rescue service but the price for that cannot be the safety of our community.”

The fire authority opted to “note” the plan rather than approve it until the consultations are complete.

Police and crime commissioner Dr Alan Billings said the document put out to consultation should be amended to include details of the other cost-saving options that had been considered before the proposal for smaller crews was put forward.

Councillors also pledged to urge MPs to lobby the Government for more funding for fire services.

Mr Carbutt said: “It’s vital that the fire authority exhaust all options of funding to keep our community safe.

“It’s crucial that members and the wider public continue to fight these cuts as the proposals enter their consultation phase.”

The consultation will be launched on May 3 and will include social media channels, the fire service’s website and internal communication channels.

It will involve staff, the public, council leaders and MPs.

Mr Courtney said: “We would like the views of as many people as possible in terms of this proposal and any viable options people can come up with.”