The Fire Brigades Union has condemned Reforms claim that further huge fire service cuts are manageable as dangerous right-wing trash. The FBU warns that if the Reform agenda was followed it would have a devastating impact on public and firefighter safety.
FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack said: “It is dangerous and ignorant right wing trash to suggest that more cuts to an already depleted fire service are manageable. We’ve been cut to the bone already and further frontline cuts will have a devastating impact.
“Reform make this claim based on the falling number of deaths in accidental dwelling fires. They put this down to smoke alarms, which do not put out fires or rescue people.
“Smoke alarms are useful. But more people die in fires in homes with smoke alarms fitted, they are not the magic bullet this ignorant research is suggesting.
“They ignore the fact that fire crews have been carrying out near-record numbers of rescues from dwelling fires and other 999 incidents. We have been saving more lives, rescuing more people, there is no reduction in the need for a fire service.
“The research ignores ever increasing insurance losses for homes, commercial premises buildings and workplaces with losses reaching new record levels year after year. The fire service has already been stretched to breaking point by major outdoor fires, widespread flooding, significant terrorist incidents and recently at civil disturbances.
“We’ve already been cut to pieces. To follow the Refrom agenda will put the lives of the public and fire crews at much greater risk at all the incidents we respond to.
“Brave fire crews recently faced attacks with bricks, bottles and stones during recent civil disturbances when they tried to protect their communities. I find it sickening that we’re now facing attacks by the metaphorical brick, bottle and stones now being thrown at us by right-wingers in suits.”
Reform has also left out details of the increases being proposed for the Fire Service Pension schemes. These are to increase contribution rates by between 3.2% and 6.2% over the next three years. Hiking contribution rates to raise money for deficit reduction (not to pay for pensions) to between 11.5% and 16.2% of gross pay.
This will cost fire crews in these schemes between £2,000 and up to £8,500 for the senior officers who deal with major incidents. Such a move will see an exodus from the schemes damaging their viability, plunging morale and an exodus from the fire service.
Reform seem to be unaware that:
Tony McGuirk, who they hail as one of the “visionary public service leaders who are already delivering improved services” actually took retirement last year but continued to be paid as chief fire officer of Merseyside until last month when he finally left employment. During his time as chief he and the very senior officers secured huge pay rises, despite managing fewer and fewer frontline crews.
The Merseyside smoke alarm fitting programme was not the success painted by Reform. Of the hundreds of thousands of smoke alarms fitted, many did not work properly and there is a programme of re-visiting homes to refit ones which do.
Last year Mr McGuirk told a Reform seminar: “We’ve got some bone-idle people in the public sector – there I said it, bone-idle people.” He was forced to make the following grovelling apology to his staff: “I am passionate in defending our Service but in hindsight, in the discussion during the conference, I used language which in retrospect I now regret. The media have focused on that element of my presentation as you would expect, and I apologise if any staff are upset by my comments.”
