On the weekend of 28 June, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight fire and rescue service were reduced to just 23 out of 80 fire engines available due to a lack of resources.
The Fire Brigades Union says that this shows that the frontline is already severely overstretched and under-resourced, and that further cuts will “push a service already on it knees to the point of critical failure.”
Over 500 people have signed an online petition calling for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Authority and the chief fire officer to stop the cuts.
Mark Chapman, Fire Brigades Union regional secretary for the Southern region said:
Hampshire and Isle of Wight fire authority and chief fire office must put public safety first and stop these dangerous cuts.
The service is in desperate need of investment after fifteen years of brutal austerity, having already lost nearly 1 in 4 firefighter posts to cut – a staggering reduction.
Instead, fire service leaders are planning a £1.6 million cut. This threatens to push a service already on its knees to the point of critical failure.
Without enough firefighters on the frontline, firefighters’ safety as well as people’s homes and lives will be at greater risk.”
