Fire service faces £8m cuts
Monday 03 September 2012
Printable
EmailFire stations across West Yorkshire face the chop on Friday as the local fire authority weighs up bosses' plans to slash their spending by £8 million.
Chief fire officer Simon Pilling blamed budget cuts, which are set to hammer the service until 2020.
He said current plans would reduce the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue's spending by between £8m and £12m over the next two years.
But they call for full-time jobs and Haworth, Shipley and Idle fire stations to be thrown on the bonfire.
Hunslet, Morley, Rothwell, Garforth, Cookridge and Moortown stations would also be shuttered and some firefighters moved to three other sites.
Halifax would lose a fire engine and Marsden station would go for good.
FBU West Yorkshire brigade secretary David Williams warned the closures will slow response times and put locals' lives in danger.
"To propose a further raft of station closures and the loss of a further 250 front-line emergency firefighters is irresponsible beyond belief," he said.
Essex FBU members are due to strike on Wednesday for four hours against job losses.
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