London fire service faces mass closures
Wednesday 12 September 2012
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EmailDozens of London fire stations could be closed by 2014 due to budget cuts, Labour has warned.
London Assembly member Navin Shah slammed a "truly reckless" cuts-crazed coalition today following plans to cut a massive £35m from the capital's firefighting budget over the next financial year.
London has 112 fire stations but Chancellor George Osborne's austerity agenda has lopped 25 per cent from its budget.
Mr Shah, who sits on the London fire and emergency planning authority, said he feared many of the stations - which spend around £1.4m just to operate a single fire engine - could be slated for closure.
Mr Shah said: "They are cutting too far, too fast. They are hitting front-line services and putting public safety at risk.
"If we lose such a large chunk of our existing fire cover it will impact on public safety."
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