Firefighters protest “dangerous” plans to reduce crew numbers to just three per engine

Firefighters have gathered in protest outside Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service headquarters ahead of a vote to reduce crew sizes to what they call “dangerous” levels.

The fire authority’s Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) includes proposals to send firefighters to “non-life risk” incidents with a crew of three per fire engine.

But the Firefighters Union said a minimum of five firefighters is needed to respond to all incidents safely and professionally, particularly in cases where breathing apparatus is required. A fire engine with only three firefighters on board cannot deploy breathing apparatus and must wait for backup to arrive to do so, they said.

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Ian Hibbert, FBU Merseyside brigade secretary, said: “A crew of just three firefighters is not equipped to safely enter a burning building. Firefighters are calling on all members of the Merseyside Fire Authority to vote against a policy that will put lives at risk.

“A fire that has been reported as not life-threatening can quickly escalate and spread. When people call the fire department, they expect a crew to arrive who can act immediately and save lives. With a crew of three, firefighters should wait outside when every second counts.

“Merseyside Fire Authority must protect firefighters and the public by rejecting proposals to cut our fire service.”

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said it was “misleading to the public to suggest the service intends to respond to house fires and other such life-threatening incidents with three firefighters” and that the new plans would protect lives by ensuring that frontline crews are not called to low-risk incidents, such as people being trapped inside.

But the union said firefighters are regularly sent to incidents that have been misdescribed or become more serious while crews travel to the scene, meaning incidents initially classified as “non-life-threatening” can quickly become life-threatening. life.

The union also voiced its opposition to the CRMP, pointing to the removal of watch managers from fire engines and the reintroduction of downgraded “small fire units”, which it said would put firefighters at greater risk.

Ian said: “There are 15 points on the plan and we generally agree with most of them, but there are just certain policies we cannot accept and we have made this clear opposition to the service for months. What I have said is if they seek to implement these policies that put firefighters and the public at risk, we will fight them with every tool at our disposal.”

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: “The Fire Brigades Union has made it clear that sending firefighters out in teams of three is dangerous and unacceptable. Firefighters everywhere strongly oppose this life-threatening policy. No fire service should put their firefighters in this position.

“We stand in solidarity with all members of the Merseyside FBU as they fight for public and firefighter safety.

“We must be absolutely clear to councilors at the fire authority: we will not accept this dangerous policy and it must be withdrawn immediately.”

A spokesman for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: “It is misleading to the public to suggest that the Service intends to respond to house fires and other such life-threatening incidents with three firefighters.

“This is absolutely not the case – our plan makes it clear that we will not send frontline fire engines with three firefighters to life-threatening incidents. It goes on to say that our response model will remain as previously detailed in our Integrated Risk Management Plan 2021/24. .

“However, we have been clear throughout the consultation process that if a firefighter becomes unavailable due to sick leave or a last-minute emergency, we will keep the fire engine available for low-level incidents – redefining- l as a small incident unit until we move/detach. personnel at the station to allow them to be redeployed to life-threatening incidents.

“What we’re proposing actually protects our ‘risk-to-life’ response because it avoids sending a front-line fire engine with four or five firefighters from a neighboring area to deal with a low-level incident like a trapped person or to gain entry for the ambulance service – which would leave two station areas without a front line fire engine to respond with should a life threatening incident occur – this is totally unacceptable and avoidable and, despite the Service adapting resources accordingly, would undoubtedly lead to a slower response to “life-threatening incidents – where seconds can cost lives.”

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