Lancashire firefighter jobs at risk in £6m crisis

5:00pm Friday 8th February 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Lisa Woodhouse, Assistant picture editor

FIREFIGHTER posts are at risk as the Lancashire Fire Authority is forced to find £6million of savings – the equivalent to 170 full-time posts – it has been warned.

A cap on council tax increases and a drop in Government funding has led to a funding gap up to 2015/16.

The Fire Brigade Union said the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was running at a bare minimum and any further cuts would put lives in danger.

Government funding, excluding a one-off payment for freezing council tax, has fallen by £2.5m.

Steve Harman, brigade secretary for the FBU, said that the service had made so many reductions over the last 10 years there was very little ‘wiggle room’.

He said: “When we talk about such drastic cuts it has to have an effect. We are being stretched to the limit.

“We don’t know how we will achieve these cuts without drastically affecting the service.

“£6million is equivalent to 170 full-time firefighter posts, or the loss of all the retained firefighter posts in the county.

“The only option is to get rid of full-time posts, but if you get rid of these you lose the front line capacity. It’s a constant battle to keep enough crew at the retained stations at present. Such drastic cuts will put lives of the public and fire-fighters at risk.

The fire authority report said the cuts would leave lasting damage to the service.

It said: “A significant element of this can be offset by the ongoing utilisation of reserves, however dependent upon future council tax restrictions we may not hold sufficient reserves to fully offset the pressures in the next three years.

“Furthermore, it must be noted that this is only a short-term solution as we will still be left with a recurring deficit in future years.

John Taylor, from the authority, said: “There is a meeting of the Fire Authority on Monday at which the budget will be discussed.

“It’s taking a step beyond Monday’s meeting to discuss how the budget will pan out.”

Comments (16)

7:27pm Fri 8 Feb 13

2 for 5p says...

What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it?
Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.
What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it? Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift. 2 for 5p

8:15pm Fri 8 Feb 13

mavrick says...

2 for 5p wrote:
What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it?
Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.
This comment is totally uncalled for. it seems you can't abide anyone having a better job than you.
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p[/bold] wrote: What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it? Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.[/p][/quote]This comment is totally uncalled for. it seems you can't abide anyone having a better job than you. mavrick

8:21pm Fri 8 Feb 13

2 for 5p says...

mavrick wrote:
2 for 5p wrote:
What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it?
Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.
This comment is totally uncalled for. it seems you can't abide anyone having a better job than you.
oh sorry mav I didn't realise it was a job .
I thought going to bed at night is what every one did, only everyone else doesn't get paid for it.
[quote][p][bold]mavrick[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]2 for 5p[/bold] wrote: What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it? Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.[/p][/quote]This comment is totally uncalled for. it seems you can't abide anyone having a better job than you.[/p][/quote]oh sorry mav I didn't realise it was a job . I thought going to bed at night is what every one did, only everyone else doesn't get paid for it. 2 for 5p

8:48pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Graham Hartley says...

2 for 5p wrote:
mavrick wrote:
2 for 5p wrote:
What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it?
Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.
This comment is totally uncalled for. it seems you can't abide anyone having a better job than you.
oh sorry mav I didn't realise it was a job .
I thought going to bed at night is what every one did, only everyone else doesn't get paid for it.
Who here supervises what is or is not 'called for'? Let a firefighter deny that sleeping is allowed on shift.
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]mavrick[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]2 for 5p[/bold] wrote: What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it? Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.[/p][/quote]This comment is totally uncalled for. it seems you can't abide anyone having a better job than you.[/p][/quote]oh sorry mav I didn't realise it was a job . I thought going to bed at night is what every one did, only everyone else doesn't get paid for it.[/p][/quote]Who here supervises what is or is not 'called for'? Let a firefighter deny that sleeping is allowed on shift. Graham Hartley

10:02pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Libra1 says...

If firefighting is so easy why dont you apply for these lucrative easy jobs ?? , Next time your house is on fire and Your familys trapped inside then pull them out your self , because there might be no firemen to call as they will be asleep in their beds !
If firefighting is so easy why dont you apply for these lucrative easy jobs ?? , Next time your house is on fire and Your familys trapped inside then pull them out your self , because there might be no firemen to call as they will be asleep in their beds ! Libra1

10:12pm Fri 8 Feb 13

2 for 5p says...

Libra1 wrote:
If firefighting is so easy why dont you apply for these lucrative easy jobs ?? , Next time your house is on fire and Your familys trapped inside then pull them out your self , because there might be no firemen to call as they will be asleep in their beds !
quote :

no firemen to call as they will be asleep in their beds !”

That's what they are so what's your point.
[quote][p][bold]Libra1[/bold] wrote: If firefighting is so easy why dont you apply for these lucrative easy jobs ?? , Next time your house is on fire and Your familys trapped inside then pull them out your self , because there might be no firemen to call as they will be asleep in their beds ![/p][/quote]quote : no firemen to call as they will be asleep in their beds !” That's what they are so what's your point. 2 for 5p

10:30pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Fire Fly says...

2 for 5p wrote:
What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it?
Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.
I see you've manged to give your carer the slip again & found a computer so you can annoy us all again! Tut!
[quote][p][bold]2 for 5p[/bold] wrote: What's up lads the gravy train pulling into a station called reality is it? Do you lot still go to bed when you are on night shift.[/p][/quote]I see you've manged to give your carer the slip again & found a computer so you can annoy us all again! Tut! Fire Fly

10:33pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Fire Fly says...

Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help.

You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.
Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help. You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go. Fire Fly

10:55pm Fri 8 Feb 13

Graham Hartley says...

Can we not have a response to fire which is graded according to criteria made up by economisers? Deep fat fryer on fire at 2 am? Cover with a wet towel and call us in the morning if symptoms persist. Someone on fire? None of your business. Other public services get away with it.
Can we not have a response to fire which is graded according to criteria made up by economisers? Deep fat fryer on fire at 2 am? Cover with a wet towel and call us in the morning if symptoms persist. Someone on fire? None of your business. Other public services get away with it. Graham Hartley

9:20am Sat 9 Feb 13

happycyclist says...

Graham Hartley wrote:
Can we not have a response to fire which is graded according to criteria made up by economisers? Deep fat fryer on fire at 2 am? Cover with a wet towel and call us in the morning if symptoms persist. Someone on fire? None of your business. Other public services get away with it.
That's not as daft as it sounds.
[quote][p][bold]Graham Hartley[/bold] wrote: Can we not have a response to fire which is graded according to criteria made up by economisers? Deep fat fryer on fire at 2 am? Cover with a wet towel and call us in the morning if symptoms persist. Someone on fire? None of your business. Other public services get away with it.[/p][/quote]That's not as daft as it sounds. happycyclist

4:36pm Sat 9 Feb 13

peely says...

If their firefighting job is at risk then I suppose they,ll have to concentrate on their second or third job - you know the window cleaning round or their market stall or whatever else they do in their spare time !
If their firefighting job is at risk then I suppose they,ll have to concentrate on their second or third job - you know the window cleaning round or their market stall or whatever else they do in their spare time ! peely

8:08pm Sat 9 Feb 13

2 for 5p says...

peely wrote:
If their firefighting job is at risk then I suppose they,ll have to concentrate on their second or third job - you know the window cleaning round or their market stall or whatever else they do in their spare time !
Yes your quite right theses people ( and I say that lightly ) are on good wages. Yet they go and work extra a lot of it is on theside make more money tax free
[quote][p][bold]peely[/bold] wrote: If their firefighting job is at risk then I suppose they,ll have to concentrate on their second or third job - you know the window cleaning round or their market stall or whatever else they do in their spare time ![/p][/quote]Yes your quite right theses people ( and I say that lightly ) are on good wages. Yet they go and work extra a lot of it is on theside make more money tax free 2 for 5p

9:04pm Sat 9 Feb 13

ossystan says...

Fire Fly wrote:
Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help.

You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.
What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..
[quote][p][bold]Fire Fly[/bold] wrote: Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help. You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.[/p][/quote]What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations.. ossystan

9:31pm Sat 9 Feb 13

Fire Fly says...

ossystan wrote:
Fire Fly wrote:
Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help.

You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.
What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..
...Did I mention anything about legal powers...no.

I also never declared they have medical skills but they can & do perform resuscitation.

What I said was that they are the most highly trained of all the emergency services & they are....fact. Any situation, they attend.
[quote][p][bold]ossystan[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Fire Fly[/bold] wrote: Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help. You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.[/p][/quote]What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..[/p][/quote]...Did I mention anything about legal powers...no. I also never declared they have medical skills but they can & do perform resuscitation. What I said was that they are the most highly trained of all the emergency services & they are....fact. Any situation, they attend. Fire Fly

9:51pm Sat 9 Feb 13

ossystan says...

Fire Fly wrote:
ossystan wrote:
Fire Fly wrote:
Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help.

You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.
What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..
...Did I mention anything about legal powers...no.

I also never declared they have medical skills but they can & do perform resuscitation.

What I said was that they are the most highly trained of all the emergency services & they are....fact. Any situation, they attend.
No, you said firefighters can help in any situation and the FACT is they can't. Training is great but think about these figures, nwas receive more calls in one month than fire service of England and Wales in one year!! No need for training when your doing the real thing.
[quote][p][bold]Fire Fly[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]ossystan[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Fire Fly[/bold] wrote: Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help. You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.[/p][/quote]What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..[/p][/quote]...Did I mention anything about legal powers...no. I also never declared they have medical skills but they can & do perform resuscitation. What I said was that they are the most highly trained of all the emergency services & they are....fact. Any situation, they attend.[/p][/quote]No, you said firefighters can help in any situation and the FACT is they can't. Training is great but think about these figures, nwas receive more calls in one month than fire service of England and Wales in one year!! No need for training when your doing the real thing. ossystan

7:44am Sun 10 Feb 13

Fire Fly says...

ossystan wrote:
Fire Fly wrote:
ossystan wrote:
Fire Fly wrote:
Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help.

You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.
What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..
...Did I mention anything about legal powers...no.

I also never declared they have medical skills but they can & do perform resuscitation.

What I said was that they are the most highly trained of all the emergency services & they are....fact. Any situation, they attend.
No, you said firefighters can help in any situation and the FACT is they can't. Training is great but think about these figures, nwas receive more calls in one month than fire service of England and Wales in one year!! No need for training when your doing the real thing.
I'm referring to emergency situations i.e fires (obviously), car accidents, chemical spills, building collapses; flooding to name but a few.

I have no doubt at all that NWAS receive that number, i'd expect it to be more to be honest. But in those numbers are also a ruddy huge amount of non emergency related calls that the service has to attend when they shouldn't.

The recent programme about emergency services in blackpool sadly highlighted that fact all too well.

The ambulance service & the police have forced into a position where counselling & social work has become a massive part of their job.

Somehow, the fire service has managed to maintain being a purely emergency related service. Not an emergency... then they don't go. Perhaps this is why people feel they're on a cushy number & get to sleep on shift??

In whats going wrong, the namby pamby powers that be are to blame. The brigade that have taken human rights & political correctness to extremes in this country & in doing so made it incredibly easy for a section of society to no longer take responsibility for themselves & these people are the ones that use & abuse the 999 service, the NHS & the benefits system.

The answer: cut their benefits so they can't afford the drink, drugs & cigarettes, make them get a job so they can see that life in mainstream society doesn't mirror the lives of those going on the Jeremy Kyle show. Above all else...allow those having to provide services to this part of society, the power to use the word NO.
[quote][p][bold]ossystan[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Fire Fly[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]ossystan[/bold] wrote: [quote][p][bold]Fire Fly[/bold] wrote: Personally I don't care if they sleep whilst on night or day duty, what I care about is the fact that regardless of the type of emergency, fire fighters can help. You can't say that of the police of ambulance crews. Fire fighters are the most highly trained & we should all be more than a little worried if these posts to go.[/p][/quote]What a load of rubbish, what legal powers do they have? Apart from sticking oxygen on every single person they meet what medical skills do they have? They are the most " trained " cause it's all they do!! Perhaps save a few quid by not spending it on over the top luxury fire stations..[/p][/quote]...Did I mention anything about legal powers...no. I also never declared they have medical skills but they can & do perform resuscitation. What I said was that they are the most highly trained of all the emergency services & they are....fact. Any situation, they attend.[/p][/quote]No, you said firefighters can help in any situation and the FACT is they can't. Training is great but think about these figures, nwas receive more calls in one month than fire service of England and Wales in one year!! No need for training when your doing the real thing.[/p][/quote]I'm referring to emergency situations i.e fires (obviously), car accidents, chemical spills, building collapses; flooding to name but a few. I have no doubt at all that NWAS receive that number, i'd expect it to be more to be honest. But in those numbers are also a ruddy huge amount of non emergency related calls that the service has to attend when they shouldn't. The recent programme about emergency services in blackpool sadly highlighted that fact all too well. The ambulance service & the police have forced into a position where counselling & social work has become a massive part of their job. Somehow, the fire service has managed to maintain being a purely emergency related service. Not an emergency... then they don't go. Perhaps this is why people feel they're on a cushy number & get to sleep on shift?? In whats going wrong, the namby pamby powers that be are to blame. The brigade that have taken human rights & political correctness to extremes in this country & in doing so made it incredibly easy for a section of society to no longer take responsibility for themselves & these people are the ones that use & abuse the 999 service, the NHS & the benefits system. The answer: cut their benefits so they can't afford the drink, drugs & cigarettes, make them get a job so they can see that life in mainstream society doesn't mirror the lives of those going on the Jeremy Kyle show. Above all else...allow those having to provide services to this part of society, the power to use the word NO. Fire Fly

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