Overnight firefighter cuts 'potentially deadly'

Union members say plans to move firefighters from Cheltenham to the Forest of Dean are "dangerous, and potentially deadly".

Gloucestershire County Council, which runs Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS), is considering ending night-time shift cover at one Cheltenham station and redeploying 14 roles to Cinderford in order to create a daytime crew.

Serving firefighter and Fire Brigade Union chair for Gloucestershire, Kate Yhnell, has launched a petition against what she described as "unsafe" cuts to an already "skeletal" service.

A council spokesperson said the proposals made "the best use" of existing resources", while stressing "no final decision has been made".

Cheltenham's two fire stations are among the five stations which are crewed 24 hours a day – or 'wholetime' – within the county.

Gloucestershire's other 16 stations - which includes Cinderford - are classed as 'on call', meaning they are not staffed consistently throughout either the day or night.

A council report states ending overnight provision in Cheltenham West would provide better response times and coverage in the Forest of Dean, without costing the service any extra money.

Yhnell said the proposals are pitting areas of the county against one another when it comes to safety.

"We welcome the increase in Cinderford, but it can't come at a cost to the people of Cheltenham," she added.

"We want everyone in Gloucestershire to be safe, and if that means we need more funding and we can't achieve the cuts that Gloucestershire County Council is asking, then this has to happen."

Yhnell wants to see the council and the government provide additional funding to the fire service to pay for a day crew in Cinderford, and has warned there could be serious safety consequences if the money is not found.

"We are very good at making sure we react to every incident and also improve our community safety, but there will be a time when we are stretched too thin," she warned.

"We are paper thin as it is."

"To me, the cuts can't happen as we don't have enough resources to cut anyone without it affecting public safety."

A public consultation on the proposal to move personnel from Cheltenham to Cinderford is available on the GFRS website and will close on 28 September.

A council spokesperson said the service is facing "significant financial pressures" and the change will ensure it is "sustainable for the future".

"Recent independent data modelling shows that introducing a wholetime day crew at Cinderford would improve fire cover and reduce response times in this area and across the Forest of Dean," the spokesperson said.

"The review found that moving existing staff from Cheltenham West, which is currently a permanently crewed wholetime station, would have the smallest overall impact, mainly because overnight fire cover will continue to be provided from Cheltenham East Fire Station."

A spokesperson from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said it wanted to make sure fire services "have the resources and equipment they need to tackle fire risks".

"We are also investing nearly £100m in the biggest upgrade to national resilience in almost 20 years – including specialist equipment and wildfire training for firefighters," they added.

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