South Yorkshire's Chief Fire Officer, Mark Smitherman, has warned that fire stations could be forced to close if budget cuts of the levels suggested by the coalition Government become reality. That would lead to slower response times to attend emergency incidents and the prospect that the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) would be left without the resources necessary to respond to the county's risks. Mr Smitherman has also warned that recent dramatic improvements in the safety of local people could be “thrown away”, and urged the Government to consider the “unique needs” of the Fire & Rescue Service before implementing public sector cuts.

SYFR has been preparing for the possibility of cuts in its Government grant, by launching a public consultation which is still ongoing. But, following the Chancellor's emergency Budget announcement that the average cut in public services would be around 25%, Mr Smitherman said it was time to stand up for his staff and the safety of the South Yorkshire public, by launching a passionate defence of the county's fire and rescue service.

He said: “South Yorkshire people are safer now than they have ever been before. Accidental house fires, deliberate fires and the number of people killed and injured in fires have fallen dramatically in the last five years. But a funding cut of the levels suggested in the Budget would be likely to mean that fire stations would have to close. I will do my utmost to defend our service and our staff against cuts that could affect public safety and our firefighters' ability to do their jobs effectively.”

“As an emergency service we have unique needs because our work is based purely on risk, not activity levels. Emergency incidents have reduced significantly due to the Service's excellent prevention work. But the risks to the public are still out there – if anything, they have increased, because as well as fires and road traffic collisions, people now expect us to respond to events such as flooding and terrorism. Reduced public spending could also increase our activity levels because the evidence shows that arson levels increase at times of economic hardship.

“Councils facing a budget cut can choose to cut the grass less often or change the opening hours of their libraries and leisure centres. Even if our prevention work continues to reduce emergency incidents, we must keep enough resources available 24/7, just in case. We place our fire stations and fire engines across the county according to the risks in the community but cuts of the levels suggested will seriously threaten our ability to keep all those fire stations open.”

 “We recognise that the budget is the Government's overall priority and all public sector bodies have to play a part in helping to reduce the deficit. There are some efficiencies we can make. But we are already an extremely efficient organisation. The number of firefighters in South Yorkshire has reduced over recent years but we have still been able to make people safer than ever.  The change in shift times which took place earlier this year was controversial, but it has made us significantly more efficient. There isn't much more we can do.”

Almost eighty per cent of SYFR's budget is spent on staff costs, three-quarters of that paying for full-time firefighters. Mr Smitherman added: “We can make some efficiencies behind the scenes. A new structure is being developed to reduce management costs. But the fact is that reducing management costs and support staff departments won't come anywhere near to saving the amounts being proposed by the Government. If the cut is 25%, as is being suggested, that will have significant implications for our frontline service. I have to stand up for my staff and the public and say that this could compromise our ability to deliver vital emergency services.”

The Chief said that closing fire stations would be “a last resort”, and that he could not put a figure on the number of jobs which would be affected until the size of the cut was known. He added that the service's ability to manage reducing staff numbers through natural wastage such as retirements would be dependent entirely on the size of the reduction in Government grant.

Finally, he promised that the views of the public, staff and trade unions will be listened to as the service plans for a difficult future: “We have a staff and public consultation ongoing until the start of August, and we have already had some excellent responses submitted,” Mr Smitherman explained. “All those responses will be read and fully considered before we publish our new service plans this autumn.”

He added: “Staff have been fully involved throughout this process. We have made good strides in improving relations with the Fire Brigades Union over recent months and I believe we can work with them to face the challenges ahead together. We have a common interest in wanting to provide the best emergency service we possibly can to the public of South Yorkshire. But I am standing up now to say we cannot do that unless we have adequate resources available to us.”