Fire station’s future under spotlight at HQ public meeting (From Knutsford Guardian)

Fire station’s future under spotlight at HQ public meeting

11:20am Sunday 13th January 2013 in News By James Wilson

THE future of Knutsford’s fire station and its firefighters will be discussed at a public meeting next month.

It was revealed in September that the town’s fire station could lose some of its firefighters as a result of Cheshire Fire and Rescue’s aim to slash its budget by £5 million over the next four years.

This week the service said people across the region had provided a ‘fantastic’ response to a radical overhaul of the way brigade operates.

The four-month long ‘Making Cheshire Safer’ consultation, which concluded on December 1, is the force’s biggest overhaul of operations.

Its proposals include plans to build five new fire stations but reduce the amount of full-time firefighters.

New stations will take engines and appliances from the brigade’s current stock of 32 large engines and seven smaller rapid response vehicles.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service recently announced that mandatory savings had increased from five to seven million pounds.

The Fire Brigades Union argues that cuts to full-time firefighters will endanger lives.

The service added that all proposals are mindful of a commitment to a maximum 10-minute response time.

It adds that increased community and education work has led to a significant reduction in the amount of emergency calls placed.

A public meeting into the consultations findings will be held at 10.30am on February 13 at Cheshire Fire and Rescue headquarters in Winsford.

A spokesman for the Fire Service said: “We’ve had a fantastic response from residents. We’ve had well over 1,000 responses.

“The findings are being investigated and calculated now. They will be outlined at the meeting in February.”