Firefighting cuts ‘will put public in danger’

JERSEY’S Fire and Rescue Service is facing a funding crisis which will force firefighters to slash its cover and operate with inadequate equipment, its union has warned.

In a strongly worded statement, the Fire and Rescue Service Association said that the funding situation was now ‘critical’ and was threatening the lives of Islanders.

It said that if cuts proposed by the Council of Ministers in their 2010 Business Plan went ahead, it would be forced to:
• Reduce the overall number of firefighters.
• Attend some road crashes without potentially life-saving cutting equipment.
• Reduce the use of a ladder platform used to pluck people to safety from high-rise flats.
• Scale back community safety work.

Firefighter Craig Channing, the president of the Fire and Rescue Service Association, said: ‘The Fire and Rescue Service Association believes that the situation has now become critical. We are facing a funding crisis and we cannot continue to operate at these current levels.’

The warning comes just weeks after Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand said that front-line services would not be affected by Business Plan cuts. (from JEP)

Its frightening to think, that such an important emergency service, should see cuts, that could be life threatening..

I'm sorry folks but Jersey&Guernsey are both going to have to"cut their cloth accordingly"Our gold plated services must be reduced to bronze or silver until such times as we can afford to pay for them or the future generations will have no sevices at all! :x

I agree with you there Bug!!

Reality checks are coming to us all in one way or another!!







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