Fire Brigades Union

New Campaign Campaigns

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  Don't cut fire services in Devon and Somerset

  Devon and Somerset Fire Authority are currently consulting on the biggest cut proposals in living memory. These cuts propose to: • Close 8 fire stations in Appledore, Ashburton, Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Kingston, Porlock, Topsham, and Woolacombe • Cut night cover at fire stations in Barnstaple, Exmouth, and Paignton • Cut the second fire engine at Crediton, Lynton, Martock, Totnes fire stations • Cut the third fire engine from Bridgwater, Taunton, Torquay, Yeovil fire stations • Cut the day cover for the 2nd fire engine at 14 stations in Brixham, Chard, Dartmouth, Frome, Honiton, Ilfracombe, Okehampton, Sidmouth, Tavistock, Teignmouth, Tiverton, Wells, Wellington, and Williton. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) senior management are proposing to introduce 6 roving day crewed engines for targeted response, alongside prevention work which they believe will make communities and visitors to Devon and Somerset safer. How can DSFRS management expect the public to respond to a concept which contains not detail? This is an outrage and total mismanagement by DSFRS. To stop these disastrous cuts, please respond to the consultation and tell DSFRS that we will not accept any deterioration of fire cover in Devon and Somerset. https://www.dsfire.gov.uk/SaferTogether/ServiceDeliveryConsultation/TakePartInTheConsultation.cfm We are not prepared to compromise on public and firefighter safety and call on Devon and Somerset Fire Authority to reject these dangerous proposals. Devon and Somerset residents, visitors and firefighters deserve better.

  30,453 of 35,000 Signatures
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  Defend firefighters' breathing apparatus safety procedures

  Firefighters’ BA is crucial for tackling fires safely in buildings, providing them with protection from death, injury and disease when working in oxygen-deficient, toxic and hazardous atmospheres. Firefighters attending high-rise fires must wear their BA and be under air before moving beyond the bridgehead - a safe-air environment – to tackle the fire and rescue anyone inside the building safely. New policy guidance issued by the NFCC would permit firefighters to be sent beyond the bridgehead without being supplied with safe air. If firefighters are not using their BA to supply safe air when they pass beyond the bridgehead, it provides them with no protection at all. This new procedure would: - Expose firefighters to toxic smoke and other harmful substances that can cause death, injury, cancer & other diseases. - Make dealing with any equipment faults extremely difficult. - Make calculating how much air a firefighter needs to get out safely impossible. If a firefighter runs out of air or gets in distress, they could be beyond the point of rescue. Firefighters’ lives, and public safety, are at risk if this policy is put in place. Dead and injured firefighters can’t rescue anybody.

  6,651 of 7,000 Signatures

  Created by Fire Brigades Union
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  Email East Sussex Fire Authority to demand they stop fire and rescue cuts

  We are firefighters in East Sussex who are extremely concerned about the proposed cuts to our fire service. During the COVID-19 pandemic, East Sussex Fire Authority are rushing through a consultation on further cuts to our service, including: ● Cutting 10 fire engines from across the county at Battle, Bexhill, Crowborough, Lewes, Newhaven, Rye, Uckfield, Seaford, Heathfield and Wadhurst fire stations; ● Cutting dedicated crews for high-reaching aerial fire appliances in Hastings, even after Grenfell; ● Cutting wholetime firefighter staffing levels across the county, particularly at fire stations in Lewes, Newhaven, Uckfield, Crowborough, Battle and Bexhill; ● Cutting on-call firefighter numbers across the county; ● Reducing night-time fire cover at The Ridge fire station; ● Introducing less family-friendly shift patterns As firefighters, we have a duty to tell you that these cuts are a clear and present danger to public safety. The plans proposed by East Sussex Fire Authority were also drawn up before the COVID-19 crisis, and do not take into account what fire and rescue services should look like into the future. We are currently taking on additional work to support our communities and emergency services, and cuts to our service will negatively impact our ability to keep the public safe. Our service is already under pressure due to years of austerity, which has seen 11,500 firefighter jobs cut across the UK, and 89 firefighter jobs cut in East Sussex. This pandemic has shown just how vital our fire service is – we cannot go back to an austerity model where our public services are the first in line for budget cuts. Public safety must be put first and our service needs investment, for now and for the future. Help us to put pressure on East Sussex Fire Authority to halt the consultation and stop cuts to our fire and rescue service. We are running out of time. Please send an email to the chair of the fire authority now.

  2,183 of 3,000 Signatures

  Created by Fire Brigades Union
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  Stop cuts to South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

  South Yorkshire Fire Authority is planning to save up to £4 million a year by cutting the number of firefighters crewing a fire appliance from five to four. This change will see the loss of 83 jobs and put the lives of people in South Yorkshire at risk. Five is the minimum number of firefighters needed to safely tackle a blaze and to rescue a member of the public trapped inside a burning building. Committing fewer firefighters to an incident risks leaving those inside with less support in a life or death situation. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service say the only other alternative is to slow down response times by reducing the number of fire engines immediately available. It is unacceptable that budget shortfalls will result in firefighters and the public being put at greater risk.

  10,260 of 15,000 Signatures

  Created by Fire Brigades Union