100 signatures reached
To: Martin Reeves - Chief Executive OCC & Chief Fire Officer Rob Macdougall OFRS
Cuts Kill: Save Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Oxfordshire County Council and the Chief Fire Officer must scrap the current Fire and Rescue Cover Model cuts and withdraw the proposals to close fire stations, remove fire engines, cut firefighter posts and impose unsafe 12-hour shifts.
They must guarantee: no station closures or mergers, no removal of engines or the specialist rescue vehicle, no reduction in guaranteed night-time cover, no redundancies or forced relocations (including Kidlington tied housing).
Instead, they should work with firefighters, their union and local communities on a transparent, risk-led, properly funded plan that protects public safety and supports retained crews through investment in training and Station Support Officers.
Cuts Kill: Lets Prevent It!
Instead, they should work with firefighters, their union and local communities on a transparent, risk-led, properly funded plan that protects public safety and supports retained crews through investment in training and Station Support Officers.
Cuts Kill: Lets Prevent It!
Why is this important?
This is about whether people live or die when the worst happens. These plans would slash Oxfordshire’s guaranteed night-time fire cover from seven to five fire engines, close local stations, remove a specialist rescue vehicle and force firefighters onto unsafe 12-hour shifts. That means slower response times, weaker back-up – and more lives, homes and businesses lost.
The cuts hit the people who most need protecting: children, older people, disabled people, low-income families in flats and HMOs, and rural towns and villages already a long way from help. Night-time fires, road traffic collisions and floods are exactly when you need more cover, not less – but this plan strips it away and hides the damage behind county-wide averages.
If we don’t stop this, Oxfordshire will be left with a brittle, hollowed-out fire and rescue service: exhausted crews on overlong shifts, families in Kidlington losing their homes, retained stations closed instead of supported, and experienced firefighters leaving for good. Once stations, fire engines and skills are gone, they are incredibly hard and expensive to get back.
The cuts hit the people who most need protecting: children, older people, disabled people, low-income families in flats and HMOs, and rural towns and villages already a long way from help. Night-time fires, road traffic collisions and floods are exactly when you need more cover, not less – but this plan strips it away and hides the damage behind county-wide averages.
If we don’t stop this, Oxfordshire will be left with a brittle, hollowed-out fire and rescue service: exhausted crews on overlong shifts, families in Kidlington losing their homes, retained stations closed instead of supported, and experienced firefighters leaving for good. Once stations, fire engines and skills are gone, they are incredibly hard and expensive to get back.