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.