Fire services under fire

In its latest budget proposals Surrey County Council is proposing to cut another £1.5m in its funding to the fire services. The Fire Brigades Union has has had a long-running battle with Surrey about continued cuts and the Union has repeatedly warned that it will put people’s lives in danger.

Liberal Democrats in the County Council have protested against reducing funding to fire services, which will see the number of fire engines at night cut from 30 to 23, as well as reducing crew sizes and hours at stations.

This means that it has been necessary to bring crews from outside the county to aid in responding to fire incidents. Another three fire engines are due to be cut in October, which according to the FBU will leave Surrey fire-fighters even more short-staffed.