Fire service cuts at Bexhill and Battle stations pose ‘safety concerns for public’, says union

The Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) said the number of firefighters was being cut at both stations, with some staff having to work more shifts.

Martin Walker, branch secretary of the Fire Brigades Union in Bexhill, said: "Bexhill’s second fire appliance will be downgraded to a spare appliance, which could mean it is removed and relocated from Bexhill at any time."The service will also cut wholetime firefighter posts at Bexhill. This will make firefighters work more shifts and make them give more commitment to the station which will significantly impact on firefighters and their families."

Leo Cacciatore, branch chair of the Fire Brigades Union, Hastings Bohemia Road and Battle, said: "We have had our second fire engine in Battle cut. For firefighters in Battle, this represents a major loss and limits what we can do. It also places concerns on safety for the public."Battle will also see the number of wholetime firefighters reduced, which means there will no longer be an immediate response at weekends. Battle's wholetime firefighters also provide a specialist rope and technical rescue vehicle response, which will be impacted by this reduction, especially at weekends."As part of the current plan, we will also see a cut to the numbers of firefighters at The Ridge Fire Station which will delay responses to the north of Hastings. Rye Fire Station recently had their second fire engine replaced with a Land Rover and are often facing staffing difficulties."

The union said the proposed cuts are part of a five-year plan, from 2020 to 2025, by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFRS).Mr Cacciatore added: "In recent years we have seen devastating cuts to our service losing one in every five firefighters nationally and an on-call duty system that has fallen well behind."The service is less resilient as it has ever been and quite often across the county we see huge gaps in fire cover with fire appliances regularly unavailable. This is becoming a daily event and we are hugely concerned about public safety."Cllr Phil Scott, who sits on East Sussex Fire Authority, said: "I believe we should be very concerned about how continued reduced Government funding will impact upon our fire service here in East Sussex and its resilience in the future."

An ESFRS spokesperson said: “In 2020, the Fire Authority launched a formal public consultation as part of our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). The Operational Resilience Plan, agreed in the IRMP, increases our core number of fire appliances available at the start of the day from 15 to an intended 18.

“The Fire Authority agreed to change how certain stations would be crewed. Staff at Lewes, Newhaven, Uckfield, Crowborough, Battle and Bexhill are changing to a flexible rostering system.

“Flexible rostering maintains the same fire appliance availability under the current duty system but also allows for posts at these stations to be redistributed to support prevention, protection and response activities across the service.

“The Fire Authority also agreed to re-distribute some fire appliances to ensure our resources are better aligned to our risk profile and enable our Fire and Rescue Service to respond better to emergency calls across the county.”