FIRE officers have calmed fears that services in Worcestershire may have also been affected by trucks being left unable to respond to emergencies due to staff shortages.
The West Midlands branch of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) released figures last week which showed they had 45 fire engines off the run between November and December this year because they did not have the firefighters to man them.
Andrew Scattergood, chair of the FBU in the West Midlands, said: “The cuts from the Westminster government have made it impossible to deliver a service that keeps the public safe. It will be absolutely disastrous if more posts go. We will have a rescue service in name only .At best it is
unsuitable and insufficient, at worst it is dangerous and will cost lives.”
Hereford and Worcester brigade secretary, Steven Gould, said their service is not suffering with the
same issue.
“Although retained engines may sometimes have trucks off the run, our whole time trucks are on 24 seven in Hereford and Worcester.
“It is not to say that this position will remain but at the moment we are not suffering with the same under-staffing issues as other brigades.”
