A UNION representing retained firefighters has spoken of the dangers of proposed cuts that would leave the service relying heavily on retained firefighters.

As reported, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service are proposing to cut £12.2m from its budget by reducing the number of immediate firefighters across the county.

But the cuts have come under fire from residents and firefighters in the county with the Retained Firefighters Union (RFU) now joining the debate by urging members to not accept them.

The RFU argue that the cuts do not factor in the way Retained Duty System (RDS) firefighters work and that a recent reduction in their availability would prove difficult for them to maintain a daytime cover if the cuts go through.

Chair of Hampshire RFU, Rikki Noble, said: “Reducing the number of available RDS firefighters at a station shows a scant disregard for how they work and flies in the face of proven forecasts which show RDS firefighters finding it harder and harder to offer their free time to HFRS.

"And the effects of this should not be underestimated; the RDS is the only reason many of these cuts can be made, because the service knows it has a hidden resilience in the form of the RDS system."

He pointed to retained firefighters having multiple jobs and said they are working further away from where they live which makes it harder to provide daytime cover.

He added that the positive aspects of being a retained firefighter are starting to be affected by negatives and they are starting to see retained firefighter leave because they are disillusioned.

Mr Noble urged members to petition their MP over the matter.

As reported, a heated meeting to discuss the future of the service in Winchester saw two proposals put forward for overnight fire cover which would use either no immediate overnight cover – or just two firefighters using a smaller fire-engine which has less equipment than the ones in use during the day.

However Firefighters in Winchester have put forward a proposal which would see firefighters working three watches over 24 hours with a fire engine in use at all times of day and night will be used instead.

The consultation into the proposals will end on Friday, December 4.

To find out more visit hantsfire.gov.uk.