Hampshire Fire and Rescue chiefs say job losses are likely as part of a plan to save £16m by 2019

Service chiefs need to make £16m of savings in the next five years to balance the books, and they say it is likely that jobs will have to go.

Union leaders have warned that the drastic cuts – 23 per cent of the service’s entire budget – could mean that it is no longer able to do its job properly.

After years of cuts, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service chiefs already knew that they had to plug a projected deficit of £12m between now and 2018, as revealed by the Daily Echo in April.

But financial forecasts predict that they will have to find ways to save another £4m by the end of 2019.

Currently the county’s fire service employs more than 1,900 people across 51 locations with a total budget of £70m.

No fire stations will close, bosses have said, but jobs are at risk and how the service responds to incidents is expected to change.

It could even mean firefighters heading to incidents in smaller vehicles rather than traditional fire appliances.

The service has launched a survey in a bid to find out what the public wants from it. Between now and Sunday, December 7, people have the chance to help shape its future.

Bosses have launched a review of firefighter jobs and equipment – including fire engines – in the biggest round of cuts the service has ever faced.

Even fire engines are up for review

Steve Foye, area manager for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said that every part of the service would come under scrutiny.

He said: “It can’t be denied that 80 per cent of our budget relates to people. It’s likely we will be looking at having to find a solution there.”

Nigel McCullen, chairman of the Hampshire branch of the Fire Brigades Union, said that the cuts went beyond “efficiency savings”.

“The fire service will no longer be what the public imagines us to be,” he said. “We may not be providing the service which the public expects of us at the moment.”

Mr McCullen added that the fire service had already seen a drop in response times in the past ten years.

He said: “I don’t think we’re going to be as good as we were, and that’s worrying.

“We’re working with Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service management team to try to make these cuts as safe as we can, however it’s a difficult process. It’s an unfortunate situation we find ourselves in.”

Fire Brigades Union members have staged several strikes over the past few months in a dispute over pensions but that is separate issue to the savings.

Firefighters have staged several strikes in recent weeks

Cost-saving measures such as sharing headquarters with Hampshire police is one of the ideas that has already been put forward, as revealed by the Daily Echo in January.

Mr Foye said: “A year from now we will expect to be holding a formal consultation on very clear proposals and recommendations with both staff and public.

“We want to use this opportunity before these final proposals to explore some ideas and thinking with the staff and public and to engage with them.

“We would encourage people to go online and to look at the survey and to give us your comments or ideas on how we should deliver the service.”

On any day the service could be called to cut people out of crashed cars, while last winter saw it helping tackle floods across Hampshire.

Community responders make up a huge part of the organisation too, as more than 10,000 calls are made every year which require a first aid-trained firefighter to step in during life and death situations.

Going out to the community and teaching people how to prevent fire is another aspect of the service’s day-to-day work.