Firefighters face strike ballot over proposed cuts

Firefighters are set to vote on whether to take strike action over proposed cuts to services in Oxfordshire.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) announced the ballot on local industrial action at a meeting on Wednesday, saying it "could spread to nationwide strike action".

In a speech at the meeting in Oxford, FBU general secretary Steve Wright told firefighters from across the country that cuts were being planned in several brigades, warning of the impact on safety.

Oxfordshire County Council previously said its proposed changes to the county's fire and rescue service would improve safety and efficiency.

Addressing the gathering of FBU members from Oxfordshire, as well as those from across the UK, Wright said "an injury to one is an injury to all in the fire and rescue service" and that cuts in Oxfordshire "would not stop at the county boundary".

"They would weaken public safety here - and set a dangerous precedent everywhere else," he said.

"That is why we are here today - we are here to tell Oxfordshire County Council to think again."

Following Wright's speech, those attending Wednesday's meeting marched to Rewley Road - one of the station's at the centre of the proposed changes.

The crowd then moved to Oxfordshire County Council's headquarters nearby.

Among the proposals for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue are plans to create five day-shift fire engines in Wallingford, Faringdon, Witney, Bicester and Chipping Norton.

Plans also include the removal of the on-call fire engine from Oxford's Rewley Road due to low staffing levels.

No closures have been confirmed as part of the proposals, but the service had said on-call stations at Woodstock, Eynsham and Henley were being considered for closure due to "persistent low fire engine availability".

Hitting back against the plans, Wright told firefighters gathered on Wednesday: "I'm proud to have served in Oxfordshire for twenty years of my career - and worked at the station set for closure round the corner."

"Enough is enough, this situation is not acceptable, it is not sustainable and we make no apology - none - for fighting back," he said.

"If you come for one fire and rescue service, you take on the whole Fire Brigades Union."

He said cuts to services across the country "kill prevention, kill resilience, kill morale and ultimately, put lives at risk".

"This is just the start - we will come back again and again, in the months and years ahead, until our fire and rescue service gets the funding it needs."

"We are watching, we are organised and we will respond nationally if necessary," he added.

Oxfordshire County Council, which is responsible for managing and leading the county's fire service, said it was currently analysing the results of a public consultation into the proposals - which ended earlier this month.

It added that no date had yet been set for a decision to be made.

The county's chief fire officer, Rob MacDougall, previously said: "Oxfordshire is growing and we need to have our firefighters in the right place at the right time to respond to emergencies effectively."

He added that data showed the proposals would result in "better response times to the whole of Oxfordshire".

The BBC also requested a comment from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government - which is responsible for fire safety.

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