Yeovil fire station could lose one of its three fire engines as part of proposed cuts

Union bosses fear the proposed loss of a fire engine in Yeovil could affect the ability of firefighters to react in the event of a major emergency.

Thousands of people have signed a petition against cuts which could see Yeovil fire station lose one of its three fire engines.

A number of cuts have been proposed by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue service which include plans to cut the town's frontline fire cover by one third in a bid to save up to £40,000.

In total, the fire service says it is facing a budget gap of £14.5m by 2024 if future savings and rises in council tax are not realised .

But the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) says that Yeovil's firefighters could be forced to call in resources from other stations to tackle serious fires if they lose an engine, which would eat into the savings that would be made by the original cuts.

It is feared that proposed cuts to services in Martock and Chard will put further strain on firefighters in the county.

Brad Atkinson, Yeovil representative for the FBU, said: "The fire service's own figures suggest that they will save £40,000 by cutting Yeovil's frontline fire cover by one third.

"We believe that over the past five years, that fire engine has attended approximately 200 fire calls. Those figures will account for lives saved and homes and businesses saved from fire or flooding.

"We would never put a price on a life, but the fire service's own figures show that 25 per cent of businesses never reopen, 80 per cent of companies which do not recover in a month are likely to go out of business and 75 per cent of businesses without business continuity plans fail within three years.

"£40,000 is a small price to pay to ensure that residents and businesses in Yeovil and surrounding villages are safe.

"The fire service's reserves have increased by £33m in the last 12 years, yet in that time we have lost 400 frontline firefighters."

A petition fighting against the cuts has been started by the FBU and has been signed by more than 4,000 people.

Firefighters will be in the Quedam Centre in Yeovil between 9am and 3pm on Saturday (July 27) to garner further support for the campaign.

Mr Atkinson said: "We are asking the residents of Yeovil to sign our petition and go to the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue website to complete the consultation document questionnaire and let the service know they oppose the cuts to their community."

A consultation period for residents in Somerset opened on July 1 and will run until September 20.

Six options have been put to the public for consultation.

Option 1: Closure of Porlock fire station
Option 2: Bridgwater, Taunton and Yeovil stations will lose one of their three fire engines
Option 3: Martock station will lose one of its two engines
Option 4: Changes to station crewing at night (no Somerset stations affected)
Option 5: Chard, Frome, Wellington, Wells and Williton station's second engines will only be crewed by on-call staff at night
Option 6: Six roving fire engines will be deployed across the service area to cover on-call gaps or meet high demand

All options bar Option 6 can be considered independently in the consultation, rather than escalating from one to the next (e.g. Option 3 requires Option 2 to already be in place).

The fire and rescue service will be holding a total of 23 drop-in events up to September 20 where residents can meet with fire officials and have their say.