FIREFIGHTERS serving the Woking area have been called out to nightime incidents more than 300 times during the past year.
According to figures from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, crews from Woking, Chobham, Camberley, Chertsey and Painshill were called out 384 times between 6pm and 6am from March 1 2009 and March 1 2010 to incidents in the News & Mail patch.
The data, which came from a Freedom of Information request submitted by the News & Mail, comes as Surrey County Council has suggested cuts at stations throughout the county.
Proposals have included stopping retained cover during the day, and reducing the number of whole time pumps at night for stations like Woking that currently have two engines.
Richard Jones, brigade secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “If they cut the amount of crews during the night or the day, if they cut anywhere it would mean longer response times.
“The risk to life goes up if it takes longer to get there because the resources have to come from further and the fire damage would be much greater.”
Retained firefighters, like those currently serving in Chobham, have to travel from home to the fire station before being deployed, which can increase the time it takes them to get to a fire or other incident.
In October last year 18 people had to be lead to safety after there was a fire in the entrance hall of a block of flats in Bridgewater Place, off Victoria Way, Woking.
Four fire engines attended the blaze at 4.20am, which lead to five residents being taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and minor burns. Crews from Woking Fire Station alone attended 326 incidents at night in the borough with just 141 being false alarms.
Mr Jones said he thought cuts should not be made to services where people’s lives, livelihoods, and properties could be at risk and that trimming in other areas should come first.
When asked about the morale of fire fighters with talks of impending cuts continuing Mr Jones said that it was the lowest he had ever seen it.
He added: “The fire service cuts affects safety and puts a risk on ourselves. “Councillors have made the decision on their own and not informed the electorate.
“But the public should be able to make an informed decision. If the public is behind cuts the fire service will find a way to work with it.”
Byfleet News & Mail 