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| Bury Free Press, 19 January 2005 |
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| Tempers looked set to flare between firefighters and their management last night, at a meeting over the pro-posed loss of 12 posts at Bury St Edmunds. |
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| Firefighters are angry at Suffolk Fire Service's plans to axe jobs and reassign a full time turntable ladder crew from the Bury fire station. |
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| Management say the move will increase safety with a drive for more retained firefighters, more cover for rural areas and an increase in community fire education. |
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| But Bury firefighters fear community safety initiatives will be jeopardised – as will lives. Firefighters were due to put their views to management at a meeting at the Bury station last night. |
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| Matt Hassey, chairman of the Bury branch of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "The fire service is aiming to cut down the number of fire deaths but without these 12 posts we are no longer going to be able to offer community fire safety. |
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| "The proposals are open to public consultation but we don't know how they are planning to run the station – so how on earth are the public supposed to form a view." |
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| MP David Ruffley, who met the firefighters on Friday, said: "Bury is a growing town. These measures are ridiculous – they border on insanity. |
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"By losing these 12 posts they will be putting lives at risk and that is completely unacceptable to me."
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| Town mayor Cllr Frank Warby said: "The town is growing fast and they are talking about reducing fire cover which seems a bit daft. |
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| "It shows a lack of respect for the firefighters themselves. Cutbacks to safety are not cutbacks at all – they are just dangerous." |
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| But one member of the Suffolk Fire Service management, who asked not to be named, said: "There's not a great deal of community fire safety being done at the moment. |
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| "What we want to do is get more retained staff involved in community safety." |
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