Weekend emergency response to cease at Antrim Fire Station

A move to end full-time emergency response on weekends at Antrim Fire Station is 'devastating' for public safety, the Fire Brigades Union has said.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Nov 2017, 14:11 BST
Updated 12th Dec 2017, 08:28 BST
Antrim Fire Station.Antrim Fire Station.
Antrim Fire Station.

The decision was announced today by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS).

The station will reduce the number of hours it provides the community with full time emergency response from 84 hours per week to 50 from November 18, 2017.

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Jim Quinn, leader of the FBU in Northern Ireland, said: “We are deeply concerned that this move could have devastating consequences for the safety of the public.

“These cuts are not linked to any change in the risk faced by firefighters or the public they serve. This is a purely financially driven decision following budget cuts to NIFRS by the Department of Health.

“The Secretary of State has said that civil servants can decide how to spend the extra £50m earmarked for health and education in Northern Ireland. As NIFRS personnel are now being spread too thin, the FBU believe the Permanent Secretary for Health should use part of this additional funding to prevent these dangerous reductions to fire cover.”

The news follows previous cuts to service provision with NIFRS no longer having a dedicated fire crew to operate the specialist Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) fire engine at Northland Road fire station in Derry/Londonderry.

The FBU has warned that these moves could prove "fatal".

Related topics:Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue ServiceNorthern IrelandNIFRSDepartment of Health