CAMPAIGNERS have accused fire chiefs of using the launch of a new engine to deflect attention from “damaging cuts”.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue took delivery of the state of the art Scania truck for its Midhurst Fire Station as part of its “ongoing investment into upgrading its fleet”.

The new engine has a compressed air foam system, which uses only a small amount of water to quickly put out fires, and a larger water tank and more powerful hose reels than its predecessor.

However the new addition, costing about £280,000, has drawn criticism from campaigners.

The founder of West Sussex Fire And Rescue Stop The Cuts said the new fire engine “is just spin, designed to deflect attention from the council’s damaging fire service cuts”.

Tony Morris said: “Technical improvements are a normal part of fire engine replacement and only show limited benefits at certain incidents.

“This sharply contrasts with the degraded service that results from cutting six fire engines and crews four years ago, and the cutting of another five this April.

“Longer response times, more deaths and more property damage are the real consequences that both common sense and the council’s own analysis say will be the result.”

Adrian Murphy, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service area manager for operations, said: “An important aspect of our Future Fire And Rescue programme was to look at ways we could continue to improve the delivery of our emergency response while still making long-term efficiency savings.

“Investing in our operational appliances and ensuring they are future-proofed to deal effectively with the range of incidents we attend is a key part of that.”

However, Mr Morris said talk of “improved delivery” and “future proofing” were “nonsense”.

Midhurst’s new Scania is the first of three new hi-tech fire engines being introduced into the service’s fleet. Fire stations in Crawley and Worthing are also set to get similar vehicles later this month.

Because of West Sussex’s terrain, and its large number of part-time fire stations in rural areas, it also plans to upgrade its off-road capability over the coming months.

Earlier this year, the service announced £1.6 million of savings with 28 full-time posts set to go and the number of engines reduced from 40 to 35.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue is ultimately funded by West Sussex County Council.

BACKGROUND

THE new fire engine was delivered on Friday, May 22, and saw its first action the following day when it went to a woodland fire in the village of Bepton, south of Midhurst.

Last Thursday morning it went to a car crash, where one driver needed ambulance treatment.

The collision happened on the A272 in Rogate at 11.50am outside St Peter’s Church.

Two fire engines attended, the other from Petersfield in Hampshire.

The driver of one of the vehicles suffered minor injuries. The road was clear two hours later.