THE first budget has been signed off which will see the removal of 24 firefighters and a fire engine from Hove to save £932,000.

Yesterday the East Sussex Fire Authority slashed costs across the county with the biggest axe falling in Hove.

Union leaders say this will leave the safety of residents in Brighton and Hove at higher risk from April 1.

Serving Hove firefighter and East Sussex FBU chairman Simon Herbert said when the cuts come into force it’s going to leave us with just four engines in the city and our services will be at "breaking point".

He said: “This removal of a vital firefighting appliance will put both public and firefighter lives at great risk.”

After the budget was passed Brighton Tory councillor Carol Theobold told a meeting of the Fire Authority yesterday: "The only regret I have about this budget is losing the firefighters in Hove. I feel very upset about it."

After the meeting, she told the Argus, "I did not want to see this happen, and we presented a petition with 10,000 signatures from the public opposed to this.

"I do have concerns about this if there was a big fire. The population of Brighton and Hove is increasing and we are also getting more high rise properties in the city.

"I voted against this but I do accept that we must have cuts."

Brighton Green councillor Lizzie Deane told the meeting she could not accept the budget and would vote against the cuts, including the Hove situation.

"The Greens are anti-austerity and the cuts are not okay. I accept that very, very difficult decisions have had to be reached, but we will be losing people who have given us years of valued service and they will be greatly missed.

"Even David Cameron’s mother says he is on the wrong track. The government is behaving like a bully boy."

The Fire Authority described the decision to remove the fire engine from Hove as ‘difficult’ and said it was part of efforts to make savings following cuts in Government funding.

"There was a public consultation and the authority considered a wide range of information, including how often the fire engine was used and the risks of serious fires or other emergencies in the area," said a spokesperson.

"It was shown that calls in Brighton and Hove had reduced in number by approximately 32% in the previous ten years. The Fire Authority also agreed to invest in work to make homes in the area safer. In Mile Oak, thousands of households were visited by our teams who offered advice and, where applicable, fitted free smoke alarms.

"It should also be noted that we can draw in extra resources from across East Sussex and the rest of Brighton to support firefighters in Hove if needed. We can also call on support from West Sussex Fire and Rescue, who have a station very close by in Shoreham."

Chief fire officer Gary Walsh has an annual salary of £153,764 – that’s a basic pay of £137,290 plus a 12 percent management allowance – while the PM’s salary is £142,500.

Two other posts in East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service - Deputy Chief Fire Officer and Assistant Chief Fire Officer – also attract six-figure salaries.

But a new management restructure at the authority will save £276k.

Two posts are being scrapped - assistant chief officer and the head of learning and organisational development - and the treasurer and head of finance will become one role, not two.

The spokesman said, "This means that in the future there will be three principal officers instead of four, specifically a chief fire officer, a deputy chief fire officer and an assistant chief fire officer. All will be required to carry out operational duties at major incidents as well as carry out senior management duties."

Mr Herbert said the union requested the fire authority carry out a structure review to streamline the management "which has been carried out and we welcome that”.

The authority is also moving from its base at Upperton Road, Eastbourne, in December to share premises in Lewes with Sussex Police.

The Fire Authority has already identified a total of £6.4 million of savings which meets the funding gap up to 2019/20 plus a further £0.249 million needed by 2020/21.

In 2010 its government grant was £14.67 million, but by 2016/17 that will have dropped to just £6.3 million.

Since 2012/13 there has been a reduction of 28 full time firefighter jobs and six on-call firefighter posts. There will be another combined 33 lost between April 1 this year and March 31 2017.

Councillor John Barnes said it was right to be prudent because of the current economic situation.

"The deficit nationally is not coming down as fast as was planned. There are a number of big risks but we are in a relatively stable ship.

"We have got to be looking ahead to the next five years now. We go forward in better shape than most local authorities.’

Councillor Roy Galley described the budget as "a sound plan for the future".

He said: "We have taken some tough decisions early and we should congratulate ourselves for that.

Councillor Phil Scott said: "Groundhog day is here again. It always leaves a taste in the mouth when we are making the cuts."

Taxpayers will have 1.94 per cent added onto the fire authority part of their Council Tax bill after yesterday’s vote. The increase means its portion of the Band D Council Tax will increase by just three pence per week, to £86.72 a year.

FIRE BRIGADE UNION FAILS AND FATE IS SEALED

Narrative by Gareth Davies

YESTERDAY was the day the fate of the fire service in Brighton and Hove was sealed as the city faces a bleak reality check.

The newly signed-off budget showed how, as of April 1, there will be 24 fewer firefighters and one fewer engine based at Hove Community Fire Station.

The engine being lost was the one first at the scene of the Shoreham Airshow disaster with its specific fuel firefighting abilities.

Campaigners have been battling to save the services since the East Sussex Fire Authority voted 10 to eight in June 2014 to remove one of the five fire engines within the city.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has fought tooth and nail to urge bosses to change their minds but all to no avail.

Serving Hove firefighter and FBU chairman Simon Herbert said: “The FBU ran a long campaign during the public consultation prior to the Fire Authority meeting in June 2014.

“The FBU handed in a petition signed by more than 10,000 members of the public demanding that the Fire Authority do not vote to cut a fire appliance from the city.

“Disappointingly, 10 members of the Fire Authority failed to listen to the concerns of the FBU and the public and voted to remove one appliance from the city in April 2016.

“The decision was made that one of the two current appliances at Hove would be removed in April 2016.

“This will leave the safety of the city residents at far greater risk.

“This removal of a vital firefighting appliance will put both public and firefighter lives at great risk.”

Mr Herbert has previously told The Argus how the cuts would mean stations would have to pick and choose which calls they attend.

In June last year fire crews from across Sussex had to help when flames raged from a roof in Gloucester Road, Brighton, and there was a blaze at the British Engineerium in Hove.

There were 50 firefighters called out with 12 fire engines used.

“It was a very clear example of how stretched we already are and the cuts had not even come into force at that stage,” Mr Herbert said.

“We had to call in a command unit from Bexhill – that’s a fair way to travel.

“And what people don’t realise is that it’s great we can call on the services of other stations but then they are left without fire service so you are robbing those places of their crew.

“When the cuts come into force it’s going to leave us with just four engines in the city and our services will be at breaking point.”

It means when major fires such as the Eastbourne Pier blaze and Shinewater Primary School in October occur in the county, firefighters would be hard pushed to deal with a simultaneous incident.

Perhaps the biggest call out for the fire service last year was the Shoreham Airshow disaster, and both Hove engines were sent West on August 22.

Mr Herbert said: “The removal of this appliance will also reduce East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s ability to respond and deal effectively with major incidents. Both fire appliances from Hove were part of the initial attendance at the recent tragic Shoreham Airshow disaster.

“Therefore, in around six weeks time the city of Brighton and Hove shall become a less safe place to live, work or visit.”

“Since the decision was made back in 2014 to remove an appliance from Hove the Fire Authority has had the ability to reverse their decision following calls from the public, FBU and local firefighters, however they have failed to reverse it.

“Therefore in around six weeks time the city of Brighton and Hove shall become a less safe place to live, work or visit.”

Yesterday former station commander Dex Allen opened up about his decision to leave the service because he knew redundancies were on their way.

He left his post covering Brighton and Hove to allow someone else to fill it 12 years short of being able to pick up his pension, and he admitted firefighters would be prioritising jobs.

Mr Allen said: “No-one can pretend the loss of a fire engine is a good thing.

“But it is a result of the Government’s cuts and the fact that it’s only been this much is a testament to the firefighters and members of the FBU that have lobbied and worked with senior management in helping to shape those difficult decisions.

“I’m passionate about fire safety and always have been.

“So if people take fire prevention seriously they can ensure their business or home is far more protected and they won’t need the fire service.

“People can still have confidence in the fire service, but they need to take responsibility themselves.”

Mr Allen, who is now managing director of Dex Allen Fire Associates, believed going to every false alarm was not a productive use of limited resources.