David Wells reports on firefighters' calls for more cash to meet the demands of their ever changing role in society.

When hundreds of homes were swamped during rampaging floods last year, people turned to the fire brigade for help.

East Sussex Fire Brigade, whose responsibilities include Brighton and Hove, suffered uninsured losses of about £276,000 as they rescued scores of people stranded or flooded.

They lost two fire engines and many firefighters damaged their own cars as they attempted to reach fire stations down roads which had turned into rivers.

Much of this was above and beyond the call of duty, as fire brigades were not obliged to help in many incidents.

Yet when there is such a catastrophe there is often no one else to call on.

The same is true when animals, such as horses, cows or deer, get stuck in mud. It is the fire brigade which is expected to turn out.

None of this has anything to do with fighting fires and little of such work is covered by the funding the brigade receives.

These are all considered special services and it is calls like these which are putting them under increased pressure.

Add to this the increasing role firefighters play in community safety, which includes everything from fire prevention to tackling social deprivation among young people, and the service feels it is close to breaking point.

Firefighters have talked to 26,000 children in schools across Brighton and Hove during the past year about fire safety.

The aim was to teach youngsters the life-threatening consequences of setting fire to cars and show their parents why a smoke alarm is essential.

These roles are becoming ever more important and firefighters are close to becoming social workers but none of this is considered in the funding.

The formula which determines how much cash the fire brigade gets is based on the number of fires to which it is called.

Des Prichard, the new chief fire officer at East Sussex Fire Brigade, was today presenting his budget to East Sussex Combined Fire Authority at a meeting in Eastbourne.

The authority considers how much money is needed before levying East Sussex County Council and Brighton and Hove City Council.

The fire authority is limited by the funds available from both councils.

Mr Prichard said the government was increasingly expecting the fire brigade to take on new roles in the community but had so far not been prepared to match that with increased funding.

This would make it hard for his brigade to deliver all that was expected and everything they would like to.

This is despite a report by Opinion Research Services, an independent survey body, finding East Sussex Fire Brigade was one of the best-performing public services in the county.

Mr Pritchard said: "The major issues for the fire authority today are to do with protection for firefighters and the amount of calls to special services, whether this is to road traffic accidents, flooding in people's homes or people trapped on cliffs.

"If firefighters are going to tackle cases such as the floods, they are going to need dry suits and life jackets. We are going to need four-wheel-drive vehicles.

"The formula by which the Government decides how much we need is based on fires.

"The Government has said this needs to be revised but that has not happened yet."

European legislation has also brought in new health and safety requirements for firefighters' outfits but, again, this is not yet covered by the funding.

Mr Prichard said society's expectations had changed so firefighters were no longer just there to tackle fires.

"Going out to the fire is now what we do when all else has failed.

"We have a much greater role in the prevention of fire and community safety as a whole. The money has to support that increased responsibility. We are significantly under-funded and under-resourced.

"Everyone has said they recognise what I am putting forward as a very legitimate budget. I am not sure I will get it because the councils are already under financial pressure."

The current budget was set at a little more than £25 million but this did not take into account the costs of floods.

The fire brigade must now also deal with emergency plans in case of a terrorist strike in the wake of the attacks on September 11.

Michael Murphy, East Sussex county councillor and chairman of East Sussex Combined Fire Authority, said the financial pressure of meeting services would be hard, given that the county council's spending assessment had been increased by only 5.7 per cent.

He said: "It is nothing like enough for the fire authority to do all it is expected to do.

"The flooding last year was a prime example. Staff will have to be trained in case they have to do it again.

"The fire service is expected to take on more responsibility in the community but we are not getting any extra funding."