A NUMBER of firefighters be made redundant as the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service looks to make £2.4 million in savings.
The job losses, which will be spread out across North Wales, are set to save the fire service around £500,000 a year, with a decision on where the 22 posts will be axed yet to be made.
North Wales Fire Authority member Cllr Sharon Frobisher said that the decision had not been made lightly, and stressed that a new rota system, subject to Fire Brigade Union approval, had been drawn up to cover North Wales effectively.
“We began planning the re-shuffle some time ago, it’s not been a knee-jerk reaction,” Mrs Frobisher said.
“We have to wait until the union makes it’s decision next week, but I have to thank them for the way they’ve kept everyone informed.”
“The fire officers and unions have been working very hard to put together the new system.”
Rhyl Fire Station was spared a further blow though after avoiding the loss of the 100ft aerial ladder platform (ALP).
The North Wales Fire Authority last year opted to not replace one of its four ALP vehicles at Llandudno when it reaches the end of its service in March, with the three remaining vehicles set to be stationed in Rhyl, Bangor and Wrexham.
Mrs Frobisher said: “We knew we would be losing one at the end of March. We’ve increased the cover time from 20 to 30 minutes, again it was an issue that we’ve thought long and hard about. We need the public to be aware that this is the best way for us to cover all of North Wales.”
A decision on the location of the ALP vehicles, which were called out 55 times in the last 12 months in Rhyl, will be made next month.