Firefighters face losing their jobs, engines could be axed and stations closed or downgraded as the fire service looks to plug a near £2 million shortfall.

A controversial plan to cut one of Wrexham’s two appliances, with the loss of 24 frontline posts has also been resurrected as the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority (NWFRA) looks to make savings.

As well as removing an engine from Wrexham, other options to be considered include changing the hours of Deeside and/or Rhyl 24 hour stations to day staffing only, and closing one or more of the region’s 36 retained stations.

The proposals will be discussed by the authority’s executive panel next week – or the panel may have to ask cash strapped councils to stump up more from their ever dwindling funds.

A report to be presented on Monday notes that the service faces an estimated shortfall of £1.9m for 2019/20, and despite relying heavily on its reserves over recent years, these are now at a level considered to be “the minimum considered prudent”.

A comprimise option of asking for a smaller increase than £1.89m in local authority contributions and as a result, less severe cuts in service, could also be considered.

The report said the fire service had been “seriously affected by the impact of financial austerity.”

“Since 2011/12, the NWFRA has made savings in excess of £3 million from the revenue budget (approximately 10%) and has reduced the service’s workforce by 9%.”

Removing the second Wrexham appliance would lead to savings of £959,000, excluding the £127,000 redundancy costs of axing 24 members of staff.

Reducing the second appliance’s hours to daytime cover only, with 12 job losses, would achieve savings of £386,000 and £48,900 in redundancy costs.

However, the removal of Wrexham’s second engine has been condemned amid claims that “lives would be put at risk”.

Councillor Marc Jones, who coordinated the campaign to save Wrexham’s fire engine two years ago, condemned the move.

He said: “The proposal to cut Wrexham’s second whole-time fire engine is still unacceptable and will put lives at risk.

“The crews at Wrexham regularly support other stations across North Wales and only last week were in Betws-y-Coed to ensure there was cover in the Conwy Valley.”

“Losing 24 firefighters would increase the risk facing people in the largest town in north Wales and I would urge members of the Fire Authority to resist attempts to cut this service.

“The Fire Authority has already had more funding from the six councils across the North but it’s unlikely they will get more. Public services have faced cuts for a decade now and this is the result – we have to reject austerity because ultimately cuts cost lives,” he added.

Among the other options, downgrading Holyhead, Caernarfon, Bangor, Llandudno or Colwyn Bay stations from fully crewed venues to retained cover only, would achieve an average of £647,000 in savings.

While officers expect around £572,000 of savings if Deeside or Rhyl 24 hour stations are staffed only during the day.

In a joint statement, Plaid Cymru MP's Hywel Williams and Liz Saville Roberts, said: “The level of emergency service cover across our constituencies and the ability to respond to serious incidents both now and in the future is of prime concern to us.

‘We are very concerned at the proposed cuts to the service, especially the proposal to remove a part-time engine from Caernarfon or Bangor and the potential loss of fifty two frontline jobs along with a cut in the number of retained firefighters and the knock-on effect on other stations.

‘Such broad cuts as these have the potential to significantly impact the way firefighters respond to incidents, particularly in large, dispersed rural areas. This will further add to the pressures faced by an already stretched service.”

“Local knowledge and expertise should be safeguarded in order to protect the public. There is real danger that the loss of local firefighters with detailed knowledge of their patch could lead to a dangerous vacuum, amplifying the danger to life and property.”

Whatever options are recommended by the executive panel, these will then be discussed by a full authority meeting in June before going out to a full public consultation over the summer.