Firefighters angry as 11 jobs axed at new fire station

The technical rescue unit at the Dearne Fire Station in Manvers is to be merged with the station’s standard crew to save £480,000.

Angry firefighters say the public was promised a better service when the Dearne station opened last year, but the cuts will mean it will no longer be ‘fit for purpose.’

The station replaced stations closed at Mexborough and Brampton Bierlow.

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A report by senior fire officer Mark Shaw to South Yorkshire fire authority members said current staffing arrangements at Dearne presented a number of “issues and challenges” over the “management and financial efficiency of the station.”

The cost of providing the current Dearne resource totals £2.2 million, comprising 28 full-time posts together with 28 rescue unit jobs.

Posts will be cut from an overall 56 to 40, but the number of instructors will be increased by five to maintain training.