Fire stations to close and 100 jobs axed in shake up of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue

There's a proposal to close three fire stations and cut support jobs in a radical shake up of Greater Manchester's Fire and Rescue Service.

Six stations at Manchester, Bolton and Stockport are being considered for mergers, creating new state of the art facilities.

A hundred support staff jobs will be axed in a bid to balance the books, after the service £20 million pound budget cuts since 2010.

The proposals will guarantee 47 fire engines day and night across Greater Manchester compared to the 50 currently available on average.

The number of firefighters on all appliances across the region would reduce from five to four.

The ‘root and branch’ review of the service was announced last year following the publication of the critical Kerslake Report which investigated the response to the Manchester Arena attack.

As part of the process, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester have visited every fire station and team to get the views of staff about the organisation.

Mayor Andy Burnham, who is also Greater Manchester’s Fire Commissioner said:

"I have asked the new fire chief to adopt a frontline first ethos throughout the organisation and make sure our firefighters have the right training, modern equipment and facilities.”

Chief Fire Officer, Jim Wallace said:

"These proposals outline some of the most progressive changesin the history of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service but they are important ones to make sure we are a service fit for the future.

“This will put us in a position where we can continue to keep people safe, but also ensure that we are a sustainable, efficient service."