Fire Brigades Union is holding the rally on Saturday at 1.30pm by the Bottle of Notes sculpture in Centre Square
Cleveland's chief fire officer Ian Hayton, outside the Marine fire station
A rally will be held against plans for "dangerous" £6m cuts to Cleveland Fire Brigade.
The Fire Brigades Union is holding the rally on Saturday at 1.30pm by the Bottle of Notes sculpture in Centre Square, Middlesbrough.
Speakers will include FBU president Alan McLean, MP for Middlesbrough Andy McDonald and MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Tom Blenkinsop.
The multi-million budget cuts, if implemented, will lead to 130 job losses and the closure of Marine Fire Station on Ferry Road in Middlesbrough.
Fire chiefs say fewer firefighters will be staffing fewer fire engines, and accept response times could be hit - but say they “have no other choice”.
In total 130 front-line posts will be lost from a brigade that is already down to between 370-400 full time firefighters. Instead they will be replaced with 72 on-call (retained or part time) firefighters.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has pledged to fight the cuts saying it would “put public safety at risk” and has not ruled out strike action.
Labour councillor Robbie Payne, chairman of Cleveland Fire Authority, said at the time the cuts were announced: “It is always difficult to make decisions that are borne out of budget constraints.
“But as a forward thinking fire service, Cleveland is once again leading the way and showing that it is making sound business decisions that will ensure the service is efficient, effective and robust. The reality of the situation is that we will have fewer firefighters staffing fewer fire engines and we may even have to close a fire station.
At the time Chief Fire Officer Ian Hayton said: “The Community Plan sets out the authority’s approach to managing risk; what we are doing to protect people, buildings and the natural environment from fire and other emergencies; how we will continue to deliver our excellent services effectively and efficiently; and how we will achieve the appropriate balance between risk and the shrinking resources available to us.”
Cleveland Fire Authority - which has a budget of £29.9m for the current financial year - launched an extensive six week public consultation on its Community Integrated Risk Management Plan 2014-18 last month.
Peter Woodhead, FBU branch secretary for Middlesbrough, said: “We want the public to know what’s going on and the reasons why.”
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