FIREFIGHTERS in Cirencester have warned that not manning the town's station would significantly increase the time it takes to respond to 999 calls, putting lives at risk.

They have spoken out amid fears that Cirencester station could be downgraded to "retained" status, meaning there would be no full-time firefighters based there.

If this happened, the two seven-strong crews currently based at the station during the day could lose their full-time positions, leaving the town with only retained firefighters – people who are on call but have other jobs – to respond to emergencies.

Leigh Harrison, a firefighter in Cirencester, said having dedicated crews based there means they can respond to 999 calls in 30 seconds, whereas retained staff would take five minutes.

The concerns that Cirencester station could be downgraded have been raised by the Liberal Democrats on Gloucestershire County Council as the authority is reviewing the fire service and putting together a new three-year plan.

Cllr Jeremy Hilton, the leader of the Lib Dems, believes the Conservative-run council could slash the fire service budget from £17.7 million to £13.5 million by 2018, however the Tories have strongly denied this.

“The downgrading or the closure of fire stations is a possibility,” Cllr Hilton said. “Most at risk is the downgrading of Cirencester Fire Station to a retained duty only station.”

Crew manager at the station, Graham Holland, said: “The union is very worried. Any cost reduction in cover within the service is bad news for the public.”

Firefighter Leigh Harrison said downgrading the station would mean significantly longer turnout times.

“Now we would be out be out of the door in 30 seconds but if we were retained it would take us five minutes,” he said.

Despite the number of emergency calls for the service going down in recent years as people are more safety aware, the firefighters said there could still be a huge fire in the area at any time.

“There will always be the big jobs,” added Graham. “We are like an insurance policy. You never want to use us but when you do you’re glad to have us.”

Cirencester station, in School Lane, has 14 whole-time firefighters who work during the day, whilst retained staff are on call at night.

As well as tackling blazes, they also cut crash victims out of their cars so paramedics can treat them and respond during serious flooding.

Cllr Hilton said: “Removing whole-time fire cover at Cirencester will damage resilience and reduce response times. The Tories are putting fire cover at risk in this area of Gloucestershire.”

However, Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, who is responsible for the fire service in the county, said the Lib Dems' claims that stations could be downgraded and jobs lost are "deeply misleading".

“Pretending [the review of the service] is proposing specific changes is deeply misleading and really irresponsible to the staff involved,” he said. “The Liberal Democrats are putting votes and headlines above the best interests of both Gloucestershire residents and firefighters.”

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service chief fire officer Stewart Edgar said that there are no proposals or plans relating to any specific fire station at this stage.

A consultation is now under way so people can give their views on the fire service. Visit gloucestershire.gov.uk/irmp