North Wales fire service asks councils to plug £1.9m budget gap

Fire chiefs in north Wales have asked local councils to plug a £1.9m budget hole to safeguard firefighters' jobs.

They have dropped proposals to axe one of Wrexham's two fire engines and to downgrade or close other fire stations.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority said it now felt "the level of risk" was too high for any major cuts.

The worst-case scenario could have seen up to 52 firefighters and managers lose their jobs, according to the fire authority.

Confirmation of the decision to seek more cash rather than make cuts came in a report presented to Anglesey council by chief fire officer Helen MacArthur.

The report said the authority had "not ruled out" making savings. However, it would "stop short of, for example, closing fire stations or making firefighters redundant".

Instead, the fire service has asked the region's six councils to provide £35.4m between them for 2019/20 - an increase of 5.7% on the 2018/19 figure of £33.5m .

Councillor Ken Hughes said to Ms MacArthur: "I think you're in a fortunate position compared to other authorities in terms of the savings you've had to make over the years... is there more that you can do?"

In response, Ms MacArthur said: "We are always looking at our cost base and opportunities to keep it down," citing the idea of keeping fire engines in service longer.

However, she added: "We also need to be mindful that when we're called out that we're fit to respond as well, and we protect our firefighters as best we can."